Third-cycle (doctoral) programme in comparative literature
Interested in doing research within the field of comparative literature? We offer third-cycle education for doctoral students.
The subject comparative literature was given degree-awarding powers for third-cycle education through a faculty board decision at the then newly-established Växjö University on March 10, 1999.
Doctoral student positions are announced when there are available funds. For more information on qualifications, see study plan.
What is covered by third-cycle education in comparative literature?
On the basic levels of comparative literature, literature as a personal, historical and aesthetic document is studied, with focus on the literary text: what is the text really about and what wording has been used? What has been read and how? How has the literature been understood and to what extent do the literary texts reflect traditions, world views and cultural norms? In what ways is the literature connected to other art forms and media, for instance, film and music? How is history of literature studied and what is literary theory really? In what way do people write today? How do you formulate complex thoughts and mediate subtle feelings through language? Can literature teach us something about what it means to be human?
These questions can be further developed in many different directions on the third-cycle education and there are also collaborations with, among others, the Swedish language, film studies, music and art, history, and a number of other related disciplines.
During the last few years, three dominating specialisations have evolved within our research in comparative literature: the two interdisciplinary research groups with focus on intermediality and postcolonial studies – Linnaeus University Centre for Intermedial and Multimodal Studies, and Linnaeus University Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies – and children's literature, which constitutes another research centre. The research environment in comparative literature has a strong international profile and many seminars and meetings are held in English.
Read more about the third-cycle courses at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.