Comparative Literature COM LIT

COM LIT 3 Just Reading: Developing the Reading Experience

Units

4

(IV and VIII.)

Develops the reading experience apart from writing. Develops tools for sustained attention in reading practice across a wide range of genres and media from across the globe. Students learn to appreciate elements of reading experience such as attention and perplexity.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 6 Topics in Native American and Indigenous Literatures

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

(IV and VII.)

Reading literature by Native American/Indigenous writers from the U.S. and beyond. Texts may include an array of genres including, fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose, film, and video games.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 8 Travels in Comparative Literature

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

(IV)

Readings in English and in English translation on such topics as love, war, cities, travel writing, politics, fantasy and science fiction, violence.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 9 Introduction to Multiculturalism

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

(IV and VII.)

Various themes and forms of literary and cultural production within a multicultural framework, including African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino, and Native American literatures and cultures.

Offered: Fall 2026 (3 sections)

COM LIT 10 Topics in World Literature

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

(IV and VIII.)

Introduction to texts from across the globe and from different historical periods. Readings in English and English translation.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

COM LIT 60A World Literature

Units

4

(IV and VIII.)

An introduction to the comparative study of literatures and cultures in a global context. Studies literary texts and other media across the borders of various cultures, historical periods, and traditions. All texts are read in English translation.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

COM LIT 60B Reading with Theory

Units

4

(IV and VIII)

Introduction to theory and methods of literary and cultural criticism in a global context. Students read theoretical approaches to literature, culture, and ideas. Marx and Freud, e.g., may be studied alongside readings in narrative poetry, film, song lyrics, novel.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 60C Cultural Studies

Units

4

(IV and VIII)

Introduces students to a variety of cultural practices (literature, blogs, films, radio, comics) from across the globe. Focuses on the ways that context, genre, and medium (e.g., written, visual, oral) affect how these practices are produced, circulated, and received.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 100A Nations, Regions, and Beyond

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Intensive study of national and regional cultural and literary traditions from across the globe, among them the literary and cultural production of the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 101W An Introduction to Translation Studies

Units

4

Prerequisite

Satisfactory completion of the Lower-Division Writing requirement. Working knowledge of at least one foreign language

(Ib)

Focuses on theories of translation and on how these theories help students understand the role of translation in the world. Students develop a critical vocabulary for discussing translation in multiple linguistic traditions and complete a final translation project.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 102W Comparative Studies in Literature and Theory

Units

4

Prerequisite

Satisfactory completion of the Lower-Division Writing requirement

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

(Ib)

In-depth discussion of special topics.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 105 Topics in Comparative Multiculturalism

Units

4

Prerequisite

Satisfactory completion of the lower-division writing requirement

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times

Treats the literatures and cultures of one or more minority groups in California and the United States, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicano/Latinos, and Native Americans, and their relations to other national literatures.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 107 Colonialisms and Postcolonialisms

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Explores topics such as colonialism and race, decolonization, pre- and postcoloniality, globalization, and the cultural dynamics of colonization and subjectivity.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 110 Topics in Critical Theory

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Restrictions: No Freshman students

In-depth discussion of one or more theoretical paradigms, debates, or writers (Marxism, Foucault, Queer Theory, Psychoanalysis) with a special focus on what it means to read and think with theoretical texts.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 121 Narrative, Pattern, and Text

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Explores textual patterns, structures, and effects. May include topics such as novel, hypertext, genre, reader responses, intertextuality.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 123 Literatures in Dialogue

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Studies how texts interact across time and space in a global context. Uses concepts of influence, imitation, and parody, to ask, for example, how the Homeric epics can help us understand Caribbean novels and U.S. movies such as Troy.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 130 Gender, Sexuality, Race, Class

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Discusses the roles of differences such as race, class, gender, and sexuality in society, culture, and literature across the globe, covering topics such as theoretical and literary representations of queer sexuality, gender performance, critical race theory.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

COM LIT 131 Psychoanalysis and Culture

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Discusses major psychoanalytic writings of Freud and others in connection with questions of culture.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

COM LIT 132 Discourse, Ideologies, and Politics

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Compares ideologies and systems, e.g., nationalism and fundamentalism, as they affect literature and culture in a global context.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 140 Critical Cultural Studies

