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Master
Vergelijk
Comparative Literature (Literary Studies)

Study programme

The Master's in Comparative Literature is a one-year programme in which you analyse and critically reflect on literature, texts, films, visual art and music. The first semester comprises four core courses (including the thesis seminar) and electives. The second semester contains one core course, more elective space and your Master's Thesis.

Programme overview

The Comparative Literature courses engage with topics such as gender, race, the posthuman, environmental humanities, decoloniality, cultural memory, global literacy and the state of the Humanities in the 21st century. Although you follow five compulsory core courses, and are required to choose 12 ECTS from the core elective list, it is also possible to combine courses from other specialisations (e.g. English Literature and Culture; Literature and Education; Literature, Culture and Society; other Master's courses in and outside the humanities; and even from other Dutch universities) and thereby carry out comparative research projects.

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Politics of the Contemporary
    6

    This course examines literature, the arts, and theory in relation to a politically relevant issue in the present. It asks what the contemporary is, how it works as a cultural and political phenomenon, and what the politics of the contemporary imply for interpretation, critique, and research today.

  • Texts in the 21st Century: Forms of Writing and Reading
    6

    This course asks what kinds of forms of writing exist these days and how we can understand these texts as ways in which people produce and circulate meaning. It explores what developments in writing and reading cannot be ignored, and how to study those changes with a literary studies toolkit.

  • Gender and Feminism across Literatures
    6

    This course examines how gender and feminist theories engage with identity markers, emphasising the need to recognise and address diverse experiences from a situated (territorial and environmental) perspective. Students reflect on situated feminisms through literature, film and art, and develop academic skills.

  • Thesis Seminar Comparative Literature
    6

    This course prepares students for the Master’s thesis by developing advanced writing and editing skills. Through peer feedback, self-assessment, and writing exercises, students refine their proposals and submit a portfolio with assignments and a self-reflection on their progress.

  • Mobilities and Decolonization: Reading the Planetary
    6

    This course examines the intersections between transnational mobilities, decolonisation and globalisation. It addresses how colonialism and imperialism have defined contemporary forms of transnational mobilities, and how decolonial and environmental justice practices challenge dominant narratives on mobilities shaped by neoliberal globalisation.

  • Free-choice electives
    12
  • Master's Thesis Comparative Literature
    18
Compulsory course
Elective
UvA Course Catalogue: Comparative Literature
Dr. Daan Wesselman
Our Masters' strength is that we do not simply study literature, but look from the literary outwards. Literary texts constitute socio-cultural and political questions that intervene in other modes of thinking. Dr. Daan Wesselman

Core courses

You will first enroll in five core courses: Politics of the Contemporary; Texts in the 21st Century; Gender and Feminism across Literatures and Mobilities and Decolonization as well as the thesis seminar. The core courses are dedicated to literature, the arts, and theory in relation to a specific issue that enjoys a particular political relevance, urgency, or actuality for the present. Additionally, the thesis seminar prepares you for your MA thesis in the second semester.

Electives

In addition to the abovementioned 30 EC in mandatory courses, you take 12 EC in elective courses. You are free to choose any course from the course catalogue (provided you meet the entry requirements), though we list certain courses are particularly recommended by the programme. This list is updated each year, so please consult the course catalogue for the current offering. Other electives may be chosen from a wide array of options offered by the Faculty of Humanities.

Internships

Internships are not obligatory, but Master's students may conduct an internship (maximum 6 ECTS) in either semester. An internship provides work experience, puts classroom theory into practice, and can assist you to get your ‘foot in the door’.

Thesis

In the first semester you take the Thesis Seminar that prepares you for your Master's Thesis. This independent project reports on research carried out by the student under the supervision of an academic staff member involved with our programme.

The Master's programme Comparative Literature comprises 60 ECTS credits: 30 ECTS Comparative Literature core courses (Politics of the Contemporary / Texts in the 21st Century / Gender and Feminism across Literatures / Mobilities and Decolonization / Thesis Seminar); 12 ECTS electives; 18 ECTS Master’s thesis.

Credit transfer

Students who show exceptional promise during the one-year Master's programme are encouraged to continue their studies in the Research Master's in Literary Studies. Once students are admitted to the research programme, they can transfer credits earned during their previous course of study towards their Research Master's degree. Please note that you will need to apply again for this programme and that you are not automatically accepted.

Comparative Literature in part-time mode

The programme is also offered in part-time study mode at the UvA, in which case it takes 2 years. As a part-time student you will follow the programme together with full-time students. You will prepare your study plan for the part-time programme in consultation with the Master’s programme coordinator.