Welcome to the Literature Department
The study of literature at UCSC is organized as an interdisciplinary field coordinated through a single Department of Literature, including modern and ancient literatures in the original language and in translation, literary theory, and creative writing. This structure fosters innovative and comparative approaches to literature among both faculty and students.
Statement of Values
We, the members of the Literature Department at UCSC, are committed to the values of mutual respect, equality, and integrity among ourselves and with students. We seek to maintain an inclusive, intellectually robust and culturally diverse community and to foster equity based on sexuality, race, gender, ethnicity, economic status, citizenship, belief and ability.
We pledge to hold ourselves responsible for promoting and upholding these values in classrooms, meetings, and all our professional and social interactions. Further, we pledge to make every effort to end racism at UC and in our communities; to care for the vulnerable among us; and to help make our university and our world places to flourish.
Antiracist Resources for Education:
Antiracist teaching resources, compiled by the Modern Language Association (MLA)
BLM Resources for Support and Education, compiled by a Literature undergraduate student
Faculty
Our faculty’s research spans literatures, languages, and cultures from the ancient to the contemporary, engaging creative and critical approaches across media, genres, and geographies. With strengths in comparative, transnational, and interdisciplinary work, the department fosters scholarship that bridges traditions, challenges boundaries, and sparks new conversations.
Literature & Creative Writing
Interested in Literature? Watch a short introduction to our undergraduate program!
News
Shaping the future of artificial intelligence
UC Santa Cruz experts are working to guide AI in ethical, sustainable, and socially beneficial directions
Uncovering the troubling legacy of racism in fairy tales
In Specters of the Marvelous: Race And The Development Of The European Fairy Tale, Literature Professor Kimberly Lau reveals how “innocent” stories often encoded virulent prejudice.
Using speculative fiction to fill the silences of Colonial history
In his acclaimed new book, First Contact, Associate Professor of Literature Zac Zimmer draws on the power of speculative fiction to revisit, question and upend stories and tropes about early contact between European explorers and Indigenous populations.
Public Events
Visit the UCSC events calendar for a list of all upcoming events
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