This is a general introduction to comparative literature, and to contemporary theory and criticism. Its purpose is to offer all incoming MA and PhD students exposure to key issues in the discipline. Organized around the broad theme of "Bases for Comparison," each of our meetings will explore a particular issue or problem addressed in contemporary scholarship. After briefly reviewing the history of the discipline, we will interrogate a number of the categories foundational to it: language, literature, aesthetics, theory, humanity/humanities, relation, and comparison. We will conclude by reading some exemplary new work in comparative literature, through which we will chart possible directions for our own scholarship, and new challenges for the field.