Comparative Literary Studies (Graduate Diploma)

The Diploma is administered by the Department of English and Comparative Literature.  It offers a program in Literature and Literary Studies, that is both multi-cultural and interdisciplinary, for students from Egypt and abroad.  There is a demand—both intellectual and vocational—in our intertwined world to understand how different cultures and linguistic traditions represent themselves and imagine their world.  The Program is designed to familiarize the students with the comparative approach to literature and the interdisciplinary nature of literary studies while highlighting how comparative literary studies contribute to new directions in professional and academic developments.  It brings the tools and insights of literary and cultural criticism to bear on contemporary concerns from human rights to gender issues, particularly as influenced by, and in, the “global south.”  The program requires students to take eighteen credit hours of courses and seminars.  The Diploma can be completed in two semesters by full-time students, but the Program can accommodate part-time students.  Should the Diploma student in good standing decide during or after completion of the requirements to work towards an MA degree, the student may apply to transfer to the MA degree but must then meet the requirements of the MA program.

Admission

Applicants seeking admission to the Graduate Diploma in Comparative Literary Studies must have completed an undergraduate degree in any field.  They are required to meet the graduate admission standards of AUC and meet the English language requirements of the Department of English and Comparative Literature.  Information concerning these can be found in the AUC catalog and the Office of Graduate Admission.

Curriculum

Students take a total of six courses and sit for an examination in a language of their choice other than English.  Each diploma student is assigned a faculty advisor who will recommend courses and seminars, taking in consideration the vocational and intellectual interest of the student.  Students will have a choice of four graduate courses in ECLT and two graduate courses in specified Departments/Programs of HUSS.

• 1 ECLT course in Period/Genre/Theme/Author.  3 cr.
• 1 ECLT course in Literary Criticism/Hermeneutics/Philosophical Dimension of Literature.  3 cr.
• 2 ECLT courses in Selected Topics in Comparative Literature.  6 cr.
• 2 Humanities/Social Sciences courses relevant to comparative and interdisciplinary studies, approved by the student advisor and by the instructor of the course, from the following fields:

    Arabic Literature (either in Arabic or in translation)
    Gender and Women’s Studies
    Forced Migration and Refugee Studies
    International Human Rights Law
    Sociology/Anthropology