Comprehensive Requirement

All students majoring in Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture will be required in their senior year to complete a comprehensive project consisting of a senior thesis of a minimum of 25 pages and to present a 15-minute presentation based on the thesis to CSLC faculty and students.

In the fall of their senior year, each CSLC major will enroll in a 4-unit senior seminar and will be expected to produce a full-length draft of the comprehensive essay by the end of term. The student will have the winter break and the first month of spring term in his or her senior year to revise the long essay, and to compose a 15-minute presentation. Students graduating in the fall of senior year must complete a final draft of the paper and give a short presentation before fall comps grades are due.

The comprehensive essay must include extensive analysis of a foreign language text or texts. The thesis should demonstrate an awareness of its own methodologies, and a substantial knowledge of the critical traditions and contemporary understandings of the texts under consideration. CSLC students will additionally be expected to incorporate into their senior thesis the interdisciplinary perspectives gained in the two thematic-focus courses they have selected for their major. Additional requirements for comps may be required in each language emphasis, particularly if a student uses a language outside of the CSLC major in their comprehensive project.