Requirements for a Major in Literature

In consultation with the Head of Studies, students will develop an individualised and intellectually rigorous programme. All Literature majors are required to complete 54 Unit of Literature courses, which include a capstone project worth 10 Unit. The structure is as follows:

Required:

• Proseminar on critical methods and theory (5 Unit)
• At least two Literature courses at intermediate or 3000-level (10 Unit)
• At least two Literature courses at the advanced or 4000-level (10 Unit)
• Capstone project (10 Unit, includes 5 Unit capstone seminar)
• Remaining Literature electives are open to student choice (19 Unit)

Additional information:

• Students should plan to take the proseminar as early as possible: ideally, in second semester of Year 2, or in Year 3. The proseminar is generally offered once per academic year in alternating semesters: Semester 2 (2017-18), Semester 1 (2018-19), Semester 2 (2019-20). We expect students will schedule their study abroad plans accordingly.
• In addition to the proseminar, we strongly recommend that students take additional upper-level courses that emphasise theoretical methods to enhance their critical skills in literary and cultural analysis in preparation for the capstone.
• While building a specialisation within the major, we recommend that students take advantage of our diverse faculty to work cross-culturally.
• A maximum of two advanced language courses listed with Literature may count towards the major requirements. Advanced language courses not listed with Literature may be counted with the approval of the Head of Studies.
• Literature courses conducted in other languages during study abroad or at the National University of Singapore may also be counted with the approval of the Head of Studies.

After the broad scope of the Common Curriculum, we encourage students to develop their own intellectual passions in the Literature major.  The diverse range of the Literature faculty’s research expertise, from antiquity through the Renaissance to the post-colonial and the post-human, offers a uniquely rich opportunity to explore and eventually craft an individualized academic trajectory.  The independent capstone project undertaken in the senior year will showcase each student’s specialised research interests.

Beyond the required proseminar course, which introduces students to a range of key methodologies, students are free to refine their own intellectual directions at Yale-NUS and during study abroad in close consultation with the Head of Studies and other mentors among literature faculty.  As an exceptionally diverse literature community, however, our faculty expects students to read and think comparatively beyond a limited literary tradition or period, and to take advantage of our unique range of course offerings. We also advise our students to cultivate the theoretical foundations they need to refine their critical approaches for the capstone.  Literature majors may wish to pursue language study to enhance their scholarly objectives; to this end, students may count one advanced language courses for credit toward the major with approval from the Head of Studies.

All courses must be taken for a letter grade, and at least 20 Unit must be taken at Yale-NUS.

STUDY ABROAD

Courses offered abroad must first be approved by the Centre of International & Professional Experience (CIPE) and Registry for credit transfer, and then receive approval from the Head of Study to count toward the major.

CAPSTONE

Students majoring in Literature will attend a weekly Capstone Writing Seminar in the first semester of their final year and complete a year-long project of directed reading and research under the supervision of a faculty advisor, leading to an undergraduate thesis of approximately fifty pages.

Requirements for a Minor in Literature

To complete the minor, a student completes 25 Unit in electives approved for the Literature major, one of which must be the pro-seminar in literary studies. A maximum of one advanced language course listed with the Literature major may count towards the minor requirements. Courses taken for a different major (or independent minor) cannot be counted toward the minor, and all courses must have a letter grade.