The Literature Section's mission is to maintain a level of excellence and innovation consistent with the best universities while remaining responsive to MIT's distinctive intellectual environment. The curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to literary texts as well as theoretical, generic, and thematic subjects that range across geographical and historical boundaries.
The Literature Section accommodates students with a wide variety of interests and diverse career choices. The major provides a solid grounding in the discipline but remains flexible enough to allow students to explore the particular domains that most interest them. Students graduating from the MIT Literature program have in recent years been admitted into the best doctoral programs in the country and abroad. For those not pursuing literature as a career, the program nonetheless develops transferable skills in writing, comprehension, and analysis relevant to a variety of different professional paths—from journalism, law, and medical school to work in the gourmet food industry or computer game design.
Depending on the depth of one's engagement, a student may major, minor, or concentrate in Literature. Regardless of the individual choice, our courses will introduce you to the pleasures of reading and interpretation, expose you to different ways of thinking about the world, and lead to a competence in writing and communication that will remain with you the rest of your life.
A supplement to this catalog is available before each semester, either online (http://lit.mit.edu/,) or from Literature Headquarters, Room 14N-407. It offers detailed descriptions of all subjects being taught that term and includes specific information about subject content and required texts.
The Literature curriculum is arranged in four graduated categories:
The Literature Section also offers some advanced subjects in a foreign language (21L.616, 21L.638, and 21L.640) for students with adequate preparation. If appropriate, they may count toward the Literature major and minor requirements after consultation with the major/minor advisor.
In addition, the Literature Section often offers 6-unit special subjects for credit during IAP. Students may also choose to take special subjects (21L.S92–21L.S97) and independent study or research supervised by a faculty member (21L.900–21L.901) during the fall and spring terms.
Concentrations in Literature are available in particular genres (e.g., poetry, drama, fiction) and in historical periods (e.g., ancient studies, 19th-century literature, modern and contemporary literature), as well as in media and film studies, world literatures and cultures, popular culture, minority and ethnic studies, literary theory, and a range of national literatures.
The program in Literature leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Literature is equivalent to the curricula in English (or literary studies) of the major liberal arts universities. The Literature curriculum is notable also for its inclusion, along with traditional literary themes and texts, of materials drawn from film and media, popular culture, and minority and ethnic cultures.
Majors are required to take a minimum of 10 subjects, three of which must be seminars and no more than three of which may be introductory subjects. Students develop an appropriate course of study in consultation with a faculty advisor; majors choose from one of two areas in organizing four of their restricted electives (three for joint majors): historical periods or thematic complexes.
The minor aims to lay a foundation for advanced study and to enhance a student's appreciation of major narrative, poetic, and dramatic texts in relation to the cultures that produced them.
The Minor in Literature consists of six subjects arranged into three levels of study as follows:
| Tier I | Introductory Level At least one and no more than two subjects from 21L.000–21L.044 |
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| Tier II | Intermediate Level Two or three subjects from 21L.420–21L.522; Note: In most cases, two 6-unit Samplings subjects may be combined to substitute for an intermediate level subject. |
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| Tier III | Seminar Level At least two subjects from 21L.701–21L.715 |
At least two subjects must focus primarily on material from before 1900.
Joint degree programs are offered in Literature in combination with a field in engineering or science (21E, 21S). See the joint degree programs listed under Humanities.
Subjects in Literature are described in the online MIT Subject Listing & Schedule, http://student.mit.edu/catalog/index.cgi. Further information on subjects and programs may be obtained from Literature Headquarters, Room 14N-407, 617-253-3581, lit@mit.edu.
James Buzard, PhD
Professor of Literature
Section Head
Peter S. Donaldson, PhD
Ford Foundation Professor in the Humanities
Mary C. Fuller, PhD
Professor of Literature
Associate Chair of the Faculty
Diana Henderson, PhD
Professor of Literature
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Dean for Curriculum and Faculty Support
John Hildebidle, PhD
Professor of Literature
(On leave)
Alvin Charles Kibel, PhD
Professor of Literature
Ruth Perry, PhD
Ann Friedlaender Professor in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Shankar Raman, PhD
Professor of Literature
Stephen James Tapscott, PhD
Professor of Literature
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
David Thorburn, PhD
Professor of Literature
Sandy Alexandre, PhD
Associate Professor of Literature
Arthur W. Bahr, PhD
Associate Professor of Literature
Noel B. Jackson, PhD
Homer A. Burnell Career Development Associate Professor of Literature
Margery Resnick, PhD
Associate Professor of Literature
Eugenie A. Brinkema, PhD
Assistant Professor of Contemporary Literature and Media
(On leave)
Stephanie Frampton, PhD
Assistant Professor of Literature
Wyn Kelley, PhD
Howard Eiland, PhD
Ina Lipkowitz, PhD
Albert Ramsdell Gurney, Jr., MFA
Professor of Literature, Emeritus
Louis Kampf, BA
Professor of English, Emeritus
Irene Tayler, PhD
Professor of Literature, Emerita