Undergraduate

*Important Notice for Students*:

Please note that starting in the 2023-2024 academic year, NEW MAJORS must take ONE FOUNDATIONAL COURSE (6 credits) in order to complete the major.

Currently these courses are : CLIT2001, CLIT2025, CLIT2094, and CLIT2095. If you happen to take more than one of the above classes, the second ones will count as regular 2000-level/Advanced classes.

If you have already declared your major before August 2023, you can disregard this notice.

In order to MAJOR in Comparative Literature, students need to fulfill the following requirements:

  1. not fewer than one (6 credits) of the following first year Comparative Literature courses, and obtain a grade C or above: CLIT1001 or CLIT1008 or CLIT1009 or CLIT1010;
  2. 12 credits of introductory courses from any Arts programmes, which may include additional credits in 1000-level Comparative Literature courses; and
  3. not fewer than 54 credits of 2000- and 3000-level Comparative Literature courses, which should include (i) not fewer than one (6 credits) foundational course (CLIT2001, CLIT2025, CLIT2094 and CLIT2095) preferably in the second year, and (ii) not fewer than one (6 credits) capstone experience course.

A MINOR in Comparative Literature shall consist of CLIT1001 or CLIT1008: Ways of Reading: Film, Literature, and Culture or CLIT1009: Introduction to Postcolonialism and Culture or CLIT1010: Ways of Thinking about Culture and Society; and not fewer than 30 credit units of 2000- and 3000-level courses.

To fulfill the credit requirements of the major/minor in Comparative Literature, students can also take the following courses in other programmes:

  • Gender Studies programme: GEND2001, GEND2007, GEND2008 and GEND2009.
  • History programme: HIST2082, HIST2083, HIST2085 and HIST2119.
  • Music programme: MUSI2044 and MUSI2055.
  • Faculty of Law: LLAW3141.
  • School of Chinese: CHIN2348, CHIN2358, HKGS2008, HKGS2011 and HKGS2012
  • School of Modern Languages and Cultures: AFRI2007, AMER2022, AMER2033, AMER2035, AMER2048, AMER2052, AMER2071, EUST2011, EUST2030, EUST3020,  SINO2008, SINO2012 and SINO2013.

Please refer to the relevant programmes for course details and availability.

The Comparative Literature Programme consists of first year courses, second and third year courses, and capstone courses usually reserved for majors. All of the courses are 6-credits. A total of 150 hours of student learning activity is the norm for a 6-credit course that includes contact hours and other forms of student learning activity. The contact hours and requirements may vary in each course, but all of the courses are graded on the basis of 100% continuous assessment.

Why Literature, Why Compare, Why it Matters?

Requirements

Courses are open to students who have fulfilled the University’s entrance requirements, though priority will usually be given to students with a Grade C or above in the Use of English examination, or who otherwise show special aptitude.

Learning Outcomes

All the courses provide students with significant interdisciplinary study skills in the Humanities and rigorous training in thinking about the nature of the relationship between culture and society. Through this, students will be trained to develop their analytical and communication skills, and to nurture their sense of responsibility to the world we all live in.

On successful completion of the major, students should be able to:

      1. demonstrate the ability to acquire and evaluate new knowledge through study and analysis of literary and cultural texts.
      2. demonstrate the ability to apply theories and methods, and to respond actively to unfamiliar texts and contexts.
      3. demonstrate the ability to critically reflect upon their own identities and their ways of seeing.
      4. demonstrate an awareness of local and global diversity through an appreciation of cultural texts and practices.
      5. demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively in oral and especially written forms through their analysis of literary and cultural texts.
      6. demonstrate a critical awareness of local and global socio-political-historical issues through analysis and discussion of cultural texts.
Assessment

All courses offered in the department will be examined by 100% continuous assessment. Teaching activities may include film screenings, workshops and guest lectures. Assignments may include essay writing, oral presentations in tutorials, take-home or in-class tests, and so on. Course organizers will provide details of assessment at the beginning of their courses.