academic-catalog2011.. - LAU Publications - Lebanese American ...

Department of Humanities
The rationale to give a choice of three courses
(9 credits) of minor core requirements is to allow
students to choose where their interests lie,
either in the language per se or in literature or
a mixture of both. The literature and language
courses are those which already exist in the B.A.
English Program and are good representations of
the course offerings. The selection of courses
has been made in order to offer the student a
comprehensive overview of what can be called a
‘miniature B.A. English degree’.
MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE
PROGRAMS
M.A. IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
Comparative Literature is the critical study of
texts in two or more languages. Practitioners most
often describe their work as the interdisciplinary
study of literature, and other cultural productions,
across national, ethnic and linguistic boundaries.
Periods, genres, themes, movements and crosscultural
influences are among the objects of
study. Comparatists draw their methods from the
literary tradition as well as from other fields of the
Humanities and the Sciences.
Graduates of the M.A. Program in Comparative
Literature can pursue several career options:
• Enter a Ph.D. Program in literature or
comparative studies.
• Obtain advanced standing in secondary
school teaching
• Work as literary translators.
• Work as specialists in literature, and
culture for the press, in publishing, in
diplomacy, or in business
MISSION
The Mission of the Graduate Program in
Comparative Literature is to teach, train, and
conduct research in literature and trans-cultural
studies, with special attention to Lebanon and the
Middle East. The Program offers coursework in
English, Arabic, Persian and French, in response
to the students’ needs and capacities. The aim
is to explore the role of culture in a multi-ethnic
globalizing world.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the Graduate Program in
Comparative Literature is to:
1. Offer students linguistic and cultural
training in more than one cultural zone.
2. Offer students a highly individualized
curriculum, through close cooperation with
other disciplines in the humanities, arts,
and social sciences.
3. Allow students to acquire an exceptional
degree of expertise in regional intercultural
relations, and a broadened perspective on
the variety, and complexity, of the Middle
Eastern cultures, combined with advanced
training in critical and poststructuralist
theories.
4. Explore a range of literary, and cultural,
theories, and demonstrate significant
mastery of one or two.
5. Achieve broad intercultural competence in
genre, period, and theme.
6. Receive advanced training in written and
oral communication through working with
experienced researchers.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Graduate students in Comparative Literature will
be able to:
1. Develop a high level of specialization in
methodology, theory, periods, themes
and literary genres that constitute the
framework within which they can pursue
their study and research.
2. Develop the skills to teach, train, and
to conduct research in literature and
transcultural studies, with special attention
to Lebanon and the Middle East in general.
3. Acquire an exceptional degree of expertise
in regional intercultural relations.
4. Obtain advanced standing in secondary
school teaching, work as literary
translators, or work as specialists in
literature and culture for the press, for
international publishers, in diplomacy, and
in international organizations.
5. Acquire the knowledge and the skills which
qualify them to pursue their education in
the field at the Ph.D. level.
ACADEMIC CATALOG [ 2011-2012 ] SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
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