In 1993 the Program in Comparative Literature undertook a series of renovations. A number of younger literary scholars with training as comparatists, appointed in other departments and swiftly building national reputations, have become involved with the program, and their interests will do much to shape its future. Moreover, the program takes seriously the idea of comparative literature as the meeting place not only of the humanities but of many other disciplines that involve interpretation, cross-cultural exchange, and theoretical reflection on their own premises. Ella Shohat, Ronald W. Sousa, Peter Stallybrass, Michael Taussig, John Whittier Treat, and Nancy J. Vickers . The program's graduate students are highly successful at gaining fellowships and prizes, from Fulbright Scholarships and other national awards to the research and dissertation-level support of the Oregon Humanities Center.
Placements are competitive in a difficult job market.
Since 1993, new and recent Oregon Ph.D.s have received offers from the University of Arizona, Catholic University of America, Emory University, Georgia College and State University, the University of Missouri, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, Oberlin College, Trinity University in San Antonio, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. The expanding undergraduate major communicates the excitement of the field to some of the brightest students at Oregon, affording opportunities for faculty and graduate students to teach a variety of topics in different, often experimental pedagogical settings. 20-23, and a recent article in Cascade , the magazine of the university's College of Arts and Sciences.