Literary Studies

[whit92]

I read about a few grad programs that offered Literary studies instead of Literature.  Is there a difference between these majors?  Is a degree in one of these majors better than the other?

[ComeBackZinc]

People in lit can give you more accurate information than I can, but I think they're pretty much always interchangeable.

Edited October 7, 2013 by ComeBackZinc

[practical cat]

Yeah, they're pretty interchangeable. You may be able to read a bit into what the department values based on their name -- "literary studies" reads more cultural studies and interdisciplinary to me -- but that's not always a safe move. The department websites (or DGS) will tell you more than any of us could in thinking about it in the abstract.

[darkmatter3]

Literary studies and literature are exactly the same thing. The only difference is that the first is more informal. So an English Professor would refer to his discipline as literary studies in conversation but he would be employed by an English Department. However, there is no difference. Trust me.