Where Can Comparative Literature Take You Next?

Comparative Literature exposes students to the cultural literacy and critical thinking needed to be citizens of a globalized and ever-changing world.

As a major in the liberal arts, it hones the flexibility, reading, research, and communication skills that are needed across a wide set of different jobs and even for jobs that haven't been invented yet. We hope that our majors turn out, above all, to be independent thinkers.

Some examples of where our alumni have ended up include: graduate school, law school; court interpretation; the United Nations; federal, state and local government; teaching at the elementary, high school, or college level; administrative, managerial, social service, or non-profit work nationally or internationally; editorial jobs in magazine and book publishing; TV and film industry; gaming, jobs in tourism; and other global communications fields.

Hear from Our Undergraduate Alumni

Alumni

Jiantong Liao

Class of 2023 - Comparative Literature

The Comparative Literature Department at UC Irvine has been a home for me. Its curriculum not only grounded me in foundational texts but also inspired the composition of my undergraduate thesis. In seminars, I engaged deeply with histories, philosophy, and literature, while grappling with urgent societal issues. Beyond the classroom, the department encouraged me to participate in events and conferences that expanded my academic horizons. The professors are caring, guiding me along my academic path and providing resources tailored to my interests. Their genuine care was evident in their constant availability and the value they placed on my pursuits and well-being.

Now, as a PhD candidate in German philosophy and literature at Johns Hopkins University, I continue to explore my interests in modern technology and its societal impact. Yet, the faculty at UC Irvine remain in touch and continue to generously support my projects. I feel fortunate to have been part of such a remarkable department.

Alumni

Audrey Garcia

Class of 2021 - Comparative Literature & Philosophy

As an undergraduate in the Comparative Literature department, I researched comics and graphic novels, specifically the cosmopolitan nature of French-language manga and nationalist imagery in Captain America comics after receiving UCI's UROP and SURP grants. After graduating, I worked as a substitute teacher and private tutor in Southern California. I then went on a Fulbright Fellowship to Brussels, Belgium where I continued my research in comics by exploring the fantasy of the West and heavy presence of cowboys in Franco-Belgian comics magazines as a tool of self-exploration and national imagery. I presented my research at the US Embassy and with ACME, a Belgian comics research group, at the invitation of my host institution, the University of Ghent. After the conclusion of my Fulbright research, I moved to Osaka, Japan to teach English to junior high school students with the JET (Japanese Exchange and Teaching) program while preparing for my graduate studies. Now, I am a first year PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of English & Comparative Literature, where I currently focus in visual and cultural studies. Studying Comparative Literature as an undergraduate aptly prepared me for various independent research projects because the variety of insightful and engaging courses within the department inherently creates a multilingual and multicultural study that expands beyond a singular literature. Supportive members of faculty and the emphasis on bringing various mediums in conversation to each other built the foundation of my studies that have allowed me to research, teach, and travel all over the world.

Alumni

Madison MacKenzie

Class of 2020 - Comparative Literature

I found my home in academia through the Comparative Literature program at UCI. As a student that had felt constricted by the expectations of more traditional majors, I felt free to experiment and traverse disciplinary lines under Comparative Literature. In scholarship, nothing excites me more than weaving together cultural studies, critical theory, literary and film studies, and the courses and faculty under Comparative Literature at UCI encouraged and inspired this kind of interdisciplinary research. After graduating from UCI in 2020, I went on to receive a masters in Comparative Literature from the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands, then a year of university lecturing in The Hague, and most recently a year of classroom English teaching in Tokyo. Whilst in Japan, I have capitalized on the Japanese language skills I acquired as part of the cultural studies emphasis of my undergraduate degree. I hope to pursue a career in academia in the future, and my background in Comparative Literature has gifted me with endless possibilities for success in the humanities.

Alumni Careers

Connie (Wang) Griffith - Class of 2006

"During my time in the Comparative Literature department, I was taught how to think deeply and engage critically with ideas, and through the mentorship of many excellent professors developed the research and writing skills I needed to express and articulate my own. These skills have proved invaluable to me in my career in game development, where I am constantly analyzing ideas and experiences in order to be able to better craft my own for players. I worked for eight years at Blizzard and am currently working as a senior game designer at Sucker Punch Productions (Sony Interactive Entertainment) in Seattle, Washington."

Read more about Connie's career in video game design here.
Kelly Novahom - Class of 2016

"The Comparative Literature department offers smaller classes and faculty that care deeply about your academic growth. Being able to think critically and write well are two invaluable tools in life. As a Comparative Literature major, I worked on establishing a magazine (The Exhibit), engaged in self-directed research (through UROP-SURP), and participated in conferences (UROP Symposium and Undergraduate Critical Theory Conference). These skills were essential to me landing freelance writing jobs, jobs in the legal field, and higher education administrative jobs."

Contact Comparative Literature

243 Humanities Instructional Building
Irvine, CA 92697-2651

Phone: (949) 824-6406

Email: complit@uci.edu

Hear from Our Undergraduate Alumni

Alumni Careers

Contact Comparative Literature

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