Comparative & World Literature
Founded in 1967, the Program in Comparative and World Literature at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign has been at the forefront of interdisciplinary teaching and research in the humanities, offering courses that work across different national languages and literary traditions, as well as those that combine the study of literature with other disciplines, including film and visual culture, science and medicine, economics and law. Our program was one of the first to offer and emphasize non-Western and cross-cultural perspectives, and World Literature – from Asia and Africa, to Europe and the Americas – is an area where we continue to excel today.
Recent News
Prof. Harriet Murav appointed Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies
Please join me in congratulating Professor Harriet Murav on her new appointment as the...
Prof. Lilya Kaganovsky appointed Richard and Margaret Romano Professorial Scholar
Professor Lilya Kaganovsky has been appointed as a Richard and Margaret Romano Professorial Scholar...
Profs. Hilger and Murison awarded $100,000 for "The Art of Medicine: A Public Square on Health and Medicine for the Illinois System"
Prof. Mehta awarded $150,000 from Presidential Initiative to Celebrate the Impact of the Arts and Humanities
Prof. Rini Mehta has been awarded $150,000.00 in support of her project, “Global Film...
Upcoming Events
William Hart-Davidson | “Creativity is Not Zero Sum, or How Future Perfect Thinking Might Make a More Humane Academy”
Levis Faculty Center, Room 422
REEEC Noontime Scholars Lecture: Alexander Markovic, "Performing Power: Romani Music and Affective Labor in Postsocialist Vranje, Serbia"
101 International Studies Building (910 S. Fifth St., Champaign, IL 61820)
Hell Holes Or Saviors: Transnational Visions of Southeast Asian Trans Surgery
Asian American Cultural Center (1210 W. Nevada St., Urbana)
Human Rights Advocacy in West Africa: Is there a better way of advocating human rights issues?
101 ISB; 910 S. Fifth St.; Champaign
Inside Scoop with Poet Claudia Rankine
Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center (1212 W. Nevada St., Urbana)
Featured Courses
CWL 114
Exploration of the cultural and historical roots of globalization and the development of global consciousness from...
CWL 241
Comparative study of major works of literature, philosophy and culture in the Western tradition from the ancient...
CWL 395
Presentation and discussion of subjects relating literature to other disciplines; topic varies. May be repeated to a...
