Mission Statement

As a locus of interdisciplinary and international study, the program in Comparative Literature at the Colorado College fosters the understanding of literature and other texts across languages, time periods, and genres. We believe that the study of literature is central to the understanding of other cultures and thus we require that our students use English and at least one other language to interpret and evaluate literature and culture from various international traditions, as well as their own. An important way to achieve this is through experience abroad, and thus we encourage it whenever possible. Our students gain analytical skills and a global perspective. To this end, we emphasize the importance of the following, as our curricular goals:

-Comparative analysis-with complexity of thought and clarity of expression-- of various kinds of texts.

-Immersion in an international culture through study abroad, in one block, one semester or one year programs.

-Linguistic awareness and skill, foregrounding the linguistic differences and axes of comparison of texts from various languages in translation as well as in the original.

-Close attention to language in the enquiry between literature and other aspects of human experience.

-Familiarity with the major contemporary schools of literary theory, and with at least one in depth.

What our students love about Comparative Literature