Literary Studies

What makes a text a good or captivating text? How do you recognize repetitions, inconsistencies, faulty logic and other problems in texts? What does it take to guide a text from writer to reader?

Working with texts in a professional setting involves a special set of skills. The Writing, Editing and Mediating Master's track (often abbreviated to WEM), offers students a choice of courses that focus on non-fiction writing for specific audiences, the history of texts in their various forms (from manuscript to digital book), proof-reading and correcting English texts, and producing texts for publication. Topics addressed include censorship, copyright, scholarly editions, critical theory and social issues in contemporary literature.Students on the course typically have a BA in English or in an Anglophone culture (e.g. American Studies). Some students with other humanities qualifications and a sufficient level of academic English are accepted by the admissions board.The one-year Master's track in Writing, Editing and Mediating (WEM) is a track within the Master's degree in Literary Studies and is run by the Department of English Language and Culture. It is taught and assessed wholly in English.

How do literature and culture interact with and reflect on socio-political challenges such as the EU (dis)integration, rise of populism or migration crises? How can literature facilitate inclusion, empathy and intercultural awareness, and contribute to sustainable societies and environmental issues? How can literary analysis be applied to other cultural forms or productions? What does it mean when we say: “culture is political” and “politics is cultural”?.In the Master's track European Literature and Interculturality, you will explore the connection between literature and culture in the processes of nation-building, the formation of attitudes towards migration, environmental issues and other socio-political issues. This track teaches you academic skills and approaches that will prepare you to operate as a cultural expert wherever texts are involved: in the media, institutions and networks.Each course builds on a theoretical foundation and simultaneously trains your research skills and ability to communicate with a range of different audiences. This unique and innovative literature programme is based on cutting-edge research in literary studies, is international in scope and comprises several modern European languages.The Master's track in European Literature and Interculturality is located at the Department of European Languages and Cultures. This international, interdisciplinary and multilingual environment offers excellent opportunities for research and immerses them in vibrant networks of experts across different European countries and languages. Students have to choose one of the following major languages to study: French, Frisian, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.You will follow the language-specific courses and one or two interdisciplinary seminars in literature which are team-taught by experts from different fields. Examples of such interdisciplinary courses include: 'Literature and Conflict' and 'Modernist Geographies’. It is possible to replace the Interdisciplinary seminar by a Master's placement.

Literary study is socially relevant: from the medieval to the modern, it maps the forces which divide and unite people. English is the global language of cultural exchange and experiment.

The themes of conflict and co-operation are at the core of the Master's track in English Literature and Culture, a programme that allows students a broad choice from a range of modules drawing on the full historical and geographical sweep of literatures in English.

It is a key tenet of the track that the academic study of English literature can be used to reflect on the ways that people - as individuals and as groups - interact with one another, and that it provides a catalyst for insight into contemporary social debates. Literature captures the separation and the solidarity of its writers and audiences in a manner particular to itself: it is a multidisciplinary practice that is as various as the texts it studies. The programme's core themes of conflict and co-operation are linked to sustainable society, a research priority of the university.For more information see: English Language & Culture.

The Master's Honours Programme was developed especially for students who want to get more from their studies.

It is a programme worth 15 ECTS that is followed in addition to the standard Master's programme. It is a one-year interdisciplinary programme that is designed to introduce students to various aspects of leadership.