All programmes > Programme : Master of Western Literature (Leuven)

Master of Western Literature (Leuven)

Master of Arts

Programme summary

Master of Western Literature (60 ECTS)

Master of Western Literature (60 ECTS)

Education

What can you find on this webpage?

Our (future) students can find the official study programme and other useful info here.

You can find information about admission requirements, further studies and more practical info such as ECTS sheets, or a weekly timetable of the current academic year.

Are you a future student?

Be sure to first take a look at the page about the Master of Western Literature.

There you can find more info on:

- What’s the programme about?

- Starting profile

- Admission and application

- Future possibilities

- Why KU Leuven

- Contact

- ...

Objectives

1.  The student can make a critical analysis of a literary text and situate it in the broader cultural-historical context of Western literature.

2.  The student can develop a scholarly and critical interpretation of literary texts and other cultural phenomena and can communicate this interpretation in both written and oral form for both a scholarly and a general audience.

3.  The student has an informed understanding of the specific status of literature as a linguistic system that interacts with broader social and cultural contexts.

4.  The student is familiar with the diverse ways in which Western literature has been an object of study, both from a historical and a contemporary perspective. The student is familiar with historical and current engagements with the following questions: (a) what is Western literature?, (b) how has the idea of Western literature been conceptualized and problematized, (c) how does Western literature interact with its contexts?, and (d) how do different literary traditions interact within the larger framework of Western literature?

5.  The student is familiar with new methods and approaches within literary studies, cultural studies and literary theory. The student can critically assess these methods and approaches and apply them in a specific research context.

6.  The student understands the ways in which different humanities and social science disciplines influence literary studies. The student can employ insights from these disciplines in his or her own research.

7.  The student can formulate a research question and gather the primary and secondary material necessary for the research. The student can conceptualize, structure and compose a MA thesis.

8.  The student can communicate research results in both oral and written form for an academic audience.

9.  The student can communicate research results to non-specialized audiences.

10.  The student follows the deontological and ethical codes of scientific research in his or her research.

11.  The student has an insight in diversity and intercultural interaction and can use this insight to participate in contemporary social and cultural debates.

12.  The student develops a lasting interest in Western literature and culture.

13.  The student develops a critical literacy that he or she can deploy in different professional and social contexts.

14.  The student who takes language-specific modules has an advanced knowledge of the literary historical traditions in that language and can connect these to broader developments within the Western literary tradition.

15.   The student who takes language-specific modules that are taught in a foreign language has a C2 (or at the very least a C1) proficiency level for understanding (listening and reading), speaking (production and interaction) and writing. This holds especially for students who write their MA thesis in a foreign language.