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Introduces a variety of ways of understanding cultural phenomena in relation to different power structures. These cultural phenomena may include comics, film, literature, sports, music, festivals, telling stories, or eating out.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 142 The Metropolis and Other Cultural Geographies

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Examines the relationship between space and culture; cultural production in the city, suburb, and/or countryside; spaces in texts and artifacts (film, literature, comics, photographs) in a global context.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 143 Literature, Arts, and Media

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Explores literature and other arts and media in a global context. May include film and electronic media, fine arts, oral cultures, architecture, in an international framework.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 144 Literature, History, and Society

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Explores the relationship between literary texts and their historical and social contexts in an international framework. Courses may address, for example, literary and cultural expressions in social revolutions or the way literary texts talk back to medicine, religion, and anthropology.

Offered: Fall 2026 (4 sections)

COM LIT 150 Literature in Translation

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

The study of literary works in one or more genres in English translation. May be a comparative study of works from several different original languages or a concentration on works from a single cultural/linguistic tradition.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 160 World Cinema

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken 2 times as topics vary

Comparative analysis of contemporary film in languages other than English.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

COM LIT 190W Advanced Seminar in Comparative Literature and Theory

Units

4

Prerequisite

Satisfactory completion of the Lower-Division Writing requirement. Recommended: COM LIT 60A, COM LIT 60B, and COM LIT 60C

Restrictions: Comparative Literature majors have the first consideration for enrollment. School of Humanities students only

(Ib)

Capstone seminar for the Comparative Literature major. Deepens understanding of the field through investigation of a special topic and a substantial research and writing project.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 199 Independent Study in Comparative Literature

Units

1-4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times

To be taken only when the materials to be studied lie outside the normal run of departmental offerings.

Offered: Fall 2026 (10 sections)

COM LIT 200A History of Comparative Literature and Introduction to Methods and Theories of CL

Units

4

Seminar designed to introduce graduate students in Comparative Literature to the discipline of Comparative Literature. Issues and theories of comparative literary and cultural study are covered. Strongly recommended for first and second year students before the M.A. exam and review.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 200B Topics in Theories of Translation

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

The reproduction, translation, and transfer of literary and cultural, ideological and political, and symbolic codes and texts have long been the object of study in Comparative Literature. Addresses the diverse ways in which expressive systems interact and intersect.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 210 Comparative Studies

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Studies in selected areas of Comparative Literature. Topics addressed vary each quarter.

Offered: Fall 2026 (3 sections)

COM LIT 280A Professionalization Seminar

Units

2

Grading Option: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only

The first of two required professionalization seminars in Comparative Literature. Intended for first and second year students and covers preparation for the M.A. and Ph.D. exams, conference presentations, teaching and classroom management, and publishing journals.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 280B Professionalization Seminar

Units

2

Prerequisite

COM LIT 280A with a minimum grade of B

Grading Option: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only

The second of two required professionalization seminars in Comparative Literature. Intended for fourth and fifth year students and covers course design, applying for grants, dissertation prospectus and support, and the job application process.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

COM LIT 290 Reading and Conference

Units

4-12

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times

Studies in selected areas. Topics addressed vary each quarter.

Offered: Fall 2026 (11 sections)

COM LIT 291 Guided Reading Course

Units

4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times

Studies in selected areas. Topics addressed vary each quarter.

Offered: Fall 2026 (14 sections)

COM LIT 292 Teaching Practicum

Units

2

Grading Option: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only

Graduate students develop their pedagogical practices by accompanying a professor teaching a UCI undergraduate class. Meets individually with the professor to discuss relevant pedagogical practices, syllabus design, lecturing, assessment, classroom management, etc. Actively participates in one teaching component.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

COM LIT 298 Pre-Dissertation Research

Units

1-12

Grading Option: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only

Repeatability: May be taken for credit 6 times

Taken under the direction of the graduate advisor or committee member in preparation for the Ph.D. exam. It can be taken after students have completed the M.A. review and program coursework requirements.

Offered: Fall 2026 (15 sections)

COM LIT 299 Dissertation Research

Units

4-12

Grading Option: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times

A units-only course for students in the dissertation phase.

Offered: Fall 2026 (17 sections)

COM LIT 399 University Teaching

Units

4

Grading Option: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times

Limited to Teaching Assistants.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)