Languages for Comparative Literature

[semicolon2013]

Hi Everyone,

I am a junior and am planning to apply to PhD programs in Comp Lit either this coming fall or fall 2013. I am interested in anglophone and francophone lit (though really, my primary interest is theory, especially post-structuralism and trauma theory), and I know French, so that is not a problem.

The problem is other languages. I speak Russian but can only read it at a very basic level, and I am not sure if/how it will be relevant to my studies anyway. Most Comp Lit programs seem to require 2 languages at time of admission and I know most candidates speak more languages than that. I am very worried about this aspect of my application.

So, my question is: What additional language would be better to learn - German or Spanish? German would be good for theory, but Spanish could be more relevant for post-colonial studies and/or trauma studies which are my main interests right now AND I think it will be easier to learn since I speak French. I only have a year at the most to become proficient in another language, which I realize is in itself a bit unrealistic.

Alternatively, should I just change my plans and apply to English programs? It is not exactly what I want but I would be able to fulfill the language requirements more easily.

[nwgrad]

In my experience, they are looking for proficiency in a second language (which in your case would be French). For the third language, as long as you've begun to learn it and let them know that you plan on continue studying it, you should be ok. You don't have to have complete proficiency of two foreign languages when you apply, just proficiency in one, and "reading knowledge" in the other. As for learning either German or Spanish, I can't advise you because they seem like they'd be equally useful. Also, don't sell yourself short on Russian, you might discover you're interested in that language too.

[Origin=Goal]

Learn what interests you more and where you think you'll write more inspired scholarship/read better literature.

Hope I'm not breaking any news here, but in terms of careers, academia (especially the humanities) is never very safe, practical, or stable. Your work should not be tailored towards some ideal of professional utility, or else, 90% of the time, you'll end up working on something that either you don't enjoy or that you don't excel in and just barely able to scrape by in all other aspects of life.

I was in a similar spot to yours a couple years ago, between German and another Romance language for relatively similar reasons. German was much, much more theoretically useful and at the time I was excited for a challenge; but ultimately, given my limited time, I chose the language which would benefit my research more directly (and was also the easier to learn). I don't necessarily feel cheated for needing translations of Hegel, Marx, Freud, et al, and the ad comms will admit you based foremost on your field of interest, rather then methodological/theoretical loyalties (unless its a trendier, theory-centric program).

Edited April 11, 2012 by Origin=Goal

[vosemdesyatvosem]

You'd be surprised how bad a lot of professors and grad students are at Russian. Especially the ones who claim to speak/read/write it. You might be better than you think.

But that doesn't matter if Russian literature and theory doesn't interest you. If you're really just clawing at straws for a language, you could always make up some bullshit about Bakhtin.

But really, German seems like a good third language. It's the natural second choice after French for theory and I imagine there's got to be some major stuff relating to trauma that you could work with. Moreover, it's not going to be significantly harder than Spanish--remember that English is closely related to German.

[pelevinfan]

You'd be surprised how bad a lot of professors and grad students are at Russian. Especially the ones who claim to speak/read/write it. You might be better than you think.

But that doesn't matter if Russian literature and theory doesn't interest you. If you're really just clawing at straws for a language, you could always make up some bullshit about Bakhtin.

But really, German seems like a good third language. It's the natural second choice after French for theory and I imagine there's got to be some major stuff relating to trauma that you could work with. Moreover, it's not going to be significantly harder than Spanish--remember that English is closely related to German.

Just chiming in to say TRUTH about people who claim to speak/read/write Russian. I was insecure about my level (proficient, not yet fluent), and then I heard some grad students (and professors!) speak - ahem, try to speak - it. Now I feel great :-)