“ I was surprised to discover how closely the graduate seminars resembled a CCS class.” (CCS student at Oxford University)
Overview. Literature spans human history, occurs in all languages, and occurs in a range of genres. Students are spurred to explore and specialize in one or more of these aspects. Majors begin immediately in advanced seminars without taking introductory courses. Each student works with an academic advisor to shape a concentrated, productive education. Progress is monitored via a mid-residency review in the second year. In their final year, students collect and edit their work for the senior portfolio, a compilation of the best writing each has produced in one or more genres.
Individual talents develop in a curriculum flexible enough to accommodate the breadth of literary studies: foreign language and translation; creative writing of various kinds; theory; literature of under-recognized or marginalized groups; major traditions; interdisciplinary work involving, for example, media technology and global studies. Two CCS journals, Spectrum and Into the Teeth of the Wind, provide practical experience in editing and publication. Students often study abroad via Education Abroad for up to a year. Many complete a minor in another field, and some a double major. Graduates have become playwrights, literary critics, novelists, professors, diplomats, journalists, attorneys, poets, historians, scientists, editors, civil servants, painters, musicians, entrepreneurs, and publishers.
Application. CCS requires a deep interest in literature and a genuine talent for original work. Each candidate submits an essay or essays about literature, along with fiction, poems, narratives, or other writing samples that demonstrate talent and give promise of something important to come. Faculty members evaluate this evidence; if they respond favorably they recommend admission.
Requirements. DEPTH: Majors usually complete two advanced literature seminars a quarter.(1) They also take one class each in Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton.(2) They typically take a writing course each quarter. They take six quarters of the literature symposium. This concentration is complemented by the electives students select each quarter from the wealth of offerings across campus. BREADTH: To assure exposure to disparate fields, each student completes a minimum of eight courses unrelated to the major and unrelated to each other. At least four classes are taken outside the College of Creative Studies. All UC students fulfill the American History and Institutions /Ethnic Studies requirement.
LITERATURE EXAMPLES AND SUGGESTIONS
Below is a sketch of approaches to the major. Your plan of study will take an individual shape, tailored to your career goals and negotiated with the guidance of your academic advisor.
First Year. REQUIRED Take 4-6 advanced literature seminars including “core” classes. Take 2-3 creative writing courses. Take 1-3 quarters of literature symposium. Choose electives from fields that catch your attention. SUGGESTED: Investigate the Education Abroad Program (EAP) for the future, along with UCDC and the University’s Sacramento Program. Consider working on Spectrum or Into the Teeth of the Wind. Study a new or familiar foreign language. Each year, explore possible Summer Sessions classes.
Second Year. REQUIRED Take 5-6 core classes; 2-3 writing courses; and 1-3 literature symposia. Choose electives, and/or breadth courses. Your Second-Year Review occurs at this time. SUGGESTED: Consider a minor; UCSB offers over 30, from Anthropology to Women’s Studies. If appropriate, apply to EAP for next year. Reflect on career goals—look up graduate programs. Do local detective work about grants and internships.
Third Year. REQUIRED Take 5-6 core seminars; 2-3 writing classes; 1-3 literature symposia; and appropriate minor or elective classes. [By now you may be specializing in an area of literature.] SUGGESTED: How are you doing on breadth classes, including American History/Ethnic Studies? Hone career goals: check the requirements for programs and professions that interest you. Attend EAP? Consider an undergraduate project (creative or research). Go to a conference. Begin evaluating the writing you are producing.
Fourth Year. REQUIRED Take 5-6 core seminars; 1-3 writing classes; 0-3 literature symposia; and minor, elective, or breadth classes. Compile, edit, and submit your Senior Portfolio. Fulfill other graduation requirements. SUGGESTED: Complete preparation for graduate or professional study.
To view the writing and literature courses available in CCS, which are not listed in the UCSB catalogue, please visit our website (www.ccs.ucsb.edu/courses). Go to the current courses, and look at this quarter’s offerings in Literature. Then select the previous quarter button to review earlier course offerings in this field.
For further information, please contact Prof. Robyn Bell
1. All CCS literature classes are seminars. In the College of Letters and Science, many excellent programs offer advanced literature courses: An upper-division L&S literature course will count toward the CCS literature major when the L&S class involves substantial reading, writing, and discussion.
2. Students fluent in reading languages other than English may, with the advisor’s consent, make appropriate substitutions, providing the reading is done in the original—for example, Don Quixote in Spanish, or Dante in Italian, may substitute for Milton.
ADVICE
UC has enormous resources. Use them. Consult the UCSB General Catalogue, for information about the “universe” in this university. Always read the upcoming-courses pamphlet to see “what is out there.”
Strongly consider a minor, which typically involves 6-8 classes as specified by the department. If you learn a new language and add a minor in it, that involves additional coursework. (Nine-week intensive language courses are offered during summer.) Literature majors sometimes attend graduate school in their minor.
The breadth requirement of 8 unrelated classes may be fulfilled variously: One way to assure a range of intellectual experience is to take 2 sciences, 2 arts, 2 humanities, and 2 social sciences.
It’s possible to take independent study classes and tutorials. Watch for research opportunities, grants, conferences, and internships.
In consultation with your advisor, you may choose up to half your core classes from advanced literature offerings in L & S. You must receive at least a B in all L & S literature courses.
Writing classes also are offered in Drama, Studio Art, the English Department, and elsewhere. Upper division literature classes occur in translation in French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Latin, German, and other languages. Literary theory courses also are offered outside CCS in several cognate departments.
UCSB houses one-of-a-kind programs, such as Book Arts in CCS, as well as newly emerging areas, like Global Studies, and renowned departments with a profound range, such as Religious Studies. Among other programs, Chicana/o Studies, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, and Women’s Studies provide a wealth of opportunities. Davidson Library’s Special Collections contain much material for original literary research.
Take advantage of CCS’s Literature Symposium series. Attend special talks and discussions by visitors: Pulitzer Prize winners Jane Smiley and N. Scott Momaday, Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe, poet Kay Ryan, investigative journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, playwright Eve Ensler, essayist and fiction writer Anne LaMott, and novelist Michael Chabon are among those who have visited CCS Literature.
