This is a two-year Master’s Programme in Intercultural Literature Studies with a specialisation in English literature for which you will be awarded a Degree of Master of Arts. Your successful completion of the programme will give you a competitive advantage in professions that require critical-thinking skills, intercultural understanding and analytical competence.
Through a specialisation in literature in English, you will gain a strong academic foundation for studies of literature as well as knowledge and understanding about comparative perspectives that characterise intercultural studies. For the most part, courses focus on the study of contemporary literature. but there will also be study of some less contemporary works from various corners of the English-speaking world. The courses focus on themes that have immediate societal relevance, such as migration, climate change, narratives of crises and censorship. These are analysed from a theoretical perspective that includes transcultural studies, gender studies, utopian and dystopian studies, life studies and eco-criticism.
The programme is international in character, which is greatly due to collaboration with partner universities in other countries. Courses are taught online in a stimulating and interactive digital environment that includes synchronous seminars, meaning you can take the programme regardless of your geographical location.
The compulsory courses for each specific specialisation are taught in the language relevant to that particular specialisation.
Programme Content
The programme begins in the autumn semester and consists of four semesters of full-time study. In each semester, you will normally take four 7.5 credit courses. You will then conclude the programme with a Master's thesis (30 credits) in the final semester. The programme can also be taken on a part-time basis with eight semesters at a rate of 15 credits per semester.
In the first semester of full-time study, you will receive a general introduction to the research field of intercultural literary studies, its methods, theories and themes. This is combined with a practical course in academic writing. In the elective courses in the first year of study, concepts such as world literature, migration and gender are highlighted. In the third semester, you will deepen your theoretical competence through focus on research methodology and begin to form a more structured understanding of the research field on which you will write your thesis in English in the fourth and final semester.
YEAR 1
Semester 1
- Intercultural Literature Studies: Academic Writing (7.5 credits)
- Introduction to Intercultural Literature Studies (7.5 credits)
- Conflict and Creativity in Literature in English (7.5 credits)
- Migration, Climate and Anxiety in Literature in English (7.5 credits)
Semester 2
- Intercultural Literature Studies: Literature and Gender - Literary Theory and Criticism (7.5 credits)
- Literatures of Migration: Past and Present (7.5 credits)
- World Literatures in English (7.5 credits)
- Literature, Censorship and Cancel Culture in English (7.5 credits)
YEAR 2
Semester 3
You will design your own research area through the choice of elective and optional courses in literary studies (30 credits). See the list of elective courses below.
Semester 4
- Intercultural Literature Studies: Master’s Degree Thesis with Specialisation in English (30 credits)
Elective Courses for Year 2
Autumn Semester (unless stated otherwise, the language of instruction is English)
- World Literatures: Asia and Europe (7.5 credits)
- World Literatures: North and South America (7.5 credits)
- Intercultural Literature Studies: Fiction in its Original Language (7.5 credits)
- Intercultural Literature Studies: Translation Project (7.5 credits)
- French IV: French Literary Criticism (7.5 credits) (in french)
- French IV: The French Chanson in Original Form and in Translation (7.5 credits) (in French)
- German: Intertextuality and Intermediality in Theory and Practice (7.5 credits) (in German)
- German: Modern Women Writers (7.5 credits) (in German)
- Intercultural Literature Studies: Theory and Method (7.5 hp)
Spring Semester (unless stated otherwise, the language of instruction is English)
- Intercultural Literature Studies: Literature and Politics in Contemporary Africa (7.5 credits)
- The French-Speaking World: Literature, Culture and Translation (7.5 credits) (in French)
- German: Forms and Conditions for Drama and Prose (7.5 credits) (in German)
- Intercultural Literature Studies: One-Year Master’s Degree Thesis (15 credits)
Networking
The programme gives you the opportunity both to begin building a professional network and also to complete an internship that can serve as the basis for extended academic specialisation.
Study Abroad
Dalarna University has Erasmus agreements and partnerships with other universities, which means you will have the opportunity to take courses abroad as part of the programme.
Professional Opportunites
The abilities and skills in language and interculturality that you acquire in the programme are competencies that are in demand in an increasingly international job market in various professional fields: for example, teaching, publishing, translation, editorial work, cultural communication, public relations and content management. By reading and discussing literary and theoretical texts from different continents, you will develop your ability to discuss, analyse and summarise complex ideas – a skill that is in demand in many sectors, both private and public.
Degree Awarded
Degree of Master of Arts, Main Field of Study: Intercultural Literature Studies
For studies in accordance with a specific specialisation:
Degree of Master of Arts (120 credits), Main Field of Study: Intercultural Literature Studies, Specialisation
Further Studies
A Degree of Master of Arts in Intercultural Literature Studies prepares you to continue your academic studies at the doctoral level both in Sweden and abroad. The general programme gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in intercultural literature studies. Furthermore, with the opportunity to choose a specialisation, you can focus your studies on a subject that is to you of particular interest.
What significance does research have for my education?
Most Dalarna University teachers are also researchers within their respective fields, and students have the chance to work closely with them in research projects. Our researchers are active in the pursuit of new knowledge as a means to find new solutions to major societal challenges. This knowledge then permeates our programmes to ensure they retain their high quality.
You will have the opportunity to be involved in our research environment where focus is on literatures in society. We hold research seminars on a regular basis to which we frequently invite guest speakers from both Sweden and other countries.