Content and Aims

This program introduces you to the key concepts and research methods of comparative literature and opens up a variety of approaches to comparing literatures, media, and cultures. The focus is on examining the relationship between literature and literary theory, reflecting on world literatures from the perspective of literary diversity, analyzing forms of media storage and mediation, and acquiring new language skills or deepening existing ones. You will acquire the ability to integrate perspectives from linguistics, literary studies, and cultural studies, and to analyze literary texts within their transnational and transcultural contexts. In addition, you will develop intercultural competencies as well as the ability to think critically and solve problems creatively. You will learn to examine and critically reflect on historical and contemporary communication processes, as well as processes of cultural exchange and transformation.

The master’s program is offered jointly by ten departments and academic fields within the Faculty of Arts: English, Ancient Literatures, Chinese Studies, German Studies, Dutch Studies, Romance Languages, Scandinavian and Finnish Studies, Slavic Studies, and Languages and Cultures of the Islamic World. This broad range of courses is complemented by teaching collaborations and visiting professorships that incorporate additional linguistic and literary traditions into the program. An overview of current and selected past courses here.