This course focuses on different approaches to the use and experience of literature from a historical and conceptual perspective. We explore the various ways in which literature is read, shared, employed, and engaged with, from oral culture to digital environments.

We study the various “uses of literature” (R. Felski) in daily life from the identification with characters and enthralled immersion into fictional worlds to knowledge gain and intervention in the social and political world. And we examine literary reading as a specific engagement of our senses and a form of embodied cognition. After all, we do not only read with our eyes and our minds, but with our entire bodies, in ever changing cultural and media environments. To explore our own reading behaviours, the course will include a book club and practices of buddy reading. The focus will be on Dutch literature in English translation, within the broader context of international literary culture.

Lecturer

Time, location and price

• 11 February - 18 March 2026
• Wednesday from 13:00-15:00 
• P.C. Hoofthuis, zaal 1.05
• Costs: € 165 (AUV-members: € 148)

Important to know

• The registration deadline for this Open UvA-college is 22 January 2026.
• For the study schedule, please consult the UvA timetable website.
• You can only audit an OUC, which means that you may only attend lectures and cannot attend seminars, take part in the examination, or obtain ECTS credits.

Public programme Humanities

This Open UvA Course is part of the Faculty of Humanities' public programme. Beside Open UvA Courses, the public programme also comprises special lectures and series of courses. The public programme is intended for alumni, employees looking for extra training, and all others who are interested in art, culture, philosophy, language and literature, history and religion.

See all Open UvA Courses in Humanities