The Master's programme in Literature and Culture caters to students whose interests and academic backgrounds are in literary studies and European culture in the broad sense. The programme Literature and Culture offers students the opportunity to pursue specialised study of a major European literature, e.g. English, French, German, Italian, Scandinavian, Slavonic or Spanish literature. Students in de MA Literary Studies can also specialise in Comparative Literature. Linking up with the bachelor, the specialisation in Comparative Literature focuses on the analysis and interpretation of literary texts within a theoretical and cultural framework.

Our understanding of ‘European’ refers to the European-influenced globe rather than just the designated continent. Thus our courses frequently engage with the cultures of regions such as the French Maghreb, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Canada and the United States. While students will follow one of the specialisations below, it is possible to combine courses from two or more other specialisations and carry out comparative research projects.

Focus on literary studies plus literatures of a language area

Within the programme Literature and Culture students can specialise in:

• Comparative Literature

Students can also specialise in the literature of a specific language area and combine this with courses in literary studies. Our researchers and lecturers are specialised in literature in the following languages:

• Dutch
• English
• German
• French
• Italian
• Spanish
• Scandinavian
• Slavonic

Most literary works will be studied in the original language.
Scroll down for a more detailed desciption of the course content per language.

English Literature

The English Literature specialisation in the Master's programme Literature and Culture is rooted in literary analysis but also works at the leading edge of interdisciplinary humanities scholarship. In particular, it provides students with insight into the history and theory of literature in English and explores its relationship with other media, engaging key issues of intellectual concern in society, politics, and culture. English Literature is understood in the broadest sense, as a diverse and complex mode of expression that includes works from American, British, Commonwealth, and postcolonial contexts.

Courses designed to explore various periods, genres, themes, and theories are supplemented with regular lectures by visiting scholars. Students develop original hypotheses and test them in their class presentations, research papers, and final thesis.

Course offerings reflect the expertise of staff members engaged in research ranging from Chaucer to postmodernism. The faculty is particularly strong in the literatures of the 19th and 20th centuries and the relations between literature and other media, including film, television, and new media. Students who complete this degree will develop the skills to think critically about literary texts and cultural practices, and will take part in the ongoing theoretical debates and discussions in the field.

All non-native English speakers applying for this English taught specialisation are required to demonstrate sufficient proficiency in English via an approved language test. Please follow the first link provided below.

French Literature

The specialisation in French Literature looks at French literature in a broad perspective. Some of the main works of French authors from the Middle Ages until now are analysed within a theoretical framework. In addition, considerable attention is paid to the relation between French literature and cinema in the last two or three decades. Maghreb literature written in French is also studied in relation to the colonial and postcolonial history of the Maghreb countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria).

German Literature

In the specialisation German Literature, students will not only make acquaintance with the most important German speaking writers extending form the Middle Ages until today, literary genres and different theories, but also with academic ways of working. They will learn to set up their own research project, be involved in the organisation and participation of congresses and even have the possibility to undergo an exchange with other partner universities. There is also an important link between graduate schools and other research departments such as the German Institute (DIA) and the Goethe Institute, both located in Amsterdam.

The department of German Studies has a very strong connection to cultural concepts and works mainly with interdisciplinary approaches to literary analysis. This is the reason why this specialisation is also suited for students from other departments, who are looking to develop strong research skills and a profound knowledge of the German culture and literature in connection to other disciplines.

Italian Literature

The specialisation in Italian literature focuses first on intertextuality and intermediality: in the course on Dante moderno e postmoderno, for example, we examine the Divine Comedy’s colourful afterlife in twentieth-century poems, essays, novels, movies and other art forms. Letteratura tradotta, on the other hand, focuses on the interesting transformations literature undergoes when translated into different languages (and cultures), genres or media.

Scandinavian Literature

In the specialisation Scandinavian Literature, students will focus on realism in such modern Norwegian works of literature as Lars Saabye Christensen’s The Half Brother, and will explore the significance of several large oeuvres within their literary-historical context, including the work of Henrik Ibsen, Astrid Lindgren, Herman Bang and others. Other topics will include translation, particularly of children’s and young adult literature, and the letter as genre.

Students will research historical and contemporary travel and topographical literature, including accounts of polar expeditions, from cultural-analytical to colonial and post-colonial perspectives. Additional areas of study may include representations of the city and the autobiographical genre in Scandinavian literature.

Slavonic Literature

Slavonic literatures offer a unique combination of both specialised and general thematic courses. Students will find here a wide range of courses in which the four major Slavonic literatures (Russian, Czech, Polish and Serbian/Croatian) participate. The theoretical and thematic courses, which alternate every year, reflect the expertise of staff members engaged in research, ranging from The realist Novel, Theater and Drama, National Stereotypes, Literary theories, The Epic in the Slavic countries, The Roaring Sixties, Woman in East European Literature and Culture, The Historical Avant-Garde, Utopia and Dystopia, Gay literature in Eastern Europe, Exile in the 19th and 20th century, Socialist Realism, and Symbolist literature. Thus we focus on:
- Literary theories (Russian Formalism, Czech Structuralism, Semiotics, Bakhtin and Ingarden), which are still highly important and form the basis of many current literary theories.
- Exile in the 19th and 20th century. Various issues concerning exile will be discussed here: The problem of language and translation, famous cities of exile, various kinds of estrangement (national exiles vs cosmopolitans), actual vs inner exile, etc.
All courses are also highly relevant for, and open to students who take a more general interest in literary studies.

Spanish Literature

In the specialisation Spanish Literature, students will focus on the Hispanic identity and nation building, and they will explore the significance of several large oeuvres within their literary-historical context, including the work of Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Miguel de Unamuno, Federico García Lorca, Gabriel García Márquez, and others. Other topics will include historiography and the history of ideas, particularly canon construction and the relation between power and culture.

Students will research Golden Age and contemporary Hispanic literature, including accounts of markets, from cultural-analytical, close-reading, and colonial and post-colonial perspectives. Additional areas of study may include representations of the Other and cultural borders.

Details for next year's courses in the Master's programme Literature and Culture will be available in May.

Admission requirements

The Master's programme Literature and Culture is intended for students with a strong background in literary and/or cultural studies and the language they want to specialise in. Students are expected to have a Bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent thereof) in:

■ English
■ German
■ French
■ Italian
■ Scandinavian
■ Slavonic
■ Spanish
■ Comparative literature
■ Cultural Studies (including film and media studies) with a focus on literature as can be witnessed by a thesis on a topic in literary studies.

Futher information

The level of the Bachelor’s degree must be comparable to that of a Dutch Bachelor’s degree. Students with a related humanities background are encouraged to apply. Applications are evaluated on a case by-case basis by the Board of Examiners.

Degree awarded

Literature and Culture is a programme of the MA in Literary Studies. Upon successful completion of the programme, students receive a Master of Arts (MA) diploma in Literary Studies.