What is the degree program about?

English Studies is a research-oriented degree program that offers two areas of specialization:

Culture and literature

This degree program allows students to combine modules in the history and theory of literature and culture with a wide range of interdisciplinary modules. Culture and literature focuses on historical perspectives and covers two key areas of humanities: the history of ideas and the analysis of discourse.
Subject areas include:

• Cultural studies:
  Focus on cultural history and popular culture with a particular emphasis on the intersection between culture, the economy and politics. In addition to these areas, this specialization focuses on cultural and medial translation.
• Literature studies:
  Relationships between literature and other discourses such as philosophy, religion and politics.

Linguistics and applied linguistics

This degree program focuses on the description and analysis of the English language in light of current linguistic theories and teaching approaches.

The degree program covers the following topics:

• The idiomatic element of language: Construction grammar, valency theory, research into collocations and idioms
• Language teaching: Lexicography, grammar, contrastive linguistics, language perception and production, literacy skills, bilingualism and bilingual upbringing
• First and second language acquisition and research into learners’ language
• Corpus linguistics: English language: history and variations
• Advanced language modules

Students can choose to study one of either Culture and literature or Linguistics and applied linguistics. Alternatively, they can choose a combination of both specializations. Both alternatives lead to the qualification “MA English Studies”.