Literature Today

Do you wonder how a literary work becomes a classic or bestseller in the Digital Age? Would you like to learn about the steps taken between publishing a manuscript and the media reviews, talk shows, or blogs in which the work is discussed? Then this Master's programme might be for you.

Recent developments in literature

In the Master’s programme Literature Today, you will learn to identify and critically evaluate the most recent national and international developments in literature, and to situate these from a historical perspective.

• You will be equipped with the tools to identify and explain the quality of literary works in times of increasing commercialisation.
• You will learn how literature circulates within the market as part of a creative industry sustained by centuries-old tradition.
• You will investigate from theoretical and practical angles how to help to spread literature, explain it to a broader public, and translate academic insights for the reading public.

Tracks

The comparative and transnational perspective of this Master’s programme is combined with in-depth study of literature in a specific language. You can choose one of the following tracks:

1. English and Comparative Literature (entirely in English)
2. Dutch Literature (in Dutch and English)
3a. French Literature (Modern Literature in European Languages) 
3b. German Literature (Modern Literature in European Languages)
3d. Hispanic Literature (Modern Literature in European Languages)

Why this programme in Utrecht?

Prepare for the job market

Critical reflection, building up a repertoire, the consolidation of writing skills, and an understanding of how literary institutions operate in an era of globalisation are central to your studies during this programme. You can also complete an internship with publishing houses, media corporations, libraries, literary foundations, or cultural institutions – the job market and professional field for which this Master’s programme prepares you. 

Guest speakers from the world of publishing

In our Publishing course, a number of guest speakers from the world of publishing will be invited to comment on current trends, such as the rise of small-scale publishing initiatives and new approaches in the marketing of texts. Guest speakers in the past have been Michaël Stoker, Director of ILFU, Sophie R Lewis, translator and editor of works at small/literary UK presses such as Folio Society and And Other Stories, Bengono Bessala, publicist at Harper Inspire, Marianne Tatepo, editor at Ebury Press and founder of Black Agents and Editors Group and Willem Bisseling, literary agent at Sebes & Bisseling, Amsterdam.

After graduation

As a graduate of the Master in Literature Today, you will be trained to critically engage with the challenges that confront literature in our globalised, digitalised, and commercialised world. The programme content approaches these challenges from both a theoretical and practical perspective so that you will be fully prepared for the job market.

Working in the book publishing industry whilst simultaneously studying about it turned out to be ideal for me.