German Literary Studies

Abstract

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  Profile of the study programme

  The «German Literary Studies» programme investigates German literature from the Middle Ages to the present and comprises two fields of study – German Mediaeval Studies and Modern German Literature.
  In German Mediaeval Studies, students study German literature from the Middle Ages to the early Modern period. The research and teaching cover both literature and culture from the 8^th to the 16^th centuries by means of various approaches of literary, media and cultural theory, as well as from a comparative perspective. By acquiring expertise in Middle High German and receiving an introduction to codicology, students learn how to carry out their own academic research into texts written in older variants of German using the original source. On a general level, by studying texts from the early Modern period students learn how to consider and discuss the historicity of literary forms and the dynamics of cultural and historical processes in a nuanced manner.
  The Modern German Literature part of the course is devoted to literary communication processes in German from Humanism resp. the Reformation to the present. It considers historical manifestations of these processes (including an analysis of individual literary works and groups of works, their authors and readers, relationships with other literatures and art forms, etc.) and basic structures (such as how literary genres function, the rhetorical structure of texts, changes in the understanding of literature, etc.). One key goal is to teach students to develop their own critical judgement of earlier and current developments in literature and in academic literary research.
  Studies take place in an agreeable environment in a pleasant city in a medium-sized bilingual university (around 10,000 students, of which 250 are studying German); French is mainly spoken in the region, however the study programme is in German. Around 15% of our students do not speak German as their mother tongue. In Fribourg, students can study French and German at the same level and use both languages daily.

  Learning outcomes
  The German Literary Studies programme provides direct, or facilitated, access to many master programmes in the fields of languages, communication and literature, in particular the master programmes in German and General and Comparative Literature. However, access to the teaching profession at secondary level II requires enrolling in an adjustment programme in the basics of German linguistics.

Studies organisation

Structure of studies

Curriculum