Literary and Cultural Studies, BA

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Students can follow one of two concentrations in fulfilling the major requirements for Literary and Cultural Studies.

Major Computing Requirement:

LCST 302 - Theories of Visual Culture (3)

Major Writing Requirement:

A student who satisfies all requirements for major in Literary and Cultural Studies also satisfies the Major Writing Requirement.

Cultural Studies Concentration

Required Credit hours: 36

(Of these, no more than 7 credit hours can be in courses numbered below 300, including the required course, LCST 201 )

Requirements:

A sequence of four courses totaling 12-13 credits: namely, LCST 201 , LCST 301 , LCST 302 , and either FILM 401 or LCST 401 .
A minimum of 23 additional credits, chosen in consultation with a member of the Literary and Cultural Studies Advisory Committee to form a coherent program of study.

Film Studies Concentration

Required Credit Hours: 36

Of these, no more than 11 credit hours can be in courses numbered below 300, including the required courses, FILM 150W /FILM 250 and FILM 251 ).

Requirements:

Fulfillment of the requirements for the Film minor (19-22 credits). For full details on these requirements, see the entry under Film Studies in this catalog.
Completion of LCST 302 and either FILM 401 or LCST 401 (6-7 credits).
A minimum of 7 additional credits chosen in consultation with a member of the LCST or Film Studies Advisory Committees to form a coherent program of study. These classes may consist entirely of additional elective courses on film but can also include courses in such departments as Anthropology, English, History, and Modern Languages and Literatures that add significantly to the student’s understanding of the cultural and historical contexts in which this twentieth-century art form has been produced.

Additional Information:

For both major concentrations, as well as for the minor, any additional courses taken in Literary and Cultural Studies, such as a special topics course (LCST 351 ) or an additional upper-level seminar (FILM 401 or LCST 401 ), automatically count toward the major.

English majors may include LCST 201 and LCST 301 in the first 36 credits of their major program, but must explicitly alert the Registrar’s Office that they wish these courses to count toward their English major.

Students with the appropriate qualifications can pursue Honors in Literary and Cultural Studies: once their proposal is approved by an advisor and by the Program Director, they will be enrolled during their senior year in LCST 495 and LCST 496 . The Literary and Cultural Studies Program only grants Honors and does not grant differing degrees of Honors (e.g., Honors, High Honors, Highest Honors).

Language Requirements:

Not every cross-cultural and interdisciplinary program of study completed under the rubric of Literary and Cultural Studies will require the advanced knowledge of another language. However, students are strongly urged to take at least one upper-level course in a foreign language, if it is in any way appropriate to their program of study. Knowledge of at least one foreign language not only facilitates the comparative inquiry that is central to Literary and Cultural Studies, it is also a prerequisite of graduate-level study in every literary discipline, including English.