Comparative Literature
Katya Hokanson, Department Head
357 PLC
1415 Kincaid St. University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5242
541-346-3947
complit@uoregon.edu
The University of Oregon offers major programs in comparative literature leading to the bachelor of arts (BA), bachelor of sciences (BS), and doctor of philosophy (PhD) degrees. In addition, comparative literature offers a compact minor program.
Interdisciplinary at its core, comparative literary study begins with the insistence that any artifact—whether from the realm of literature, cinema, the visual arts, or graphic and digital platforms—requires active attention and probing engagement. While the national literatures designate their subjects by language or cultural area, comparative literature provides for a pluralistic approach that bridges divides between languages and cultures, not to mention media.
Closely allied with critical theory, philosophy, and media studies, comparative literature is defined by an open-ended spirit of inquiry rather than a specific methodology or a preestablished canon of materials. Students of comparative literature develop a sense of their subject matter as they discover the meaning and method of their approach.
Oregon’s graduate program, established in 1962, has an international reputation. It is the home of the founding journal in the field, Comparative Literature, and is closely involved with the leading national organization, the American Comparative Literature Association.
The department maintains an active schedule of lecture series, seminars, and workshops. In addition, comparative literature is the home of the Nomad Mentorship Program and Nomad, the journal of undergraduate criticism. Library holdings, which are strong in all areas of research in literature and other media, include an outstanding collection of journals and are augmented by an extensive interlibrary resources.
Faculty
Aycan Akçmete, assistant professor (performance studies, contemporary theater in the UK and Turkey, intercultural theater, theater criticism). BA, 2007, MA, 2010, Hacettepe University; PhD, 2023, University of Texas at Austin.(2024) See also: Theater Arts
Michael Allan, associate professor (Arabic and Francophone literature, postcolonial studies, cinema). BA, 2000, Brown; PhD, 2008, California, Berkeley. (2008)
Monique Balbuena, associate professor (Jewish Studies, Sephardic Languages, Ladino, Poetry, French and Francophone Literatures, Latin American Studies). BA, 1988, MA, 1993, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; PhD, 2003, California, Berkeley. (2004)
Steven T. Brown, professor (Japanese film, comparative film, popular culture). BA, 1987, Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; MA, 1988, PhD, 1993, Stanford. (1993)
Katherine "Katy" Brundan, senior instructor (18th- and 19th-century English and European literature, novel, media and popular culture). BA 1992, MA, 1996, Cambridge; PhD, 2006, Oregon (2013)
Kenneth S. Calhoon, professor (18th- and 19th-century German and European literature and thought, psychoanalysis, cinema). BA, 1979, Louisville; MA, 1981, PhD, 1984, California, Irvine. (1987)
Roy Chan, associate professor. See East Asian Languages and Literatures.
Katya E. Hokanson, professor (Russian literature, travel literature, cultural studies). BA, 1984, Williams; MA, 1988, PhD, 1994, Stanford. (1995)
Sangita Gopal, associate professor (cinema studies). BA, 1990, Calcutta; MA, 1995, PhD, 2000, Rochester. (2004)
Dawn Marlan, senior lecturer (history of the novel, gender studies, cinema). BA, 1989, Bennington; MA, 1992, PhD, 2000, Chicago. (2004)
Leah Middlebrook, associate professor (16th-century Spanish and French lyric, court culture, theories of the subject). BA, 1989, Columbia; MA, 1991, PhD, 1998, California, Berkeley. (2002)
Lanie Millar, associate professor (20th- and 21st-century Caribbean and Latin American literature, Luso-African literature, global south studies). BA, 2002, Baylor; MA, 2003, Middlebury College; PhD, 2011, Texas, Austin. (2013)
Jenifer Presto, associate professor (Russian literature, poetry, modernism). AB, 1985, Smith; MA, 1988, Middlebury; MA, 1989, PhD, 1996, Wisconsin, Madison. (2003)
Tze-Yin Teo, associate professor (comparative, global, and transnational modernism; translation studies; literary theory). BA, 2009, National University of Singapore; PhD, 2015, Emory. (2015)
The date in parentheses at the end of each entry is the first year on the University of Oregon faculty.
Participating
Stacy Alaimo, English
P. Lowell Bowditch, classics
Anita Chari, political science
Joyce Cheng, history of art and architecture
James R. Crosswhite, English
Dianne M. Dugaw, English
Cecilia Enjuto Rangel, Romance languages
Pedro García-Caro, Romance languages
Miguel Gualdrón Ramírez, Philosophy
D. Gantt Gurley, German and Scandinavian
Lamia Karim, anthropology
Martin Klebes, German and Scandinavian
Colin Koopman, Philosophy
Jeffrey S. Librett, German and Scandinavian
Massimo Lollini, Romance languages
Fabienne Moore, Romance languages
Dorothee Ostmeier, German and Scandinavian
Paul W. Peppis, English
F. Regina Psaki, Romance languages
Forest Pyle, English
Judith Raiskin, women’s and gender studies
Sergio Rigoletto, Romance languages
Daniel Rosenberg, honors college
Gordon M. Sayre, English
Steven Shankman, English
Carol Silverman, anthropology
Beata Stawarska, philosophy
Michael Stern, German and Scandinavian
Analisa Taylor, Romance languages
Alejandro Vallega, philosophy
Daniela Vallega-Neu, philosophy
Yugen Wang, East Asian languages and literatures
Elizabeth A. Wheeler, English
Daniel N. Wojcik, English