Literature constitutes a rich and diverse record of human thought and experience: imaginative, ethical, philosophical, and political. It invites the examination of literary artifacts within their historical contexts, the consideration of ideas within their form of expression, and the analysis of ideological language and its influences on our worldviews.
The student of literature learns how to read texts with attention to nuance and how to produce them: how to speak and write well, in both creative and formal formats. In its transnational scope and concern for divergent perspectives, the Literature major also prepares students to engage locally and globally with people whose views and experiences differ from their own.
With a degree in Literature at Fulbright, you’ll be well-equipped for study in graduate programs and for careers in law, policymaking, publishing, journalism, and education.
Literature
Literature at Fulbright
Welcome to the Literature Major at Fulbright!
Literature offers a rich and immersive lens through which to view the world around us. Whether you have a passion for classic novels, modern poetry, or contemporary works, our dedicated faculty and dynamic curriculum will guide you through a diverse range of literary traditions, genres, and critical perspectives.
Our Literature courses explore the power of storytelling and rhetoric and their profound impact on societies and cultures around the world. Through lively discussion, critical analysis, and creative expression, you will sharpen your analytical thinking, develop your writing skills, and cultivate a nuanced understanding of complex human experiences.
In addition to our rigorous academic curriculum, our Fulbright Literature Salon hosts a number of extracurricular activities, including book talks and creative writing workshops, and offers resources that deepen your appreciation for literature beyond the classroom. The skills you acquire with the Literature major will not only enrich your professional endeavors but also nurture your intellectual curiosity, empathy, and critical thinking abilities that are valuable in any field.
We are excited to have you join our vibrant community of scholars and writers, where your passion for literature will thrive, and your intellectual potential will be nurtured.
For more information about the Literature major, please contact our Major coordinator at yen.vu@fulbright.edu.vn
Academic spotlight
Degree Requirements
A Bachelor of Arts in Literature is awarded following the successful completion of:
General education:
- 5 Core courses (20 credits) and 8 Exploratory courses (32 credits), of which up to two Exploratory courses (8 credits) can be counted towards the major.
- Experiential Learning (4 – 12 credits).
Literature requirements (44 credits):
- 1 Foundational 100 level: Introduction to Literary Studies (4 credits)
- 1 Critical Methods in Literary Studies (4 credits)
- 3 Intermediate 200 level courses (12 credits)
- 3 Advanced 300 level courses (12 credits)
- 1 additional Elective, any level (4 credits)
- Optional capstone (2 semesters) OR 2 Electives (1 any level + 1 300 level) (8 credits)
Sample Student Journey:
- Core Courses
- Exploratory Courses
- Introduction to Literary Studies
- Critical Methods in Literary Studies
- Core Courses
- Exploratory Courses
- 200 level Literature electives
- Exploratory Courses
- 200-300 level Literature electives
- Other electives
- Experiential Learning
- Open elective in Literature and 300-level Literature course, or
- Capstone I + Capstone II
Minor Requirements
The Literature minor requires students to complete six courses: Introduction to Literary Studies, Critical Methods in Literary Studies, and four (4) Elective courses (at least two must be at the 300-level). A Minor in Literature will equip students with skills in textual and historical analysis, and in reading, writing, and critical thinking, and will strengthen students’ engagements with Major fields across the disciplines.
Requirements for declaring the Literature Major and Minor
To formally declare Literature as a major, you must complete Introduction to Literary Studies and two (2) other courses in the Literature program.
To formally declare Literature as a minor, you must complete one (1) course in the Literature program, Introduction to Literary Studies.
Graduation with Honors Requirements
- Student must complete Capstone I and Capstone II
- The Capstone must be graded as Honors pass
Sample course list
Introduction to Literary Studies – Required (multiple courses at 100 level: counts as exploratory) This course will introduce students to foundations in literary analysis through texts and materials centered around a common theme. Students will learn to appreciate the aesthetic and functional quality of texts, focusing on style, intertextuality, and critical value. The course will also explore different ways of approaching texts depending on their genre and form, and practice important skills such as close reading, developing arguments, and expressing ideas clearly orally and in writing. Finally, the course will also prompt students to question the value of literature in contemporary society, and how to make connections beyond the material with the world around them. Gothic, Grotesque, Uncanny Belonging in Contemporary American Literature Writing the Self
201 Foundation Course: Critical Methods in Literary Studies – Required
This course is an introduction to critical theory and will familiarize students with a toolkit of methods for sophisticated literary scholarship. We will explore formalist as well as cultural and political approaches to literature, including Marxist, psychoanalytic, feminist, postcolonial, new historicist, digital and other methodological approaches to textual analysis. We will practice different ways of reading and interpreting texts and investigate the broader aesthetic, social, and intellectual implications of our engagements with literary studies.
