<p>… if I major in comparative literature? I’m an English major and am thinking of switching to Comparative Literature. I’m wondering if that would still qualify me to teach English, if that’s the only thing I have to fall back on.</p>
<p>Thanks for your time!</p>
<p>That’s a good question. I think it would depend on the particular school district and how your background compares to other applicants for a position. Often, the recommended courses for a teaching track in an English major differ somewhat from the general track of the English major. So, at the very least, it might consist of at least one course in each of the following areas: pre-1800 English literature, post-1800 English literature, Shakespeare, American literature, history & structure of the English Language or English grammar, minority/women’s literature, perhaps a course in each major genre, and so on. If your coursework includes these areas (assuming that English & American literature is one of the literature you use for your comp lit major), you might be considered qualified in English. I’d suggest you look at the English major requirements for teaching track at various schools and see if you could include the appropriate coursework as electives while doing a comp lit major. Otherwise, could you double major? Since you probably could include some English dept. courses to meet the requirements for a comp lit major, this might not be too difficult.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response! Now that I think about it, I’m sure I had teachers who studied a subject at least slightly different than what they taught.</p>