1. Self-Conception of the Subject and its Contribution to Competency Development

In the subject of Literature, students deal with literary content and methods, acquiring competencies for studies in the humanities, linguistics, social sciences, and cultural studies. The subject matter includes fictional texts as well as other literary media. The focus is on reception, analysis, and interpretation, taking literary and intellectual history into account. Students further develop their written language skills (text-analytical writing, argumentation) and sharpen their aesthetic judgment.

2. Competency Areas

• Factual Competence: Confident application of knowledge of cultural and literary-historical data, classification of works into epochs, overview of genres, and use of academic terminology.
• Analytical Competence: Systematic and criteria-based examination of texts and media (e.g., linguistic representation, stylistics, character conception) to extract work-immanent information.
• Interpretation Competence: Recognizing the ambiguity of literary works. Independent interpretation based on analysis results and cultural knowledge. Differentiating between subjective value judgments and objective factual judgments.

3. Competency Expectations

The students…

• confidently apply literary terminology.
• examine texts according to formal criteria and distinguish text genres.
• classify literary texts, themes, and motifs within literary history.
• analyze epic, dramatic, and lyric texts for a coherent interpretation.
• describe and analyze linguistic and visual means.
• compare different texts and media (e.g., narrative, drama, film, graphic novel).
• analyze literary characters in the context of social and mentality-historical trends.
• review interpretation hypotheses and engage with secondary literature.
• provide accurate text evidence and apply academic citation techniques.

4. Course Content

a) Basic Content

• Insight into German literary history using selected works and epochs.
• Overview of literary genres (poetry, drama, epic/prose).
• Insight into the expanded concept of text (theater performance, film, graphic novel).
• Literary motifs and symbols in cross-cultural comparison.
• Basics of text analysis and academic work.
• Design features of texts (characters, time, place, narrative behavior) as well as visual and cinematic elements.

b) Possible Differentiations or Extensions

• Engagement with secondary literature and theoretical approaches.
• Possibilities and limits of translating foreign-language texts.
• Comparison of the realization of a theme in different art forms (media change).
• Creation of own creative products and action-oriented projects.
• Attending cultural events.