About Literature at Columbia

Literature and the LAS Core
Major in Poetry / Major in Cultural Studies
Literature Minor
Literature Faculty
Literature Objectives

Literature and General Education
As part of the General Education program, all students are required to take a Humanities/Literature class. Introduction to Literature familiarizes students with the different genres of poetry, fiction, and drama by exploring a diverse selection of multicultural works, and by establishing connections between literature and other areas of the arts and communications.

The English department also offers a wide variety of other literature courses that fulfill the Humanities/Literature requirement, ranging from introductory level courses to seminars in English Authors and American Authors.
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Major in Poetry / Major in Cultural Studies
The English Department offers a major in Poetry. The Literature Program offers courses in literature and specialized genre courses in poetry for students pursuing this degree. The Liberal Education Department offers a major in Cultural Studies in conjunction with the English Department. The Literature Program offers courses in literature and culture for students pursuing this degree.
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Literature Minor
The minor in Literature requires 18 hours of literature courses in the English Department beyond the 3 hours taken for HL general education credit. The 18 hours are comprised of any combination of six literature courses that meet the following two guidelines:

1. A maximum of two courses (6-7 hours) from 1000-level literature offerings.
2. A minimum of one course (3 hours) from 3000- or 4000-level literature offerings.

Within these guidelines, the Literature minor offers a flexible course of study that students can tailor to meet their specific needs and interests. Students from Film and Video, for example, might choose courses such as Literature on Film, Movies and Myth: The Goddess, and Topics in Literature: Spike Lee and August Wilson. Fiction Writing students might select courses such as the English Authors, American Authors, or World Literature sequences complemented by courses on various periods in the American or British Novel. Theater students might be interested in a Literature minor based on classes such as Introduction to Drama, Introduction to Shakespeare, Shakespeare: Tragedies, Modern American Drama, and Topics in Literature: Mamet / Shepard--Script, Stage, and Screen.

Students who wish to minor in literature must have a declared major in an arts and communications area. For further information on these or other literature courses, look at the department's course list or consult the college catalog.
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Literature Faculty
Students may consult with almost any full-time faculty member about literature courses and programs. George Bailey, Sheila Baldwin, Rose Blouin, Terence Brunk, Peter Christensen, Tony Del Valle, Garnett Kilberg Cohen, Renee Hansen, Sarah Odishoo, Karen Osborne, and Tony Trigilio are some of the faculty who regularly teach literature courses.
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