Program Overview

Comparative Literature and Film enables you to broaden your understanding of narratives written on the page and across the silver screen. You study literature from Classical Antiquity to the present day and film from its silent beginnings to 3D CGI blockbusters. Studying literature and film from across the world, you develop an international perspective on the arts.

Comparative Literature transcends national and cultural boundaries offering students a global view of literature. You study texts in English translation, including works by such famous authors as Homer, Ovid, Dante, Goethe, Dostoevsky, Balzac, Flaubert, Proust and Kafka, as well as British classics such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Joyce and Woolf.

You develop a broad international perspective on literary history, literary movements and literary genres, comparing literary themes and figures across different cultural backgrounds. You also explore the impact of other art forms on literary works and vice versa. For example, you also study literary adaptations of films.

Kent is one of the three major universities for film in the UK. You study film theory and history and learn about the language of film (framing, sound, editing, performance, lighting). There are a huge range of modules to choose from covering everything from avant-garde to animation, including documentary film and modules that help you to develop the skills of a film critic.

We have a thriving film culture, with 10-15 films screened on our courses each week, the Gulbenkian Cinema (the regional arts cinema) based on campus and a lively student film society. There are excellent resources to support your studies, including: 8,000 DVDs and videos and individual and group viewing facilities in the library, as well as an extensive collection of books and journals and online resources.

This degree programme enables you to develop a multidisciplinary appreciation of the arts, covering theory, history and practice that crosses disciplines and cultures.