English Language and Literature

Abstract

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  Profile of the study programme

  What are we like?
  English is the largest language and literature Department at the University of Fribourg, but it is nonetheless small enough that our professors and students can get to know one another, particularly in smaller seminars. Professors are supported in their teaching by doctoral and post-doctoral assistants and lecturers, who also pursue their own research. The staff of the English Department have international careers that foster richly diverse approaches to research and teaching.

  What do we do?
  We offer a comprehensive curriculum including English linguistics, Medieval English language and literature, and British and American literature; other Anglophone texts are also included in some courses. We also, of course, run funded research projects, and publish our research. In research as well as teaching, we collaborate in many enlivening ways with colleagues from other Departments, often through Fribourg's Institutes of Comparative Literature, Medieval Studies, and Renaissance Studies.

  What can you do here?
  Our students come from Switzerland and abroad, and English is our exclusive language of communication in the hallways as well as in the classroom. Studying with us gives you the opportunity to learn about medieval women, act in plays, do linguistic field work in pragmatics, study English literature and its relations to other media and/or technology, discover the rich intellectual world of the English and European Renaissance, and investigate the American Western or meet contemporary American poets. You will meet scholars of international acclaim who are regularly invited to give talks at our University. We have exchange partnerships with universities in Nebraska, Mississippi, Arizona, and Southampton, in particular for first- and second-year BA students. Our students have won literary prizes and published their manuscripts. They have enjoyed intensive weeks of theatre-going in London, and performed in Renaissance plays and shot films in Oxford Colleges. Others have won travel awards to academic conferences from Albuquerque to Puerto Rico. Students in Linguistics embark on real-world empirical studies involving online questionnaires and experiments. They may also participate in the workshops organised by the nationally recognised Research Centre on Multilingualism (Centre scientifique de compétence sur le plurilinguisme/Wissenschaftliches Kompetenzzentrum für Mehrsprachigkeit). Students in Literature are invited to cross-enroll in classes offered by the Institute of Comparative Literature (Institut de littérature générale et comparée/Institut für Allgemeine und Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft).

  How will you learn?
  Our study programme ensures that you encounter many different facets of English literature and linguistics, not just a sliver here and there: we also offer training in methodology, bibliography, and theory, aiming to develop your academic skills alongside your knowledge. Modules are assessed by essay or exam; towards the end of your bachelor course you can undertake an applied project or write a bachelor thesis with dedicated supervision, or you can opt for an oral exam based on your independent reading. When appropriate, we offer intensive weekend seminars and study trips.

  Where will you go from here?
  Our bachelor and master programmes are designed to fit together: many of our BA students choose to move on to our master programme, and from there some move on to doctoral study in Fribourg or elsewhere in Switzerland, or abroad—and thence to academic jobs. Our graduating MA students can also choose between French-speaking and German-speaking teacher education programmes here in Fribourg, and many secure desirable teaching jobs in Swiss schools. Other graduates work internationally in non-profit or governmental organisations, or in journalism, communication, event management, or publishing.

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Minor study programmes to be chosen