comparative literature phd yale

Film and Media Studies Program

Combined phd in comparative literature and film and media studies, program of courses.

16 term-courses will be the norm, taken over a two-year period.  In some cases a candidate may be allowed to take one of these courses in the fifth term of study.

A.  Requirements in Film and Media Studies: 6 courses

• FILM 601 Films and Their Study (offered every other Fall term)
• Four additional seminars in Film Studies

B.  Requirements in Comparative Literature: 6 courses

• Proseminar in Comparative Literature (taken first term offered)
• One course in theoretical issues
• A course involving  poetry and one drama
• Any course can count for more than one designation

C.  Four other courses to be worked out with DGS of both units.

• Students may gain up to two course credits for prior graduate work if approved by the DGSs and the Graduate School  

A.  Excellent English and one other language at admission

B.  An additional research-related language, satisfied by the fifth term:

• Passing the “advanced reading-for-research” course or related exam in the pertinent language
• Passing any Yale course in the language.  

Oral Exa minations

A.  By the end of the third semester the candidate will meet with the DGS of both units to agree on the six topics (also called “questions) to be prepared, paying attention to generic, geographic, and historical range and to methodological or theoretical approaches.  Of the six questions taken up in the oral, half should emphasize literary studies, half Film and Media Studies, though primary texts in both fields may appear on the list drawn up for any question.

B.  By the end of the fourth semester, the candidate will submit to both DGSs the list of readings, prepared for each question.  Final versions of the lists are signed by each faculty member involved a week before the oral, which normally takes place by the end of the fifth semester, in six 15-minute sections.

C.  Should the responses to a question be judged inadequate, the committee may call for its reexamination at a later date or may impose remedial work, such as a bibliographic paper.

The Dissertation Prospectus

The prospectus, prepared with one or two advisors (one from Comparative Literature), is presented to the Comparative Literature Standing committee in the sixth term, and never later than the outset of the seventh term.  At the end of the hour discussion, and with the advisor(s) and a DGS present, the faculty will decide either to pass the prospectus as is, or ask the student to submit a further draft either to the advisor or the standing committee (generally without necessitating a further live meeting). In all cases the finished version of the prospectus will also be submitted to the DGS in Film and Media Studies who distributes it to thst faculty for ratification.  Once final approval of the prospectus comes from both units, the student will be advanced to candidacy for the degree.

Defense of Method

Occurs in the semester preceding submission of the dissertation. This 60-90 minute oral involves the presentation of 80% of the dissertation for discussion and questioning.  At this meeting the DGS, advisor(s) and the three official readers of the dissertation will give advice and correct errors so that the work will be in its optimal form when submitted.  The DGSs appoint the three readers to assess the dissertation, two of which are normally from Comparative Literature and one from Film and Media Studies. Note that the advisor(s) may not write the final assessments of the dissertation.  

Department of Comparative Literature

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Comparative Literature Research Guide: Welcome

• Finding Books
• Finding Articles
• Finding Dissertations
• Subject Specific Resources
• Doing Research with Primary Sources
• Writing & Citation Management

The primary purpose of this research guide is to assist researchers interested in comparative literary studies in conducting research using Yale Library's resources and services. The cross-national and interdisciplinary aspects of Comparative Literature make it a very broad field, and while you will find a variety of frequently used resources in this guide, the the list of sources is suggestive rather than comprehensive. If you are working primarily in a different language or national literature, you may wish to take a look at the Related Guides section below.

The library is here to help! If you have a research-related question, or to schedule an appointment with the subject librarian, use the email function and calendar scheduler in the Librarian box below.

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Quicksearch is the Yale Library discovery tool that allows you to search for books, articles, data sets, images, databases, digital collections and more.

To search for books or journals (not journal articles, but entire journals, e.g. The New Yorker ) click the "Books+" link underneath the main search bar. This will allow you to select the type of resource you are searching for: e.g. "Journal Title."

Related Guides

• Citation Management by Kelly Blanchat Last Updated May 29, 2024 5102 views this year
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Frequently Used Resources (Quick Links)

