East China Normal University (PR China)
Voronezh State University (Russian Federation) – temporarily suspended

• German
• English

Courses are held in German (60%) and English (40%). Courses in French and Spanish are provided for students having a command of these languages, but courses on French and Spanish literature are also provided in German.

30 September

Non-EU applicants should bear in mind that it takes time to acquire a visa. Therefore, they should apply earlier.

A central group of courses provides you with knowledge in literary theory and the literary scene, mutual influences, and the literary business and teaches you basic skills in analysing and evaluating literature. You will also become acquainted with the functions literature can have, especially with the function it has through its literary form and genre. You will learn how to discern and to evaluate the belonging of texts to distinct epochs as well as how epochs take shape and are made. Parts of these central courses are taught using forms of e-learning.

In addition to these central courses on general skills, we will introduce you to a wide range of specific fields of literature. One module introduces you to the literary qualities of holy religious texts and their influence on fictional literature worldwide. Another module presents key texts of European antiquity and how subsequent epochs build on these role models. Another module discusses the specific poetics and functions of medieval literature.

Different to many programmes in comparative literature, we will introduce you to a good portion of non-European literatures: Turkish, Iranian, Chinese, Arabian, and Ancient Oriental. Through the "Literatures of the World" module, you will have a choice to educate yourself on Japanese, Korean, Hindi/Urdu, and other literatures. These modules will be collected in our e-learning database that has been especially created for the programme. Additionally, extra-European literatures in European languages from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia will be included in the programme. Learning about migration and post-colonialism in literature is compulsory in this section.

However, Europe is not absent from this programme. You will learn about the Italian and English renaissance, Russian realism, the Golden Age of Spanish literature, French modernist poetry, Scandinavian modern drama, and of course, German classics as well as contemporary literature. You will also learn about the sources of their literary power, which made them so influential in Europe and beyond.

We will not impose on you what we consider to be "masterpieces" of world literature. Instead, we will develop your ability to have an eye for literary quality. This is not an innate skill but can be learned. It will be your decisive skill in the literary field and market.

A further group of courses will improve your foreign language skills, especially in reading.

Within the programme, you can choose a major in a particular literature, which opens the way to proceeding to a congruent Master's programme. For example, when choosing the "Anglophone Literatures" major, you will be able to proceed to the "American Studies" and "English Philology" Master's programmes.