The multilingual Master’s program in Literary Studies at the University of Basel offers participants an intensive course of study in Comparative Literature through cross-connections among European literatures and cultures in history and the present. Students can extend their knowledge of at least two literatures and refine their work through comparative perspectives. Participating subject areas are English, German, French, Italian, Hispanic Studies, Scandinavian Studies, Slavic Studies, and Classical Philology, as well as the Literary Studies section of Jewish Studies. Along with the history and contemporary context of the literature and culture of their respective language areas, these fields also offer focuses on their own traditions and their academic self-understanding at the University of Basel. A special feature of this program is the module on literary practice, which offers opportunities to develop professional skills in textual criticism, literary criticism, or literary translation.

The Master’s degree program in Literary Studies focuses on the following themes:

• Multilingualism
• Intercultural processes, language boundaries, and language contact
• European cultural history und the international canon
• Interrelations of historical and cultural alterity
• Literary theory and literary history
• Analysis and evaluation of literary forms in their interaction with other media and arts
• Practical skills (textual criticism, translation, literary criticism)

The curriculum consists of five modules:

• The module on literary history focuses on the history of literary forms with their particular developments and manifestations in specific languages
• The module on literary theory focuses on methodological reflection.
• On the basis of the immersion teaching that is central to the modern philologies in Basel, the module on the interaction of literary texts with other arts and media focuses on multilingualism as a foundation for the comparative analysis of texts in their linguistic, cultural, and medial contexts.
• The smaller core module on research in literary and cultural studies offers challenging seminars with independent research. Literary texts are analyzed in their interaction with discourses and practices in other fields, such as the natural sciences, business, and politics, with such specific themes as knowledge production, narrative structure, and the conception of space.

The larger core module, which is one of the trademarks of this course of study, is the three-part module in literary practice. In a range of theoretically grounded courses, students can acquire professional skills in editorial philologies (editorial practices and textual criticism), literary translation, and literary criticism. Along with seminars and lectures, the curriculum also includes workshops, internships, and independent-study opportunities, all with individualized assessment and direct connections to specific professional fields. As a rule, the instructors are active in their professions and are invited to teach in the program specifically for this module. Along with well-known translators, they include experienced specialists from the media (print, internet, radio, and television), as well editors, archivists, publishers, and other literary professionals.