• MLA International Bibliography The MLA Bibliography indexes materials on literature, languages, linguistics, film and folklore, excluding book reviews. Access to citations from journals and series published worldwide, as well as books, essay collections, and dissertations.
• Oxford Bibliographies Oxford bibliographies offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies (lists of titles) on specific topics in across varied subject areas. Each of these features an introduction to the topic, as well. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable.
• Oxford Reference Brings together digitized entries from Oxford's Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias, spanning multiple subject areas. Includes research tools: timelines, quotations, and subject overviews.
• Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism Searchable database of articles on individual critics and theorists, critical and theoretical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods. It also treats related persons and fields that have been shaped by or have themselves shaped literary theory and criticism. Each entry includes a selective primary and secondary bibliography.
• Reference Guide to World Literature Covers writers from the ancient Greeks to 20th-century authors. Includes biographical-bibliographical entries on nearly 500 writers and approximately 550 entries focusing on significant works of world literature. Each author entry provides a detailed overview of the writer's life and works. Work entries cover a particular piece of world literature in detail. 2 volumes.
• Writing About World Literature From the publisher: "Writing about World Literature, a new guide created to accompany the Norton Anthology, covers the processes and particulars of writing in the world literature survey course. Starting with the essential question, “What is Academic Writing,” the guide takes students step-by-step through the writing process – from generating ideas to researching to revising. It includes an entire chapter on the different types of writing about world literature – including textual and contextual analyses."
• Bibliographie de la littérature française (BLF) The online database of the Bibliography of French Literature is a database produced by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (National Library of France), the Société d'histoire littéraire de la France (Society of Literary History of France) and published by Classiques Garnier digital. It lists studies published since 1998 on French and Francophone literature, from the sixteenth century to today.
• Bibliographie der deutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft. A bibliography focusing on German language literary studies scholarship, available via the Frankfurt am Main University Library.
• PRISMA - Publicaciones y Revistas Sociales y Humanísticas This database is a comprehensive reference resource providing more than hundred full-text scholarly journals in the social sciences and humanities for the interdisciplinary academic study of Hispanic and Latin America and the Caribbean Basin. Content is available in Spanish, Portuguese and English
• FIAF international index to film periodicals plus FIAF index to film periodicals plus is a bibliographical index covering the foremost academic and popular film journals up to the present day. Some of these journals are available in full text. FIAF plus includes the following databases: International index to film periodicals (1972- ); International index to television periodicals (1979-1998); Treasures from the film archives; International directory of film and TV documentation collections; Bibliography of FIAF affiliates' publications; and the full text of five key reference works.

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• Last Updated: Dec 11, 2023 3:55 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.yale.edu/complit

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• Share This: Share Ariel Bardi (PhD ’15, Comparative Literature) on Facebook Share Ariel Bardi (PhD ’15, Comparative Literature) on LinkedIn Share Ariel Bardi (PhD ’15, Comparative Literature) on X

Ariel Bardi (PhD ’15, Comparative Literature)

What did you study at yale, and what is your current profession/job.

I’m a New Delhi-based freelance journalist, writing mostly on human rights and development along with culture and travel, and I’m a consultant for international development organizations. So I work in a few different roles. I completed my PhD in Comparative Literature in 2015, and my particular field was postcolonial studies and visual culture. I also did an MA in History of Art while at Yale, which I finished in 2010. After I graduated I went to work as a consultant for the World Bank group in Washington D.C. When my contract ended I moved to India and started freelancing.

What do you like most about your current role? What do you find most challenging and/ or rewarding?

I like the flexibility of freelance writing and consulting, but I struggle with the same challenges that I did as a PhD student, namely lack of structure and the desire for meatier, more collaborative work. Journalism has also suffered from the same process of casualization and corportization that universities have. My current role still feels intermediary, a bridge between my program and the post-ac world. Ultimately, I’d like to branch out from research and communications and find a program role that connects my background in arts and culture with my training in international development and human rights.

How did your time at Yale shape your career trajectory?

I applied to study at Yale when I was only 23. I was living in Paris at the time, and had just returned from two long trips to India, where I had just given my first conference presentation. I had the same interests then that I do now, but I didn’t have a sense of what careers a person like me might pursue. I wanted to study more, and hoped that the rest would fall into place, which it more or less did. I knew from the beginning that academia was not a good fit for me, either personally or professionally. But I got a lot out of my years at Yale. First of all, I am deeply invested in the value of a humanities education, particularly in international development, where economists and technicians abound but what is always needed are people who have fluency in multiple cultures along with respect and even love for the places where they work. They need to know not just the standard development metrics, but they should also have a sense of that region’s music, heritage, art— its unique practices and principles. I was reading in an Indian newspaper recently that the hard sciences ask “how?” but the humanities ask “why?” Outside of academia, I see how badly those critical thinking skills are needed, even among efficient and experienced practitioners. In that sense I really value my time at Yale.

What are the main skills that you acquired as a PhD student which help make you successful in your current career?

