Comparative literature is a global and interdisciplinary study of literature both in original languages and in translation, across a variety of media (including film, television, theatre, visual arts and much more, in addition to writing). The Department of Comparative Literature at UC Davis offers students a dynamic setting in which to study world literature and its cultural contexts across its virtually countless historical variations. Undergraduate and graduate courses typically include literature from at least two language traditions and are taught in English. In addition to taking courses in comparative literature, undergraduates study literature in the foreign language of their choice, while graduate students usually prepare for research in at least two literary or linguistic traditions.

Members of our comparative literature faculty teach and conduct research in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tamil, Yiddish and other languages. Included in the department's ranks are internationally recognized scholars in areas from English and German Romanticism, the European Middle Ages, Renaissance studies, Arabic and Persian literature, Tamil and other South Asian traditions, Chinese and Japanese literature and cinema and critical theory.