Established in 1920, ECLT is the only department of comparative literature in the Arab world and Africa. It also offers the only graduate degree in comparative literature within the liberal arts tradition in the Arab world.
ECLT is home to Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, the Edward Said Memorial Lecture, the Distinguished Creative Writer series, the Madalyn Lamont Award for Creative Writing, the Tewfik Pasha Doss Award, and the annual Graduate Student Conference.