- American Short Story
- Identity, Community, Memory in
- Vietnamese Diasporic Literature
- Women and Gender Studies:
- Women in Vietnam War Literature
- Epic Narratives from Medieval to Early Modern
- American Realism and Naturalism
- Global Environmental Literature
- Film, Fiction, and the Making of Modern Vietnams
- Pacific Voyages in Literature & Film
- Transatlantic Fashions
- American Drama since 1900
- Consumption, Modernity and
- Global Queer Identities
- Text, Body, and Technology: Individualism in Science Fiction
- Comedy, Ancient and Modern
- Literary Translation: Theory and Practice
- Contemporary Women Writers from the Southeast Asian Diaspora
- Contemporary Poetry
- Any course in the Intermediate and Advanced categories could count as an elective, in addition to those cross-listed with Literature.
- Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Queer Theory: Then and Now
- How to be a Writer (Creative Writing Workshop) (Cross-listed with Vietnam Studies)
- Cultural and Intellectual
- Foundation of Vietnamese
- Literary Chinese I (Cross-listed with Vietnam Studies
- Advanced Readings in Theory (Cross-listed with Art & Media Studies)
- Contemporary Women Writers from the Southeast Asian Diaspora (Cross-listed with Art & Media Studies)
- Ethics and Moral Philosophy (Cross-Listed with Social Studies)
- Focused Study of a Single Author (examples: Shakespeare, Rabelais, Voltaire, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Vladimir Nabokov, Maguerite Duras, Ocean Vuong, Jamaica Kincaid, etc.)
-
Introduction in Literary Studies Sample Introduction to Literary Studies Courses
- Writing the self
- Gothic, Grotesque, Uncanny
- Belonging in Contemporary
- American Literature
-
Critical Methods in Literary Studies
-
200 level Courses (3 required)
Intermediate Courses (200-level)
American Short Story- Identity, Community, Memory in Vietnamese Diasporic Literature
- Women and Gender Studies: Women in Vietnam War Literature
- Epic Narratives from Medieval to Early Modern
- American Realism and Naturalism
- Global Environmental Literature
-
300 level Courses (3 required)
Advanced Literature Courses (300 Level)
- Film, Fiction, and the Making of Modern Vietnams
- Pacific Voyages in Literature & Film
- Transatlantic Fashions
- American Drama since 1900
- Consumption, Modernity and Global Queer Identities
- Text, Body, and Technology: Individualism in Science Fiction
- Comedy, Ancient and Modern
- Literary Translation: Theory and Practice
- Contemporary Women Writers from the Southeast Asian Diaspora
- Contemporary Poetry
-
Literature Elective Courses (1 required)
Literature Electives
- Any course in the Intermediate and Advanced categories could count as an elective, in addition to those cross-listed with Literature.
- Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Queer Theory: Then and Now
- How to be a Writer (Creative Writing Workshop) (Cross-listed with Vietnam Studies)
- Cultural and Intellectual Foundation of Vietnamese Literary Chinese I (Cross-listed with Vietnam Studies
- Advanced Readings in Theory (Cross-listed with Art & Media Studies)
- Contemporary Women Writers from the Southeast Asian Diaspora (Cross-listed with Art & Media Studies)
- Ethics and Moral Philosophy (Cross-Listed with Social Studies)
-
Capstone I or 300-level Literature Course (1 required)
-
Capstone II or Literature Elective (1 required)
*exempted if student can demonstrate CEFR AI or equivalent proficiency with a valid certificate or through examination
**exempted if student can demonstrate CEFR A2 or equivalent proficiency with a valid certificate or through examination
Meet our faculty
Featured faculty
Meet our Fulbrighters
Featured student
- Trần Quỳnh Như
- Hoàng Thu Hằng
- Trần Ứng Thuỳ Trang
- Han Tran Khanh Vy
- Trần Quỳnh Như
- Nguyễn Hữu Yến Lê
- Phó Đỗ Quyên
- Hoàng Phượng Mai
Meet our Alumni
Come and learn how Fulbright has impacted the lives of our current students and graduates.
Featured alumni
Selected Faculty Publications
Ha, Quan Manh, and Lindsey Gallagher. “Violent Memory and Generational Conflict in Andrew Lam’s ‘Birds of Paradise Lost’ and Viet Thanh Nguyen’s ‘The Immolation.’” Studies in the American Short Story, vol. 2, no. 2, 2021, pp. 136-56. https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/sass/article-abstract/2/2/136/294099/Violent-Memory-and-Generational-Conflict-in-Andrew?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Capstone projects
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