Comparative Literature

is the study of general and comparative literature which includes areas such as genre, form, technique, methodology, and thematics, alongside intertextuality and the role of literary industries – all with a multilingual and intercultural focus.

In Comp Lit we study literature and its relationship to other artistic production, in particular music, visual arts, film, comics, and digital media. Furthermore, we focus on the formal or linguistic migrations of particular literary works, genres, or stylistic features – including their circulation and critical reception – in other linguistic and cultural contexts. We utilise a range of theoretical approaches (eg. Reception/Reader Response Theory, Intertextuality, Post-Colonial Studies, Gender Studies), alongside a consideration of the role played by literary and cultural institutions (eg. publishing houses, newspapers, and new media).

 

Our Department...

has a successful history of research into the relationship between literary and book studies, reception theory, translation theory, and the study of literature within its social and historical context. Our current teaching and research concentrates on the relationship between literature produced in English and in the Germanic and Romance languages, although we also offer courses in Slavic and non-European languages, alongside the study of literature and its relationship to a range of other artistic forms.

Key Info

  • around 1000 students
  • approx. 180 new BA students each year
  • 500 completed MA and PhD theses
  • 9 'habilitation' theses

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We offer courses for a dedicated degree pathway in Comp Lit at all study stages (BA, MA, and PhD) alongside selected courses for students from other disciplines (ECs). Our department is the only place in Austria, with the exception of Uni Innsbruck, to offer a BA in Comp Lit.

We currently have around 1000 total students (BA, MA, and PhD) and welcome approx. 180 new BA students each year. This includes around 500 MA and PhD theses, as well as 9 'habilitation' theses (a list of individual projects can be found here).

Our research is carried out by our Professors, Post-Doctoral and Doctoral Departmental Assistants, and a number of externally funded PhD candidates, who all regularly contribute to teaching. Additional freelance lecturers, who all hold a PhD in the discipline, further enhance our teaching portfolio.

Alongside our teaching and research, we organise international events such as the International Comparative Literature Association's 21st World Congress. We also act as external reviewers and contribute to our active publication profile of journals and monographs:

 

» more about our research & activities