Chancen und Spielräume im Komparatistik-Studium

What is Comparative Literature?

Being part of traditional literary studies, Comparative Literature approaches the fundamental questions of literary theory, methodology, poetics and intertextuality. By its comparative approach, it covers the entirety of the formal, historical, thematic relations between works of different national literatures, periods, languages and cultural regions. Primarily, it focuses on the reception of World Literature, i.e. the similarities and differences, mutual influences and typological relationships between national literatures, national-literary schools, styles, schools of thought and a variety of correlations in content, motives, problems, types and eras in interdisciplinary and international perspectives. Students will additionally familiarize themselves with the theory and practice of literary translation.

As part of Comparative Art and Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature approaches questions of intermediality and the interdependence of literature and other arts as well as medial and cultural discourses.

Comparative Literature has a reciprocal and prolific exchange as well as a complementary relationship with the national philologies and the individual arts and art sciences. It affects the transitional and boundary areas of many individual subjects of literature, arts and cultural studies. It seizes their findings, questions and expands them. Likewise, the comparative perspective opens stimulating and innovative aspects for the study of national literatures and individual arts.