Florida Atlantic University Comparative Studies Program

COMPARATIVE STUDIES PROGRAM

The Ph. D. in Comparative Studies has three tracks: Cultures, Languages and Literatures (CLL), Culture, Society and Politics (CSP), and Design, Aesthetics and the Arts. Feel free to click on each track in order to get further information. 

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Cultures, Languages and Literatures

The CLL track focuses primarily on humanities research and has areas of strength in Literature and Migration, Rhetoric and Composition, U.S. Multiethnic Literatures, Science Fiction, Early Modern Literatures, Gender, Sexuality and Embodiment, Modernity and Postmodernity, Space and Place in Literature, Postcolonial Literature and Culture, Literatures and Cultures of the Americas, and Peace, Justice and Human Rights.  

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Students sitting on a sofa in the Cultures and Society Building of FAU

Culture, Society, and Politics

The CSP track focuses on social science research and has areas of strength in (Anthropology) sociocultural and medical anthropology, bioarcheology, ethnoarcheology, zooarchaeology, and primatology; (Sociology) studies of gender, agriculture, adulthood, adolescence, childhood, race, social class and economics; (Political Science) comparative politics, American politics, international relations, public policy and law, post-conflict resolution, democracy and democratization, political behavior, and quantitative methods.

Students doing a etch piece

Design, Aesthetics and the Arts

The DAA track focuses on the philosophy of aesthetics and the fine arts, including especially somaesthetics (the specialty of Academic Program Head Richard Shusterman), the theory and philosophy of design (a strength bolstered by a partnership with the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design, and Art in Ramat Gan Israel), architecture, visual art, visual culture, art history, and multimedia (including digital games). Musicology and theatrology are also possible academic paths.

SPOTLIGHT STORIES
STUDENTS
lucas-wilson
Lucas Wilson, Ph.D.

Lucas Wilson, Ph.D. in Comparative Studies under the supervision of Alan Berger, FAU’s Raddock Family Eminent Scholar Chair for Holocaust Studies. In the past year, Wilson has had his work published in several volumes,... Read More

ALUMNI
kitty-oliver
Kitty Oliver, Ph.D.

Dr. Kitty Oliver is a veteran journalist, oral historian, author, and television and radio producer who came of age with integration in America. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. focusing on race and ethnic communication... Read More

EVENTS
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NEWS
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Center for Body Mind and Culture Hosts Annual International Conference
The Center for Body Mind and Culture hosts its annual international conference on the Boca Raton Campus.
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Hassan Pishahang Named IFIA “Inv” Member for Innovations in Materials and Design
FAU Comparative Studies Ph.D. student Hassan Pishahang has been recognized as an “Inv” member of the International Federation of Inventors’ Associations for his groundbreaking work in innovative materials, bio-based...
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Celebrating Arianna Salomon’s Latest Scholarly Publication
PhD Student’s Article Featured in Italica 2025, Vol. 102, Issue 1
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Announcement of the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Ph.D. Fellowship
The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University is pleased to announce the establishment of the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Ph.D. Fellowship
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