The Comparative Studies major requires a total of 37 semester hours and the identification of a Core Area of Study and a set of 5 courses related to that area. Remaining courses fulfill electives and the research course. All Comparative Studies students will work with their advisers to develop a strong, coherent, individualized program.
Please note that all of the courses listed below are not offered every year. As such, it is important to maintain communication with your Area of Focus advisor, as well as our CS academic advisor Emily Carpenter, as you plan your coursework.
The major in Comparative Studies requires the following:
- CS 2099 The Question of Comparative Studies
- CS 2360 Introduction to Comparative Cultural Studies
- CS 3990 Approaches to Comparative Studies
- CS 4990 Senior Seminar in Comparative Studies
At least one course from among the Core Area of Focus or Electives must be a Comparative Studies research course at the 4000 level and must be taken before Comparative Studies 4990.
Each student will develop an individualized Core Area of Focus in consultation with their advisor. It will consist of a set of five courses (at least four of which must be Comparative Studies or Religious Studies courses, and no more than two at the 2000 level) that is centered on a particular set of discourses, objects, cultural practices, or problems. See the list of available classes below.
- CS 2101(H) Literature and Society
- CS 2104(H) Literature, Science and Technology
- CS 2105 Literature and Ethnicity
- CS 2220 Intro to South Asian Studies
- CS 2264 Intro to Popular Culture Studies
- CS 2281 American Icons
- CS 2301 Intro to World Literature
- CS 2321 Intro to Asian American Studies
- CS 2322 Intro to Latino Studies (Intro to Latinx Studies)
- CS 2323 Intro to American Indian Studies
- CS 2420 Intro to American Food Cultures
- CS 2340 Intro to Cultures of Science and Technology
- CS 2341 Technology, Science, and Society
- CS 2350(H) Intro to Folklore
- CS 2864(H) Modernity and Postmodernity
- CS 3302(E) Translating Literatures & Cultures
- CS 3360 Intro to Globalization and Culture
- CS 3603 Love and Literature
- CS 3606 The Quest in World Literature
- CS 3607 Film and Literature
- CS 3608 Representations of the Experience of War
- CS 3645(H) Cultures of Medicine
- CS 3646 Cultures, Natures, Technologies
- CS 3680 Religion and Law in Comparative Perspective
- CS 3686 Cultural Studies of American Popular Musics
- CS 3689 Transnationalism and Culture in the Americas
- CS 3808 Utopia and Dystopia
- CS 3903(E) World Literature: Theory and Practice
- CS 4420 Cultural Food Systems and Sustainability
- CS 4597.01 Global Studies of Science and Technology
- CS 4597.02 Global Culture
- CS 4597.03 Global Folklore
- CS 4658 (3658) Folklore of the Americas
- CS 4661 (3661) The City and Culture
- CS 4803 Studies in Asian American Literature and Culture
- CS 4804 Studies in Latino Literature and Culture
- CS 4822 Native American Identity
- CS 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class and Sexuality
- CS 5240 Race and Public Policy in the US
- RS 3210 Jewish Mystical Tradition
- RS 3671 Religions of India
- RS 3672 Native American Religions
- RS 3673 The Buddhist Tradition
- RS 3674 African Religions
- RS 3678 Religion and American Culture
- RS 3679 Religion and Popular Culture
- RS 3680 Religion and Law in Comparative Perspective
- RS 3872H Varieties of Christianity
- RS 3877 Myth and Ritual
- RS 3972 Theory and Method in the Study of Religion
- RS 4871 Religion and American Politics
- RS 4873 Contemporary Religious Movements in Global Context
- RS 4875 Gender, Sexuality, and Religion
Electives should complement the Core Area of Focus while adding additional knowledge bases or theoretical/methodological approaches. Students may choose from Comparative Studies courses that are not already being used to fulfill other requirements, as well as classes offered in other departments. See list of available classes below for examples. (Only one elective may be at the 2000 level.)
