The Literature and the Arts major’s curriculum involves understanding how to research the historical, social, political, and theoretical contexts underpinning what is read, produced, created, performed, circulated, and consumed—and how. The curriculum pursues these questions through several specialised courses that explore the global history of genres and literary and artistic forms; the significance of canon formation and its critiques; questions of translation; and the interface(s) between Literature and the Arts, more broadly construed. It also engages with the role of technology in the rapid evolution of literary and artistic forms, including new technologies and media in the digital arts and humanities—a fast-growing area of interwoven learning spanning creative and critical thinking.

The Literature and the Arts major’s curriculum aims to hone an understanding of the contexts underpinning what students read, experience, and explore, and to provide them with the skills to communicate their analyses through well-articulated, imaginative, and cogent responses. Our programme is innovative in requiring creative writing and critical performance, allowing us to create powerful expressive pathways and links between literary analysis and artistic practice, rather than maintaining silos between the two. The major nurtures an intense engagement with learning how to read, write, and respond across different academic and creative genres.

Majors in Literature and the Arts will graduate with a keen sense of the significance of context, history, and ethics, which we believe constitute the backbone of any successful vocation. They will meet the world as interested, discerning, empathetic, helpful, and entrepreneurial individuals—dynamic, adaptive, and resilient in their personal and professional lives—ready to make an impact in a variety of emerging and established domains that require the ability to engage with and respond creatively to the challenges and opportunities of inhabiting an interconnected world.