CompLit/Language Department Questions

[Multicolormagic]

Hi there. I'm currently deciding between a single European language department and CompLit for Ph.D programs and have a few questions I've been turning over in my head incessantly. Suggestions on any or all of these is much appreciated!

1. I am near-native fluent in two foreign languages, a European and an Asian one (and have intermediate level proficiency in a third, random obscure language that I don't plan on doing anything with). I majored in the European language, and the Asian language I studied intensively for nearly 2.5 years while living in that country. I have also read a lot of its literature, both in translation and the original. Some schools I am interested in for CompLit say as an admissions requirement that applicants must be proficient in "two literatures"--would I be able to claim proficiency in this literature? Even if I could, would I be seriously disadvantaged in the admissions process because I have no formal literature training in this language? How poorly would I compare to, say, someone who double-majored in two languages? 

2. Should I not bother applying to a CompLit department at a school that doesn't offer one of the languages I am fluent in and wish to conduct studies in? It's a top school that has other unique program features that I am well suited for and am interested in. (I've thought about simply emailing the department to ask, but I wonder if this is just a no-brainer I'm expected to already know.)

3. There is no overlap, historically or currently, between the two foreign languages I am fluent in. I'm interested in applying one particular theory to each, and comparing in that way. Is this undesirable in the field of CompLit, as the two are not actually connected in and of themselves, or possible?

4. Considering the other side of things: If I just applied to the European language department, how could I frame my interest in the Asian language? There is the option of omitting any mention of it in my SoP (it shows up on my resume, anyway) and focusing only on my undergraduate career as a major in that European language; but while I was a very strong student in that department, I'm competing against thousands of very strong students identical to me. I think the Asian language makes me a much more unique and interesting candidate. But I don't know how to discuss it in a way that is relevant to my future as an academic solely in the European language department. Personally, I would really like to do some project comparing or drawing from both the European and the Asian languages; I have a fairly detailed idea of what this project would be. But I don't see how to talk about this in my SoP for a single language department without having adcomm members say to themselves, "This person should be applying to a CompLit department; we don't do this in our department." 

5. Lastly, just for curiosity's sake: I've heard people say that CompLit as a department is much harder to get into than single-language departments. Is there truth to this?

Thanks for your help!

[Glasperlenspieler]

7 hours ago, Multicolormagic said:

1. I am near-native fluent in two foreign languages, a European and an Asian one (and have intermediate level proficiency in a third, random obscure language that I don't plan on doing anything with). I majored in the European language, and the Asian language I studied intensively for nearly 2.5 years while living in that country. I have also read a lot of its literature, both in translation and the original. Some schools I am interested in for CompLit say as an admissions requirement that applicants must be proficient in "two literatures"--would I be able to claim proficiency in this literature? Even if I could, would I be seriously disadvantaged in the admissions process because I have no formal literature training in this language? How poorly would I compare to, say, someone who double-majored in two languages? 

The formal training in the language shouldn't matter as long as you have someway to verify your proficiency (i.e. a proficiency exam or a letter or recommendation that vouches for your abilities). What a program is going to want in terms of a content background is going to vary a lot. More traditional comp lit programs may want you to be well versed in multiple national traditions. Others aren't going to care as long as you can propose an interesting project and demonstrate your abilities to accomplish it.

7 hours ago, Multicolormagic said:

2. Should I not bother applying to a CompLit department at a school that doesn't offer one of the languages I am fluent in and wish to conduct studies in? It's a top school that has other unique program features that I am well suited for and am interested in. (I've thought about simply emailing the department to ask, but I wonder if this is just a no-brainer I'm expected to already know.)

Ask. This is certainly not a dumb question to ask and it shouldn't count against you. Furthermore, it could save you money in application fees is a program makes it clear that they can't support this sort of project.

7 hours ago, Multicolormagic said:

3. There is no overlap, historically or currently, between the two foreign languages I am fluent in. I'm interested in applying one particular theory to each, and comparing in that way. Is this undesirable in the field of CompLit, as the two are not actually connected in and of themselves, or possible?

While this certainly sounds interesting, this doesn't really sound like the sort of approach that could turn into a dissertation as it's explained in the abstract (though once more details are added in, maybe it's a different story. Is there really no overlap in their cultural production?). I think showing diverse interests is good and showing that there are multiple academic trajectories you could pursue. But my impression is that for success in getting admitted to a comparative literature program, you need to propose a project that is genuinely comparative in some way. That being said, my understanding is also that most programs will emphasize that, for the sake of the job market, you need to establish yourself in one national literature and then you can work comparatively from there (people don't generally get hired in comparative literature programs, so you need to be able to position yourself to get hired in a national literature department).

