About

The study of literature at UCSC is organized as an interdisciplinary field coordinated through a single Department of Literature, rather than through separate departments of English, modern languages, and classics. Students and faculty adopt comparative and transnational perspectives and may work in more than one linguistic tradition. The department has strong Anglophone, Creative/Critical Writing, Classical, Europeanist, Hispanic, Francophone, Literature of the Americas, and Asia-Pacific faculty clusters.

Three undergraduate concentrations are offered: General Literature, Creative Writing, and Language Literature; students in the Language Literature concentration may choose to focus on French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, or Spanish/Latin American/Latino language and culture.

Areas of interdisciplinary distinction and innovation at the undergraduate and graduate levels include creative/critical writing, postcolonial and ethnic literatures, medieval and early modern literatures, feminist and queer theory, cultural studies, nineteenth-century studies, Mediterranean studies, modernist and avant-garde studies, and literature and film.

The distinctive undergraduate concentration in Creative Writing attracts many students to the campus, while the doctoral program features a Creative/Critical PhD concentration, where students pursue a combined degree in a literary field and creative work.

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 MLA

BLM Resources for Support and Education page compiled by a Literautre undergraduate student 

Contact Information

The Literature Department welcomes your inquiries. You may contact the department in the following ways: