Entry requirements

successful completion of the module Theories and methods in cultural and historical studies (offered in winter semester)

Qualification aims

Students acquire in-depth knowledge of developments in literary history, contemporary cultural configurations, and discussions of literature and cultural theory in Latin America. With this, they are able to work through the current state of research on a specific topic. In understanding theoretical and methodological approaches to literary studies, cultural studies, and cultural action, students can apply these to literary and cultural processes and forms of representation in Latin American literatures and cultures. They can discuss selected topics from the perspective of literary and cultural studies and analyze them from gender-theoretical and intersectional perspectives. They can work independently based on current research debates, especially in Latin America, and their own epistemological interests. Students are able to explain and present the process and results of their own work while adhering to good academic practice in a group setting.

Content

Students receive an exemplary overview of thematic aspects, of the characteristics of current research discussions, especially in Latin America, of the theoretical background, and of the various possible procedures for dealing with a complex topic in Latin American literary and/or cultural studies. They learn to work in an interdependent manner sensitive to gender and diversity. In doing so, students reflect diverse voices of the literary and cultural actors involved, as well as the plurality of forms of expression studied, on the basis of a selected historical or contemporary topic from the field of literatures and cultures of Latin America. In addition, students are able to independently interpret and analyze literary texts and other aesthetic forms of representation as well as processes of cultural action based on a specific question and implement their own project by reviewing the current state of research. Students learn how to present to an audience and write academic texts according to the rules of good academic practice.

Essentials

Teaching and learning methods: Grundkurs (GK) + Hauptseminar (HS)

Module exam: Term paper (approx. 15 pages)

Offer: Every summer semester