7 hours ago, Multicolormagic said:

4. Considering the other side of things: If I just applied to the European language department, how could I frame my interest in the Asian language? There is the option of omitting any mention of it in my SoP (it shows up on my resume, anyway) and focusing only on my undergraduate career as a major in that European language; but while I was a very strong student in that department, I'm competing against thousands of very strong students identical to me. I think the Asian language makes me a much more unique and interesting candidate. But I don't know how to discuss it in a way that is relevant to my future as an academic solely in the European language department. Personally, I would really like to do some project comparing or drawing from both the European and the Asian languages; I have a fairly detailed idea of what this project would be. But I don't see how to talk about this in my SoP for a single language department without having adcomm members say to themselves, "This person should be applying to a CompLit department; we don't do this in our department." 

I think this relates to question 3. If you really are proposing one methodology/theoretical perspective to study the literature of one language and one methodology/theoretical perspective to student the literature of the other language, then it will be hard to make those interests compelling to a national language department. If, on the other hand, you can show how your knowledge of Asian literature informs your reading of the European literature in new and interesting ways, then that's the sort of thing you could sell to the right national language department. 

8 hours ago, Multicolormagic said:

5. Lastly, just for curiosity's sake: I've heard people say that CompLit as a department is much harder to get into than single-language departments. Is there truth to this?

Yes. Anecdotally, I got into 2/3 of the national literature departments I applied to and 0/2 of the comparative literature departments I applied to. Statistics seem to back up my experience. Some graduate schools post their admissions statistics online (such as Yale and Duke). Duke's Romance Studies program seems to admit between 17% and 30% of their applicants depending on the year. The Literature department ranges from 4% to 8%. At Yale, the French department admits 10-19% of applicants. CompLit admits 7-10%.

Sources:

https://gradschool.duke.edu/about/program-statistics

https://public.tableau.com/profile/ecf5839#!/vizhome/YaleGraduateSchoolofArtsandSciencesStatisticsJun2019/Admissions

 

[Multicolormagic]

I'm sorry for replying so late to this, but I want to say thank you so much for the very thoughtful reply and helpful information! It really helped clarify my thinking. I decided to apply to national language departments for the European language and accepted that that means I can't do further studies with the Asian language. I managed in my SoP to connect my experiences in Asia with my plans for studying the European language, though, so there's that. Thanks again. 

[lilting]

On 10/28/2019 at 1:00 PM, Glasperlenspieler said:

I think showing diverse interests is good and showing that there are multiple academic trajectories you could pursue. But my impression is that for success in getting admitted to a comparative literature program, you need to propose a project that is genuinely comparative in some way.

@Glasperlenspieler I wonder if you wouldn't mind elaborating a bit on what a good project proposal / statement of purpose for complit would look like? I studied multiple languages and literatures in my BA, but there wasn't really a complit option. Does a comparative project necessarily have to involve more than one language? Couldn't it be within a single language but across different mediums and authors? Or two languages / literary traditions for a specific time period and theme? Any and all guidance would be much appreciated  

[Glasperlenspieler]

21 hours ago, lilting said:

@Glasperlenspieler I wonder if you wouldn't mind elaborating a bit on what a good project proposal / statement of purpose for complit would look like? I studied multiple languages and literatures in my BA, but there wasn't really a complit option. Does a comparative project necessarily have to involve more than one language? Couldn't it be within a single language but across different mediums and authors? Or two languages / literary traditions for a specific time period and theme? Any and all guidance would be much appreciated  

I'm not in a comparative literature department, and I didn't get into any when I applied, so I'm probably not the best person to answer this question. Furthermore I think the culture between comparative literature departments differs dramatically from institution to institution. This is true of all disciplines, but is perhaps particularly pertinent in this case.

With those caveats, my perception is that comparative literature departments have become the home for scholars working primarily in national/linguistic traditions that don't otherwise have their own department on campus or whose work or for scholars working on projects that would not be possible within the confines of a national/linguistic tradition. So, to take an example that's been done many times already, if you want to write about modernist conceptions of time in Proust, Joyce, and Mann, you've got to articulate a research question that necessitates working with authors in different national traditions. It's not enough to say that you are interested in both Flaubert and Dickens, you have to provide a research agenda that justifies working across national boundaries in this way. Part of the reason I think this, is that there is a lot of comparative work that gets done within national literature departments. In my department, for instance, there is sizeable contingent of students who include comparative engagements with works/authors from other linguistic traditions, even if their project as a whole can be identified as belonging to the discourse surrounding their primary tradition. 

But then again, out of curiosity, I took a look at recent comparative literature dissertations from Princeton (which seems to do a better than average job of placing their grads), and I have to say that more than a few of them struck me as the sorts of projects that could have easily been done in national language/literature departments. So ymmv.

The best thing you can probably do is look at recent dissertations from the programs you're interested in and see what sorts of projects get done in that department. 

[lilting]

On 9/19/2020 at 5:10 PM, Glasperlenspieler said:

But then again, out of curiosity, I took a look at recent comparative literature dissertations from Princeton (which seems to do a better than average job of placing their grads), and I have to say that more than a few of them struck me as the sorts of projects that could have easily been done in national language/literature departments. So ymmv.

yeah I've noticed that too! It does strike me as slightly peculiar...