Modern Literature Classical

December 14, 2021
American Classic Literature

Degree
Application required
Course commences	winter semester / summer semester
Standard course duration	4 semesters
Format options	full-time / part-time
Language requirements	certified proficiency in Latin and very good/good knowledge of two modern foreign languages (apart from German) – see § 3.2 of the Admission Regulations
Other features	postgraduate / consecutive
Language of instruction	German and the languages of instruction in the major/supplementary focus areas

Faculty of Modern Languages / Faculty of Philosophy

Course Outline

This M.A. programme centres on a reasoned, theoretically and methodologically sound engagement with the manifold literary connections existing between Antiquity (Greek and Roman), Christian/Jewish cultural traditions and the great national literatures of Europe. The aim is to enable students to obtain an overview of the main lines of Hebrew/Jewish, Greek/Latin and modern literary and cultural development and to describe and discuss them convincingly and confidently. To this end, they will be expected to acquire the specific skills required by a course in Classical Studies on the one hand and the study of modern languages on the other. They will also need to be able to dovetail those skills productively for purposes of application. They will also learn to compare and contrast the different approaches and methodologies prevalent in the disciplines they are concerned with and to relate them to one another.

Course structure

Successful completion of the M.A. programme requires the acquisition of a total of 120 credit points, of which 70 are accounted for by classes in the main (major) subject, 20 by classes in a subsidiary (minor) subject and 30 by the M.A. thesis. The M.A. programme can be selected as a main course or as a subsidiary course. The standard duration of the course as a main subject is 4 semesters, the last of which is reserved for completion of the M.A. thesis. Students can also apply to study the subject on a part-time basis. Click here for Heidelberg University’s Part-Time Study Regulations.

The M.A. programme (as a main subject) is made up of three components:

28 credit points for classes in “Focal Area I” (Classical Studies: Latin)
28 credit points for classes in “Focal Area II” (modern languages: students can choose between English Studies, French Studies, German Studies, Comparative German Studies, Spanish Studies and Italian Studies)
14 credit points for classes in the “Supplementary Area”; here students can choose either another classical/ modern language (English Studies, French Studies, German Studies, Comparative German Studies, Ancient Greek, Spanish Studies, Italian Studies, Medieval and Modern Latin, Slavic Studies) or Jewish Studies

As a subsidiary subject, the programme consists of two components:

10 credit points for classes in “Focal Area I” (Classical Studies: Ancient Greek or Latin)
10 credit points for classes in “Focal Area II”; students can choose either a modern language (English Studies, French Studies, German Studies, Comparative German Studies, Spanish Studies, Italian Studies or Slavic Studies), Medieval and Modern Latin, or Jewish Studies

As a subsidiary subject, students majoring in the M.A. course can choose any subject for which the University offers an M.A. programme. Click here for a list of all subsidiary subjects available.