The Department of Comparative Literature has announced a new annual prize to recognize outstanding essays written by undergraduates in First Year Comparative Literature courses. Essays from 100-level courses taught during the previous academic year are nominated by instructors, and the Comparative Literature Undergraduate Committee selects one or two essays for prize of $250, awarded at the department's graduation ceremony. For 2011-2012, two students were awarded the First Year Essay Prize in Comparative Literature:

Oriol Burgos-Tsoffar, "Human Waste: Existential Thought in 'The Waste Land' and 'Waiting for Godot.'" His essay was nominated by Tatjana Aleksic, Professor for Comp Lit 140 ("Welome to the Twentieth Century," Fall 2011).

Eli Cahan, "Love, Notre Dame, and John McCain." His essay was nominated by Rostom Mesli , GSI for Comp Lit 122 ("Writing World Literatures," Winter 2012).