Yale gave me the time and resources to spend years in professional exploration, developing a unique skill set that I am now proud of. I was the recipient of several major research grants, and those were instrumental in preparing me for what I do now. Learning how to write a successful grant proposal through trial-and-error was one important skill. And also, just knowing how to arrive in Ramallah, or Lahore, or Srinagar, knowing virtually no one, and having to get settled, make contacts, and carry out a research project— all that was hugely valuable to freelancing now as an independent journalist. This spring, I went to Nepal to cover the first anniversary of the 2015 earthquake. I also contributed articles from Sri Lanka and northwestern India.

Did you acquire any professional experience related to your line of work while in graduate school?

I did a lot of different things while in graduate school. I started volunteering with IRIS, a nonprofit organization in New Haven that aids incoming refugees, while I was in my third year. I spent the next year in Israel and the West Bank on a long grant and continued volunteering with NGO’s while conducting my own research. That was also when I first started writing journalism articles. The next year, I went through a training program in development reporting at the United Nations in New York City. I also worked with a Fair Trade craft company that employs women artisans in Central Asia. I explored many, many different paths and activities. I lived in New York City for two years, and went to a lot of networking events in the city. I also volunteered as a translator with an advocacy organization that works with detained immigrants and as an arts teacher at a non-profit working with recent Arab immigrants, and I trained as an abortion escort. I wrote my dissertation pretty quickly and never got that stressed about it, except towards the very end. I think it’s because I was continually doing things outside of academia, and that helped me keep a realistic perspective. When you’re working with communities that just fled war and still manage to seem upbeat compared to the hysterical, miserable PhD students you know, the whole system starts to seem pretty ridiculous.

What advice would you offer humanities PhDs who are interested in your line of work?

Be open and honest with professors and peers. In my day, there was a taboo around admitting that you wanted to work outside of academia. That meant I didn’t reveal my plans until my last year of school, which is a shame, because some of those professors might actually have been in a position to help me. Take advantage of the time and resources you have at Yale. PhD students seem to think that they’re exceptionally busy, but trust me, you will probably never have this much time on your hands again during your working lives. Take advantage of it. The stipend means that you have a financial safety net that you can fall back on as you explore. Listen to your gut. If there is something that excites you—a project or person that you read about—get in touch and try to get involved. Have fun with it. For international development specifically, figure out what role you’d like to have, where you’d like to be based, and see how your skills translate. But be critical and be savvy. Don’t conform to existing models of development and aid. See how you can innovate and reform. Follow the industry and appreciate its complexities. For freelance journalism, find a news hook then turn your research into an Op-ed. Or think of an interesting story idea, do a bit of pre-research, and think about what outlets it fits with. Look for editors’ emails on Twitter and send in a cold pitch. Look for guidelines online. Keep pitching. Editors are busy and can take weeks to respond. It takes a long time to get started, and work is slow, but it’s an exciting way to get your writing to a much wider readership. Academics tend to think they need to spend twenty years on a subject before they’re qualified to discuss it. The rest of the world does not feel that way— to its detriment, often.

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Early Modern Studies

You are here, comparative literature.

Coursework:

Students are required to complete 16 term courses, at least 7 of these in the Department of Comparative Literature (including the comparative literature proseminar). Students must take at least 10 courses in the field of Renaissance Studies (offered in several departments), including 2 terms of the Renaissance Studies Core Course and 3 courses in two disciplines other than literature (such as History, History of Art, or Religious Studies). At least 3 of a student’s overall list of courses must be in literary theory, criticism, or methodology; at least 2 must be completed with the grade of ‘honors’; at least one course each on poetry, narrative fiction and drama, and at least one course each in ancient or medieval literature and Enlightenment or Modern literature. In general students should take a wide range of courses with a focus on one or two national or language-based literatures.

Language Requirement:

Latin and Italian, as set by Renaissance Studies – one hour of Renaissance Latin prose; one hour of sixteenth-century Italian prose, one of modern Italian scholarship – and two additional languages, at least one of them European.

Oral Examination and related matters:

The joint oral exam will consist of seven 20 minute questions (2 topics in Renaissance literature from a comparative perspective, 3 on non-Renaissance literature, including at least one theoretical or critical question, and two questions on Renaissance topics in non-literary disciplines. Orals should be completed no later than the end of the sixth semester, and a dissertation prospectus completed in September of the fourth year.

Dissertation:

Procedures regarding the dissertation will follow departmental practice, though the final readers will normally include at least one member of the Renaissance Studies Executive Committee.

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The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Going to College

Benjamin B. Bolger has spent his whole life amassing academic degrees. What can we learn from him?

Bolger has spent the last 30-odd years attending top universities. Credit...

