AB LITERATURE PROGRAM
The Art of Insight
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:
- Analyze and interpret a variety of texts across disciplines to offer insights and perspectives on the human condition.
- Produce critical and creative projects that communicate insights and perspectives on real-world problems.
- Generate platforms for engagement and dissemination of knowledge in aid of creative and practical solutions.
Career Prospects
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.
Program Tracks
Students can choose between three tracks:
- AB Literature, Major in Literary and Cultural Studies
- AB Literature, Major in Literature Across the Professions
- AB Literature, Major in Creative Writing
Students who choose Literary and Cultural Studies are trained to:
- Examine various literary and cultural texts across historical periods and geographic and linguistic boundaries to embrace and affirm diversity;
- Produce critical texts that contribute to literary and cultural knowledge towards the formation of national identity in a transnational context.
Students who opt for the Literature Across the Professions will be able to:
- Demonstrate critical and communication skills and competencies to foster innovation and cultivate intellectual life across different industries;
- 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 will develop skills in:
- Examining various texts across genres and traditions to formulate their individual poetics that engages with and innovates existing cultural practices;
- Writing and disseminating creative texts that contribute to the formation of national literary identity and artistic heritage.
Program Overview
The AB Literature program offers an interdisciplinary and transformative learning experience that builds lifelong foundational skills:
|
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 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 Asian region, and the world. |
3.0 |
||
|
LITPOCO: Introduction to the Postcolonial Tradition A study of the foundational literary texts from a decolonizing world, the course 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 |
||
|
LITITRN: Introduction to Translation An introduction to the art and practice of 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 A critical survey and study of literature in the Philippines representative texts of the different historical and cultural periods. |
LITAHUM: Literature and the Humanities This course explores through close reading the ways in which works of literature from a variety of traditions develop cultural, rhetorical and aesthetic literacy in readers. |
LITGENT: Genre: Techniques Introduction to the techniques and traditions relevant to the student’s chosen genre (poetry, fiction, drama, or nonfiction). |
3.0 |
|
LITPTHE: Philippine Literature Theory and Criticism This course introduces the students to the theory and practices of literary and cultural theory and criticism from key Filipino scholars at home and abroad. |
LITASCI: Literature and the Sciences Students learn to relate literature and the exact sciences and the humanities, and understand the boundaries and challenges posed by bridging the “two cultures” as may be gleaned from interdisciplinary creative productions and critical reflections. |
LITWOR1: Workshop 1 This is a writing course where students read critically and assess the quality of their creative work as well as their peers’. The workshop is an application of critical reading and literary editing skills meant to help students in the re-vision of their creative work by honing their writing techniques and style. |
3.0 |
|
LITAFME: Literatures of Africa and the Middle East A survey of the literatures and societies of the Middle East and Africa to provide knowledge on the ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of the region. |
LITASOC: Literature and the Social Sciences Students learn to relate literature and the exact sciences and the humanities, and understand the boundaries and challenges posed by bridging the “two cultures” as may be gleaned from interdisciplinary creative productions and critical reflections. texts/productions. |
LITWOR1: Workshop 1 This second workshop course is designed to strengthen the students’ creative and critical eye and to deepen their understanding of their poetics and practice of the literary arts. By the end of this workshop, students present their proposed writing project for their creative writing thesis. |
3.0 |
|
LITPTHE: Philippine Literature Theory and Criticism This course introduces the students to literary and cultural theories and practices, underscoring the critical works of Filipino scholars at home and abroad. |
LITASCI: Literature and the Sciences Students learn to relate literature and the exact sciences and the humanities, and understand the boundaries and challenges posed by bridging the “two cultures” as may be gleaned from interdisciplinary creative productions and critical reflections. |
LITWOR1: Workshop 1 This course is a writing course where students read critically and assess the quality of their creative work as well as their peers’. The workshop is an application of critical reading and literary editing skills meant to help students in the re-vision of their creative work by honing their writing techniques and style. |
3.0 |
|
Total |
24 |
||
Major Electives
Depending on their chosen track, the students elect three elective courses. Examples of previously offered Major Elective courses are: Literature and Diaspora, Gender and Literature, Literature and Law, Literature and Environment, Popular Literature, Children’s Literature, Literature and Film, Speculative Fiction, Affect Theory, Race and Ethnicity in Philippine Cultures, Erotica, Telenovela, Food and Consumption Culture, Beauty and Power, Shakespeare, Science Fiction, Screenplay, Travel Narratives, etc.
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 for Beginners
|
3.0 |
||
|
SPANTWO: Intermediate Spanish
|
3.0 |
||
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 |
|
PRC1LIT: Practicum 200 hours of internship on or off campus, in creative writing centers, cultural institutions, publishing houses, national dailies, advertising agencies, non-profit groups, etc. |
3.0 |
||
|
THS1LIT: Thesis Proposal Students are required to write and defend their proposals for literary and cultural scholarship, project/action research, creative writing project. |
3.0 |
||
|
THS2LIT: Final Thesis Students will write, produce and defend literary and cultural research, project/action research, or creative writing project. |
6.0 |
||
Admission Requirements: QLY-LIT
A student who aspires to major in AB-Literature (Creative Writing, Literary & Cultural Studies, Literature Across the Professions) must enroll in QLY-LIT to qualify into the program. This is a non-course but necessary step through which an AB-LIM applicant fulfills & submits the requirements to be accepted into the program, namely diagnostic writing test, interview, and submission of sample literary works. A pre-requisite to being allowed to enroll in QLY-LIT is GELITPH (GE in Philippine Literature).