Department of Comparative Literature

Comparative Literature is the study of the similarities and differences between literature written in different places and times. In Comparative Literature we do not divide books according to where they were written or what language they were written in, as you would if you were studying English or French or Classics. Instead we divide them in other ways, such as by what their themes are, or by genre, or what historical period they were written in.

The study of comparative literature at King’s embraces nine languages and five continents, and spans over 2,500 years. Alongside 20th century and contemporary literature, the programme reaches back to the roots of the western and near-eastern literary traditions in classical antiquity and the Bible. Other strengths include literature in English, French, German, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese, and the literatures of North America, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin America, and French- and Portuguese-speaking Africa. Options on film and the visual arts complement the study of literature.