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By Joseph Bernstein

• Published June 3, 2024 Updated June 5, 2024

Benjamin B. Bolger has been to Harvard and Stanford and Yale. He has been to Columbia and Dartmouth and Oxford, and Cambridge, Brandeis and Brown. Over all, Bolger has 14 advanced degrees, plus an associate’s and a bachelor’s. Some of Bolger’s degrees took many years to complete, such as a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Others have required rather less commitment: low-residency M.F.A.s from Ashland University and the University of Tampa, for example.

Listen to this article, read by Robert Petkoff

Some produced microscopically specific research, like Bolger’s Harvard dissertation, “Deliberative Democratic Design: Participants’ Perception of Strategy Used for Deliberative Public Participation and the Types of Participant Satisfaction Generated From Deliberative Public Participation in the Design Process.” Others have been more of a grab bag, such as a 2004 master’s from Dartmouth, for which Bolger studied Iranian sociology and the poetry of Robert Frost.

He has degrees in international development, creative nonfiction and education. He has studied “conflict and coexistence” under Mari Fitzduff, the Irish policymaker who mediated during the Troubles, and American architecture under the eminent historian Gwendolyn Wright. He is currently working, remotely, toward a master’s in writing for performance from Cambridge.

Bolger is a broad man, with lank, whitish, chin-length hair and a dignified profile, like a figure from an antique coin. One of his favorite places is Walden Pond — he met his wife there, on one of his early-morning constitutionals — and as he expounds upon learning and nature, it is easy to imagine him back in Thoreau’s time, with all the other polymathic gentlemen, perhaps by lamplight, stroking their old-timey facial hair, considering propositions about a wide range of topics, advancing theories of the life well lived.

And there’s something almost anachronistically earnest, even romantic, about the reason he gives for spending the past 30-odd years pursuing college degrees. “I love learning,” he told me over lunch last year, without even a touch of irony. I had been pestering him for the better part of two days, from every angle I could imagine, to offer some deeper explanation for his life as a perpetual student. Every time I tried, and failed, I felt irredeemably 21st-century, like an extra in a historical production who has forgotten to remove his Apple Watch.

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Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WMST)

Graduate Degree Program College: Arts and Humanities

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies offers an interdisciplinary and integrative program of study leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Students will be expected to: develop a thorough grounding in women, gender, and sexuality studies scholarship; acquire an understanding of gender, race, and sexuality as categories of analysis; analyze and assess theories about the role of gender in systems of hierarchy and its intersection with other categories of difference, such as race, ethnicity, religion, class, sexuality, disability, location, and age; develop competence in feminist, queer, and critical race theories, research methods, and pedagogy, including transnational and global issues; and achieve competence in a selected area of specialization.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

An initial funding offer is provided at the time of admission. Funding offers are for 5 years and typically combine one year of Departmental Fellowship with Graduate Assistantships for the remaining time. Funding is contingent on satisfactory progress towards the degree and completion of benchmarks.

Coordinator of Graduate Studies The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 3121 Susquehanna Hall, University of Maryland 4200 Lehigh Road University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Telephone:  301.405.6880 Email:   [email protected]

Website:    https://wgss.umd.edu/

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

• Statement of Purpose
• Transcript(s)
• TOEFL/IELTS/PTE ( international graduate students )

PROGRAM-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

• Letters of Recommendation (3)
• Writing Sample: 10 pages maximum (not counting the citations)
• Writing Sample Two (optional)
• Description of Research/Work Experience (optional)

For more admissions information or to apply to the program, please visit our  Graduate School website .

APPLICATION DEADLINES

RESOURCES AND LINKS:

Program Website:    https://wgss.umd.edu Application Process:  gradschool.umd.edu/admissions

• Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
• Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Master of Arts (M.A.)

Resources for research in the College Park and Washington D.C. area are unsurpassed. The University's libraries hold around 2,500,000 volumes. In addition to the outstanding holdings of the Library of Congress, the area also offers the specialized resources of the National Archives and Archives II (located on the grounds of the University of Maryland); the Smithsonian Institution; the National Museum of Women in the Arts; and a broad array of public policy organizations and "think-tanks" plus the many research and policy institutes that include gender, race, and sexuality issues as part of their agenda. We are also member institution of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, a unique collaboration of D.C. area colleges and universities that promotes cross-institutional learning.

The University of Maryland Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity offers grant-getting potential and otherwise supports the research endeavors of faculty and graduate students in these fields. Grants funded through the Consortium will provide additional funding for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies graduate students and invaluable research experience. High enrollment demand in the department's undergraduate courses provides yet another opportunity for funding graduate students' programs of study with teaching assistantships. 

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