If you want to study modes of critical thought that inform and shape theoretical reflection on the arts and society, this concentration is the best fit for you.
The critical thought concentration could be extended with a second major or minor in philosophy, religion, history, sociology, or anthropology.
Course Requirements
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- COLT 320 Introduction to Literary Theory
- COLT 303 Globalization: Culture, Change, Resistance
You should complete these courses in your first few semesters at USC.
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Chose 4 courses from this list:
- COLT 354 Revolutions in Theater
- COLT 357 The Avant-Garde
- COLT 365 Literature and Popular Culture
- COLT 373 Literature and Film
- COLT 379 Nationalism and Postcolonialism in Southeast Asian Cinema
- COLT 395w Urban Crossroads: Budapest
- COLT 415 Queer Cinema, Literature and the Visual Arts
- COLT 451 Opera and Cultural Theory
- COLT 462 Soundtracks of Our Lives
- COLT 470 Literature and Media in Latin America
- COLT 480 Dada and Surrealism
- EALC 255gw Southeast Asian Literature and Film
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Literature Concentration:
- AMST 331gw The Black Atlantic: Narratives of Migration and Travel
- COLT 101gp Masterpieces and Masterminds: Literature and Thought
- COLT 102g On Location: The Place of Literature in Global Cultures
- COLT 250g Cultures of Latin America
- COLT 251g Literature and Thought of the West Since 1800
- COLT 264gp Asian Aesthetic and Literary Traditions
- COLT 311 Epic
- COLT 324 Women in Medieval and Renaissance Europe
- COLT 312 Heroes, Myths and Legends in Literature and the Arts
- COLT 335 Decadence and Modernity
- COLT 345 Realist Fiction
- COLT 346 Fictions of the First Person
- COLT 348 Modernist Fiction
- COLT 360gp Fictions of Africa
- COLT 374gm Women Writers in Europe and America
- COLT 382gw Zen and Daoism in Asian Literature
- COLT 420 The Fantastic
- COLT 426 Utopias
- COLT 437 Arabic Autobiography: Writing and Interpreting the Self
- COLT 445 Europe and the Writing of Others
- COLT 448 Multilingual Encounters
- COLT 472 Los Angeles Crime Fiction
- EALC 454 Bildungsroman in Modern East Asia
- COLT 475 Politics and the Novel
- EALC 460 Love, Self and Gender in Japanese Literature
- COLT 476 Narrative and the Law
- FREN 272gp Medicine, Health and the Body in Literature and Culture
- ITAL 382g Dante
Media Concentration:
- CLAS 370 Leaders and Communities: Classical Models
- COLT 375 Latin American Cultural and Literary Theory
- COLT 377 Gender and Sexuality in Literary Theory
- COLT 381 Psychoanalysis and the Arts
- COLT 385 Literature and Justice
- COLT 391 Literary Criticism from Plato to Postmodernism
- COLT 454 Aesthetic Philosophy and Theory
- COLT 471 Literature, Theory, History
- COLT 474 Desire, Literature, Technology
- COLT 476 Narrative and the Law
- COLT 478 Family in Theory and Literature
- COLT 486 Deconstructive Thought
- COLT 487 Critical Image
- FREN 393 Theories and Theorists
Major Requirement Worksheet
Use this worksheet to track your progress in the major.
How to Declare a Major?
Declaring a major is easy. First, schedule a meeting with the COLT Director of Undergraduate Studies or the Student Services Advisor. Together you will discuss your particular interests, decide which major track fits them best, and outline a probable sequence of courses to complete the requirements. You will then fill out the necessary form for changing or adding a major. Once this form has been processed, your new major will be official.
