Bachelor of Arts in Literature 

Bachelor of Arts in Literature
Degree Codes: Program- AB Plan- AB-LIT

 

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN LITERATURE PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE
De La Salle University

The study of Literature, one of the pillars of the Humanities, sharpens critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills. It enhances the ability to think out of the box and analyze data from multiple perspectives to arrive at innovative solutions.

Graduates of this program should be able to:

1. Analyze and interpret a variety of texts across disciplines to offer insights and perspectives on the human condition.
2. Produce critical and creative projects that communicate insights and perspectives on real world problems.
3. Generate platforms for engagement and dissemination of knowledge in aid of creative and practical solutions.

 

A literature degree prepares students for any career requiring a strong liberal arts background, creative and critical thinking, and communicative competence in writing.  Graduates will pursue careers in publishing, mass media, advertising, public relations, foreign service, domestic tourism, teaching, Law, NGO work, research, professional work in the arts, or any other fields requiring skills that deal imaginatively and critically with language and cultures.  

A literature degree prepares students for any career requiring a strong liberal arts background, creative and critical thinking, and communicative competence in writing.  Graduates will pursue careers in publishing, mass media, advertising, public relations, foreign service, domestic tourism, teaching, NGO work, research, professional work in the arts, or any other fields requiring skills that deal imaginatively and critically with language and cultures.  Others will go on to pursue graduate studies leading to either a master’s degree or a doctorate.  A literature degree is also an adequate background for the study and practice of law since logical thinking, creative imagination, interpretative skills, and facility in exact communication are important tools in this profession.

Since its inception, the Literature Program has produced graduates who have made and are still making significant contributions to Philippine arts and letters.

 

PROGRAM TRACKS

Students can choose between three tracks:

1. AB Literature, Major in Literary and Cultural Studies
2. AB Literature, Major in Literature Across the Professions
3. AB Literature, Major in Creative Writing

Students who choose Literary and Cultural Studies Track are trained to:

1. Examine various literary and cultural texts across historical periods and geographic and linguistic boundaries to embrace and affirm diversity;
2. Produce critical texts that contribute to literary and cultural knowledge towards the formation of national identity in transnational context.

Students who opt the Literature Across the Professions Track will be able to:

1. Demonstrate critical and communication skills and competencies to foster innovation and cultivate intellectual life across different industries;
2. Apply critical and creative analysis in multidisciplinary and multiplatform environments to propose creative and practical solutions to real world problems.

Students who select the Creative Writing Track will develop skills in:

1. Examining various texts across genres and traditions to formulate their individual poetics that engages with and innovates existing cultural practices;
2. Writing and disseminating creative texts that contribute to the formation of national literary identity and artistic heritage.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The AB Literature  Program has a total of 81 units that may be broken down as follows:

Core Courses	24	units
Concentration Courses	24	units
Culminating Courses	15	units
Major Electives	12	units
Language Courses	6	units
TOTAL	81	units

CORE COURSES

AB Literature, Major in Literary and Cultural Studies	AB Literature, Major in Literature Across the Professions	AB Literature, Major in Creative Writing	Units
LITSTUD: Introduction to Literature and Literary Studies This writing course familiarizes the students with the fundamentals of the scholarly discipline of literary studies, specifically its history and practice.			3.0
LITTHEO: Introduction to Literary Theory This course introduces students to theory and criticism through a survey of selected works of key thinkers of literary theory and criticism.			3.0
LITCULT: Introduction to Cultural Theory A survey of theories and methodologies in the interdisciplinary study of culture, the course examines how cultural practices are codified, disseminated, interpreted, and appropriated as texts across a range of human endeavors.			3.0
LITCREW: Introduction to Creative Writing This creative writing course provides students a venue to develop creativity and fluency in different genres as well as critical reading of representative authors from the nation, the region and the world.			3.0
LITPOCO: Introduction to the Postcolonial Tradition A study of the foundational literary texts from the decolonizing world, the class introduces the student to the politics, motifs, and aesthetics of postcolonial writing.			3.0
LITPROF: Introduction to Literature & the Professions This is a service learning course that introduces the student to the range of theoretical and practical issues in academic and professional settings of careers related to Humanities, Literature and Arts disciplines.			3.0
LITITRA: Introduction to Translation An introduction to the art and practice of literary translation, as well as the history of translation theory.			3.0
LITRESE: Literary Research This is a capstone course that introduces the students to various research methods in literary and cultural studies, creative writing and literature across the professions.			3.0
Total			24

CONCENTRATION COURSES

AB Literature, Major in Literary and Cultural Studies	AB Literature, Major in Literature Across the Professions	AB Literature, Major in Creative Writing	Units
LITPREG: Philippine Literature: Region and Nation	LITAHUM: Literature and the Humanities	LITGENT: Genre: Techniques	3.0
LITPTHE: Philippine Literature Theory and Criticism	LITASCI: Literature and the Sciences	LITWOR1: Workshop 1	3.0
LITAFRO: Literature of Africa	LITASOC: Literature and the Social Sciences	LITWOR2: Workshop 2	3.0
LITASI1: Literature of East Asia	LITACUL: Literature and Cultural Studies	LITGCPO: Genre, Concept and Poetics	3.0
LITASI2: Literature of Southeast Asia	LITASI2: Literature of Southeast Asia	LITEDIT: Editing	3.0
LITEURO: Literature of Europe	LITACRW: Literature and Creative Writing	LITMEDI: Writing for Media for Literature Majors	3.0
LITAMER: Literature of the Americas	LITRHET: Literature and Rhetoric	LITWORM: World Masterpieces	3.0
LITTRAN: Literary Translation	LITTRAN: Literary Translation	LITPHIM: Philippine Masterpieces	3.0
TOTAL			24