Courses from outside Comparative Studies that can fulfill the Electives requirement (1 course from this listing may count toward the Core Area of Focus Requirement):
- 2201 Major Readings in African American and African Studies
- 2218 Black Urban Experience
- 2270 Introduction to Black Popular Culture
- 2281 Intro to African American Literature
- 2288 Bebop to Doowop to Hiphop: The Rhythm and Blues Tradition
- 3083 Civil Rights and Black Power Movements
- 3230 Black Women: Culture and Politics
- 3310 Global Perspectives on the African Diaspora
- 3376 Arts and Cultures of Africa and the Diaspora
- 3440 Theorizing Race
- 4535 Topics in Black Masculinity
- 4565 Topics in African Diaspora Studies
- 4571 Black Visual Culture and Popular Media
- 4582 Special Topics in African-American Literature
- 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class and Sexuality
- 2202(H) An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
- 2241 Middle East Close-Up: People, Cultures, Societies
- 3334 Zombies: Anthropology of the Undead
- 3419 Latin American Cultures and Migration in Global Perspective
- 3525 (4525) History of Anthropological Theory
- 4405 China in Chinese Film
- 4406 China Pop: Contemporary Popular Culture and Media in Greater China
- 3446 Asian American Film
- 2264 Intro to Popular Culture Studies
- 2270(H) Intro to Folklore
- 2277 Intro to Disability Studies
- 4569 Digital Media and English Studies
- 4577.01 Folklore I: Groups and Communities
- 4577.02 Folklore II: Genres Form, Meaning, and Use
- 4586 Studies in American Indian Literature and Culture
- 4587 Studies in Asian American Literature and Culture
- 4588 Studies in Latino Literature and Culture
- 4595 Literature and Law
- 2801 French Cinema
- 3201 French Literary and Visual Texts of the Francophone World
- 3402 Introduction to Francophone Cultures
- 3701 Introduction to French Cinema
- 3600 Space, Power, and Political Geography
- 3701 The Making of the Modern World
- 2251 German Literature and Popular Culture
- 3252.01 Holocaust in German Literature and Film
- 3351 Democracy, Fascism, and German Culture
- 2002(H) Making America Modern
- 2070 Intro to Native American History
- 2075 Intro to US Latino/a History
- 2079 Asian American History
- 2080 African American History to 1877
- 2081 African American History from 1877
- 2100 Intro the Spanish Atlantic World
- 2260 (3276) European Thought and Culture, 19th Cent.
- 2261 (3277) European Thought and Culture, 20th Cent.
- 2270 Love in the Modern World
- 2455 Jews in American Film
- 2475 History of the Holocaust
- 2610(H) Intro to Women and Gender in the US
- 2630 History of Modern Sexualities
- 2750(E) Natives and Newcomers: Immigration and Migration in US History
- 2800 Intro to the Discipline of History
- 3017 The Sixties
- 3020 19th Century American Ideas
- 3021 20th Century American Ideas
- 3040 The American City
- 3070 Native American History from European Contact to Removal, 1560-1820
- 3071 Native American History from Removal to the Present
- 3075 Mexican American Chicano/a History
- 3080 Slavery in the US
- 3082 Black Americans during the Progressive Era
- 3083 Civil Rights and Black Power Movements
- 3085 African American History through Contemporary Film
- 2901 Introduction to World Cinema
- 3605(H) History of Photography
- 3901 World Cinema Today
- 4640 Contemporary Art since 1945
- 4800 Cultural Diplomacy
- 2053 Intro to Italian Cinema
- 2055 Mafia Movies
- 3222 Modern Italian Media
- 4225 Italian Identities
- 4400 Japanese Film and Visual Media
- 2244 Films of the Middle East
- 2798.01 Experiencing Everyday Life in South Asia
- 2400 Political and Social Philosophy
- 2450 Philosophical Problems in the Arts
- 2470H Philosophy of Film
- 3420 Philosophical Perspectives on Issues of Gender
- 3460.01 Modern Russian Experience through Film
- 3350 Norse Mythology and Medieval Culture
- 4250 Scandinavian Folklore of the Supernatural
- 2340 Sex and Love in Modern Society
- 2380 (3380) Racial and Ethnic Relations in America
- 3210 (2300) Sociology of Culture and Popular Culture
- 2330 Reinventing America
- 2332 Intro to Andean and Amazonian Cultures
- 2389 Spanish in the US: Language as Social Action
- 2520 Latin American Literature (in Translation): Fictions and Realities
- 4555(E) Indigenous, Colonial, & National Literatures and Cultures of Spanish America
- 4557.10 Intro to Latino Literature in the US
- 4557.20 Intro to Other Latino Literature in the US
- 4560(H) Introduction to Spanish American Culture
- 4565H Latin American Indigenous Literatures and Cultures
- 4580 Latin American Film
- 4581 Spanish Film
- 2341H Moving Image Art
- 3731 History of Performance I
- 2215 Reading Women Writers
- 2230 Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Popular Culture
- 2282 Intro to Queer Studies
- 2296H Topics in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
- 2300 Approaches to Feminist Inquiry
- 2305 A World of Genders and Sexualities
- 2317 Gender at the Movies, Hollywood and Beyond
- 2340 Si Se Puede: Latinx Gender Studies
- 2550 History of Feminist Thought
- 3320 Topics in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
- 3370 Sexualities and Citizenship
- 3505 Transnational Feminisms
- 4375 Women and Visual Culture
- 4401 Asian American Women: Race, Sex, and Representation
- 4402 Black Women: Representations, Politics, and Power
- 4404 Regulating Bodies: Global Sexual Economies
- 4405 Race and Sexuality
- 4510 American Women’s Movements
- 4520 Women of Color and Social Activism
- 4524 Women and Work
- 4527.01 Studies in Gender and Cinema
- 4560 Crossing Borders with Mexican-American and Chicana Feminisma
- 4597 Gender and Democracy in the Contemporary World
- 4845 Gender, Sexuality, and Science
- 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality
- 3399 Holocaust in Yiddish and Ashkenazic Literature and Film
Current majors may schedule an advising appointment with Comparative Studies Academic Advisor Emily Carpenter by visiting go.osu.edu/oncourse.
If you have trouble scheduling via OnCourse, please make an appointment via email (carpenter.438@osu.edu) or by calling 614-292-8485.