The Bulletin - USS at Tufts - Tufts University

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES >INTERNATIONAL LETTERS AND VISUAL STUDIES >and that significant course work and/or facultydirectedresearch relevant to the thesis topic hasbeen accomplished. The student must assemble acommittee of three faculty readers with expertisein the disciplines involved, one of whom is designatedas the chair of the committee and who isresponsible for submitting a grade and designatingthe amount of credit for the thesis coursework. One member of the committee must befrom a department or program in which the studentis majoring. The topic must be approved bythe CIS board. Application and relevant dates canbe found on the CIS website. Students whowould like to be recommended for degrees withhonors by departments that require a thesisshould be aware that these departments require athesis within their own department and a CISthesis will not usually count as a substitute. However,students may apply for a CIS thesis to countas an honors thesis in the Thesis Honors Programlike a thesis in any other discipline by assemblinga thesis committee and filing the appropriatepaperwork. If the CIS thesis is to qualify as anhonors thesis, the chair of the thesis committeemust be from a department or program in whichthe student is majoring.For more information, visit the CIS Web sitehttp://cis.tufts.edu.International Letters andVisual StudiesDIRECTOR:Professor Charles Inouye, German, Russian, and AsianLanguages and LiteraturesThe program in International Letters and VisualStudies makes possible the study of literature,film, and visual arts in an international context.ILVS students share an interest in literature, cinema,and visual arts, which they approach in acomparative, theoretical way.UNDERGRADUATECONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTSLanguage Preparation for the MajorStudents are to have or to attain competency inone foreign language (to 122 or equivalent), andare strongly urged to begin the study of a second.(In some cases, depending on the student’s background,one of these might be English.)Disciplinary focusILVS offers three tracks. A student focuses onone, but also does work in the other two.LiteratureFilmVisual Arts (painting, sculpture, photography,performances)Cultural areasILVS majors select a primary and a secondary areaof study. For example, Russia, Germany, France,Latin America, the Middle East, etc. Normally,these culture areas reflect one’s language preparation—Japaneseand Japan, Chinese and China—but this is not always the case. For example, anative speaker of French might choose French andSpanish as his languages, and Spain and Japan tobe his areas of cultural study. Or someone juststarting Spanish and interested in film mightchoose Latin America and an Anglophone culturearea. In all cases, ILVS requires the study of morethan one culture.Theory coursesILVS students are required to take courses from anapproved selection of literary, film, visual, gender,and culture theory courses. Choices will varyaccording to disciplinary focus.A senior project or thesisA thesis is not mandatory but is highly encouraged.ILVS is both inter-disciplinary and multicultural,therefore, the number of courses available toa major is large. For this flexibility to work to one’sadvantage, each student should have a conceptualfocus, developed in consultation with one’s majoradvisor. This might be a question about a certaincultural phenomenon, or an aesthetic school, style,or problem. For example, “What is the relationshipbetween art and politics?” Or, “How is arteducation handled in different cultures, and towhat result?” Or, “Is sorrow universally beautiful?”Alternatively, you might also focus on an interactionor common development in two or more cultures,or on a particular genre or form. Workingtoward an approved senior thesis or proj-ect—suchas a scholarly study, a film, a photo exhibit, etc.—will give focus to your study.179