MAJOR ELECTIVES

Depending on their chosen track, the student elect four courses in any of topics on  genre, creative writing, period, continental and comparative literature, Philippine literature, critical theory, and literature across various disciplines. Examples of previously offered Literature Major Elective courses are:

Philippine Cultural History (3 units)

Survey of Philippine Arts (3 units)

Critical Debates in Cultural Studies (3 units)

Literature and Diaspora (3 units)

Critical Writing (3 units)

Affect Theory (3 units)

Race, Region and Ethnicity in Philippine Cultures (3 units)

Mythology and Folklore  (3 units)

Philippine American Literature (3 units)

Philippine Literature in English (3 units)

Philippine Epics (3 units)

Philippine Theater (3 units)

Philippine Novel (3 units)

Philippine Fiction (3 units)

Philippine Poetry (3 units)

Comparative Literature (3 units)

Woman in Literature (3 units)

Man in Literature (3 units)

Gay and Lesbian Literature (3 units)

Shakespeare (3 units)

Children’s Literature (3 units)

Fantasy in Fiction (3 units)

Science Fiction (3 units)

Detective Fiction (3 units)

Horror Fiction (3 units)

Popular Literature (3 units)

Future Fiction Writing (3 units)

Speculative Fiction (3 units)

Detective Fiction Writing (3 units)

Writing Fiction for Children (3 units)

Writing Travel Narratives (3 units)

Writing Metafiction (3 units)

Writing the Marvelous Real (3 units)

Writing and Speaking the Word (3 units)

Gender and Writing (3 units)

Dreams and Writing (3 untis)

Virtual Space and Writing (3 units)

Writing and the Scientific Mind (3 units)

The Healing Arts and Writing (3 units)

Writing and the Spirit (3 units)

Writing and the Body (3 units)

Writing the Sports (3 units)

Writing and the Para-Normal (3 units)

Writing and the Law (3 units)

Music and Writing (3 units)

Writing and Peace (3 units)

Writing and Witnessing (3 units)

Writing the Visual-Verbal Image (3 units)

Writing and the Poetics of Space (3 units)

Writing and Ecology (3 units)

Para-Literary Careers (3 units)

Philippine Pop Culture (3 units)

Literature, Religion and Culture (3 units)

Literature and Nationalism in Southeast Asia (3 units)

Literature and Technoculture (3 units)

Literature and Film (3 units)

Seminars in Cultural Studies (3 units)

Language and Power  (3 units)

Space and Power in the Philippines (3 units)

Philippine Culture and Society (3 units)

Politics and Arts in the Philippines (3 units)

Theatre for Transformation (3 units)

Representations of the Environment (3 units)

Philippine Oral Narratives/Orality and Literacy in the Philippines (3 units)

Nation and Narration (3 units)

Ethnographic Literature (3 units)

Pinoy Food Culture (3 units)

Beauty and Power (3 units)

Colonialism and Post-coloniality in Literatures (3 units)

Marxism and Literature (3 units)

Philippine Musical Culture (3 units)

Unthinking Eurocentrism (3 units)

Globalization and Its Impact on Culture (3 units)

Cosmopolitanism (3 units)

 

LANGUAGE COURSES

AB Literature, Major in Literary and Cultural Studies	AB Literature, Major in Literature Across the Professions	AB Literature, Major in Creative Writing	Units
SPANONE: Spanish 1			3.0
SPANTWO: Spanish 2			3.0
Total			6

CULMINATING COURSES

AB Literature, Major in Literary and Cultural Studies	AB Literature, Major in Literature Across the Professions	AB Literature, Major in Creative Writing	Units
THS1LIT: Literature Thesis 1			3.0
THS2LIT: Literature Thesis 2			6.0
PRC1LIT: Practicum			6.0
Total			15

Thesis for Literature Majors:

• Thesis 1 (3.0): Students are required to write and defend their proposals for literary and cultural scholarship, project/action research, creative writing project.
• Thesis 2 (6.0): Students are required to write and defend their full thesis, journal article, project/action research, collection of creative works with critical introduction, etc.

Practicum for Literature Majors:

AB Literature students are required to undergo 200 hours of internship either:

• On-campus: Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center, De La Salle University Publishing House, The Museum, Culture and Arts Office, and as teaching or research assistant of faculty members of Department of Literature; or
• Off-campus: Cultural institutions, Publishing Houses, National Dailies, Advertising Agencies, Non-profit Groups, etc. (i.e. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rappler, Globe, Anvil Publishing House, Inc., Ballet Philippines, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Instituto Cervantes, etc.)

GLOBAL ENRICHMENT

During the gap term, students are encouraged to go on various short-term programs for international exposure and experience:

• Two-week International Camp/ Literary and Cultural Immersion with partner universities abroad for the AB Literature, Major in Literary and Cultural Studies students.
• Two-week International Camp/Advocacy Campaigns and Cultural Immersion with a partner university or non-profit organization abroad for the AB Literature, Major in Literature Across the Professions students
• Two-week International Camp: Creative Writing Workshop with a partner university abroad for the AB Literature, Major in Creative Writing students.

TOTAL: 81 UNITS