COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND CULTURAL STUDIES
A degree with a future...
A Welcome from the Director
Dear Students, Colleagues, and Future Scholars,
Welcome to the Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies (CLCS) Program at the University of Arkansas. As Director, I am delighted to lead a vibrant intellectual community that has been a hub of interdisciplinary inquiry and global engagement since its founding in 1958.
At CLCS, we believe that literature and culture, from canonical texts to everyday cultural practices, provide powerful ways of understanding the complex forces that shape our world. Through the study of language, representation, identity, authority, and social change, our students engage with questions that transcend national, linguistic, and disciplinary boundaries.
Our program offers rigorous graduate training through both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, preparing students to conduct innovative research and contribute meaningfully to the humanities. Doctoral students may pursue one of five specialized concentrations aligned with their scholarly interests and professional goals:
- Comparative Literature
- Cultural Studies
- Interdisciplinary Hispanic Studies
- Literary Translation
- World Languages and Applied Linguistics
CLCS is built on strong partnerships with the Departments of English, World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and Communication, while drawing intellectual strength from collaborations across Fulbright College. Our affiliated faculty represent a wide range of disciplines, including Anthropology, Art, Classics, History, Philosophy, Sociology, Theatre, and Education, as well as interdisciplinary programs in African and African American Studies, Indigenous Studies, Jewish Studies, Gender Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and Latin American and Latino Studies.
This broad, interdisciplinary foundation helps make our graduates highly competitive in both academic and professional settings. CLCS alumni have gone on to successful careers as scholars, educators, researchers, and leaders in the humanities. Our graduates have secured faculty and research positions at institutions across the United States and around the world.
Whether pursuing a thesis or non-thesis M.A. or one of our doctoral concentrations, students find a supportive environment where close textual analysis, critical theory, and cross-cultural inquiry flourish. We are committed to fostering original scholarship, intellectual curiosity, and engaged teaching, preparing graduates to make meaningful contributions to their fields and to the broader global community.
I am especially proud of the international perspectives our students bring, and the breadth of expertise represented by our faculty. Together, they create a dynamic and welcoming community in Fayetteville, one defined by curiosity, collaboration, and a commitment to understanding cultures across time and space.
I invite you to explore all that CLCS has to offer and encourage you to reach out with any questions. We look forward to welcoming you to our program and supporting you on your academic journey.
Warm regards,
Dr. Kathy Comfort
Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies Program Director & Professor of French
What We do
The Comparative Literature & Cultural Studies (CLCS) program provides advanced level research training in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies for students with previous education in various languages & cultures, national literatures, or literary genres to earn either a Master's or Doctoral degree. Our program prepares students to perform critical analysis, cross-cultural communication, and international understanding so they can become workers able to be adaptable and excel in multicultural and intercultural competence. This preparation allows students to communicate difficult ideas clearly and be at ease working and engaging with people in multiple cultural and linguistic contexts.
As our program considers the relevance of technology moving forward, we incorporate this field to our students’ education by offering classes related to digital humanities. Our curriculum includes courses that reinforce our students’ soft skills so they can integrate cultures, processes, and technology in their research projects. This broader approach is ever more crucial to our times.
Unlike most academic degrees, the Comparative Literature & Cultural Studies program gives the freedom to students to develop their own individually designed schema based on their academic interests, as opposed to offering a definitive course catalog for each concentration. Students are welcomed to pick from courses available all throughout campus to later align with the degree requirements or to complement their development. This does present its own challenge, but you can work with your advisors each semester to pick classes that will benefit your research and prepare you for the comprehensive exams.