World Literature, Minor

Program Code: WLIT_UMNR

Program Description

The minor in World Literature enables students to create a package of literature courses tailored to their interests. It offers an international approach to the study of literatures and cultures around the globe. A Senior Seminar is the culminating course. Education abroad can be included in this minor.

What is World Literature?

World Literature is component of comparative literature, a discipline of literary studies that explores exciting approaches to literature and culture in a global context. It also examines global media (print, visual, electronic), and engages with questions of ethics, human rights, and the real world contexts of literary and cultural production.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WORLD LITERATURE

You Might Like This Program If...

  • You are curious about other cultures beyond your own and want to learn to think critically and creatively about cultural difference and convergence in our interconnected world.
  • You want to acquire important skills such as analytical writing, argumentation, and communication in an international context.
  • You are interested in acquiring knowledge of a second language and/or culture, which is a key component to success in the global economy.

Program Requirements

Requirement Credits
Requirements for the Minor 18

Requirements for the Minor

A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).

Prescribed Courses
Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better
CMLIT 400YSenior Seminar in Literary Criticism and Theory3
Additional Courses
Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better
CMLIT 10World Literatures Keystone/General Education Course3
or CMLIT 100 Reading Across Cultures Keystone/General Education Course
Supporting Courses and Related Areas
Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better
Select 12 credits (at least 3 credits at the 400 level) in Comparative Literature, unified by topic, theme, period, or a similar principle, subject to approval of a faculty adviser.12

Academic Advising

The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.

Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.

READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY

University Park

Liberal Arts Academic Advising
814-865-2545
Use the Liberal Arts Meet the Academic Advisers web page to see the contact information for the specific adviser(s) of this program

Career Paths

World Literature will give you a deeper understanding of this planet and its people. It will train you in important skills such as analytical writing, argumentation, and communication in an international context. The study of world literature in our program gives students in professional and technical areas the “soft skills” that allow them to stand out from other applicants when they enter the job market and to build long-lasting careers out of the first job. World Literature will expand your professional and intellectual options, not only immediately after graduation, but for the rest of your life.

Careers

A Minor in World Literature will aid you in finding employment in domestic and international business, public relations, publishing, education, non-profit organizations, and museum acquisitions. Our alumni also pursue graduate degrees in advanced literary studies, law, and library science; and they have become professors, attorneys, librarians, and leaders in business, private institutions, and government service.

Contact

University Park

DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
442 Burrowes Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-863-0589
cmlit@psu.edu

https://complit.la.psu.edu/undergraduate/