What critical role do artists, philosophers, writers and poets play in today’s society? What is the point of art in public spaces? What can your role as a future student of culture mean to society? If you are passionate about such issues, the master’s programme in Art, Literature and Society could be the programme for you. The programme is aimed at critical and creative thinkers who have a large array of interests. As a graduate of this programme, you will have broad insights into modern day questions of national and international importance. You will also have experience conducting incisive debates and will be able to contribute to contemporary discussions surrounding art and literature.

The master Art, Literature and Society addresses contemporary debates in literature, art, religion, philosophy and culture. The key term here is interdisciplinarity: you learn to approach debates not as a philosopher, student of literature, sociologist or art historian, but rather as a student of culture who can combine different approaches from all of these various disciplines.

You will use interdisciplinary insights to debate issues such as:

• The critique of nationalism in recent German literature
• The humanities in academia
• Architecture and politics
• Fascism and modernism
• Darwinian aesthetics
• Are we our brain?
• The role of art in the future of democracy

The debates and discussions you will have during the programme, as well as the lectures and skills trainings, will help you:

• Develop broad insights into current issues in art and literature that are of national and international importance
• Gain experience engaging in impassioned debates and tackling a range of contemporary controversies
• Learn to infuse your academic practice with an element of personality, just as an artist would with a painting

Programme highlights

The master's programme in Art, Literature and Society is unique because it:

• Uses an interdisciplinary approach to art and literature
• Encourages you to participate in current and topical debates
• Gives you the opportunity to custom design your programme during the second semester
• Is truly international: 9 students in the 2015/16 programme come from 7 different countries
• Includes a variety of course-related skills trainings (e.g. conceptual analysis, writing a review)

The master Art, Literature and Society offers a challenging programme that paves the way to a wide range of career possibilities. The education you receive is broad-based, and during your internship you will have many opportunities to further sharpen your personal and professional skills.

As an Art, Literature and Society graduate you can look for work in:

• Art institutions (e.g. Copywriter, Project assistant)
• Education (e.g. Art teacher)
• Business (e.g. Project manager)
• Marketing and Communications (e.g. Public relations and Communications manager)
• Politics (e.g. project manager Political parties)
• Media (e.g. Assistant editor, Journalist)
• Government (e.g. Policy analyst, Research assistant)