Random people
Language skills
required, minimum level of B2
Programme length
Full time study for two academic years.
Study mode
Face-to-face learning
Application status
International students:
Students with Icelandic or Nordic citizenship:
Overview

  • Do you have a passion for literature?
  • Do you want a thorough grounding in academic skills which will prepare you for various academic careers?
  • Would you like to teach in an upper secondary school?
  • Do you want to have the option to pursue doctoral studies?

The MA in comparative literature is particularly valuable as a general education for students who want to expand their knowledge and understanding of human relationships and artistic expression, as well as developing skills in academic working practices.

Students are able to tailor the programme to suit their own interests through elective courses, including the option of taking courses in other humanities subjects or at a university abroad. Students plan the programme in consultation with the academic supervisor.

Students must complete one mandatory course and a 30 ECTS Master's thesis.

Programme structure

The programme is 120 ECTS and is organised as two years of full-time study.

The programme is made up of:

  • Mandatory courses, 10 ECTS
  • Elective courses, 50 - 80 ECTS
  • Final thesis, 30 - 60 ECTS

Organisation of teaching

This programme is taught in Icelandic but most textbooks are in English.

The programme is taught through lectures, discussion periods and seminars and students are expected to do a significant amount of independent study, mainly reading and considering literary texts and other reading material.

Main objectives

After completing the programme, students should, for example:

  • have developed the knowledge and skills required to tackle new and previously unfamiliar topics.
  • be able to initiate projects in their field, manage them successfully, and assume responsibility for the work of groups and individuals.
  • have learned to identify opportunities for sharing material concerning general linguistics in contemporary society.

Other

Completing an MA at the Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies allows you to apply for doctoral studies in your chosen subject.

A student who has completed a BA degree in comparative literature as a major or a BA degree in another humanities subject with comparative literature as a minor and at least a 10-credit thesis can apply for admission to a master's program in comparative literature.

Applicants for master's studies must have completed a BA degree or equivalent from a recognized university, with a first class grade (7.25), and a final thesis must be at least a 10 ECTS and have received at least a first class grade. A student who intends to start a master's program immediately after completing a BA degree  can apply before the BA studies is completed. However, no one can formally start a master's program until the admission requirements have been fully met.


An MA degree requires at least 120 ECTS. Students organise their study in consultation with the head of program or another tenured instructor within the programme. A Master's thesis may be 30-60 ECTS. Students in the Master's programme in comparative literature must complete at least 90 ECTS within the subject (in courses and research projects marked ABF), including the MA thesis. Students may take up to 30 ECTS outside the subject, either in courses offered as part of the course catalogue, or courses in other programmes, which requires the permission of the head of program. Courses taken abroad as part of a student exchange programme are exempt from these rules, subject to the approval of the head of program.

The following documents must accompany an application for this programme:
  • Statement of purpose
  • Certified copies of diplomas and transcripts

Further information on supporting documents can be found here

Programme structure

Check below to see how the programme is structured.

This programme does not offer specialisations.

First year | Fall
Directed Study in Comparative Literature A (ABF020F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Fall
Directed Study in Comparative Literature B (ABF024F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Fall
Seminar: Memory, Self and Narrative (ABF060F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Later.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Fall
Seminar Project: Memory, Self and Narrative (ABF061F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Later.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Fall
Seminar: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’ (ABF724F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

This methodological seminar focuses on the recent and rapidly expanding field of the history of emotion while seeking to apply emotion theory to literature. It traces the development of the ‘history of emotion’ across the multiple different fields, including psychology, neurology and history, followed by an in-depth critical work on emotion theory and its applicability to literature. It tackles questions such as what are literary emotions? Where are they located? How can they be defined and what is the relationship between historical and literary emotionality?

The seminar will expand widely across the theoretical background of emotion studies, presenting and discussing its major terminologies and theories. We will then shift to close reading of selected texts for the sake of reinforcing the methodological approach as a skill set to deepen the students’ understanding of the critical parameters and their application. Ultimately, we will seek to encourage and foster the independent critical work of the students on their own chosen texts, utilising the skill sets that they have acquired throughout the seminar to expand on texts of their own choice.

The seminar will run in the first half of term. The final set of classes will be held at the end of term where students will present their research projects (for those taking the associated 5 credit research project) or a potential research project or paper (for those interesting in attending solely the seminar). Readings will include both theoretical texts and literary works. The seminar will take place in English.

Language of instruction: English
Course taught first half of the semester
First year | Fall
Seminar project: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’ (ABF725F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

This research project is directly associated with the methodological seminar on emotions. The associated seminar will run in the first half of term, followed by a research break in the second half of term where students will work on their own projects utilising the methodological approach or the theory of emotions in history or literature to analyse a work or several works of their own choice. This gives students the opportunity to do in-depth work on a text or set of texts that they may be interested in for their thesis, for instance.
It is not a requirement to attend the seminar for participation in the research project and so students familiar with (or interested in) emotion studies may take the research project independently.
Evaluation criteria is based on a single research paper due at the end of term. The topic selection is due after mid-term. Papers can be written in either English or Icelandic.

Language of instruction: English
Course taught second half of the semester
First year | Fall
Death of Tragedy and its intended Rebirth (ABF735F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

In the course of the seminar the concept of tragdey will be discussed in depth and attention brought to how the different understanding and definition of that concept can be traced in the history of Western Theatre and society. In that part of the seminar George Steiner’s theory about how tragedy as an art form was bound to give in for the overtaking of modernism. During the latter part of the seminar some recent revivals and adaptations of ancient tragedies will be discussed, and the question raised whether tragedy as a fom for artistic expression is in fact so vivid that it might be stated that it is possible to argue for an era of the rebirth of tragedy in post-modernist, post-damatic times.

Form of teaching: Lectures and discussion

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Spring 1
Directed Study in Comparative Literature A (ABF020F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Spring 1
Directed Study in Comparative Literature B (ABF024F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Spring 1
Franz Kafka and Narrative Art (ABF601M)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Franz Kafka is among the best-known modern writers of the Western world. His oeuvre is often thought to be cryptic and hard to interpret, and yet many seem to think that it home to a very distinct meaning which can be summarized with the attribute “Kafkaesque”. Some claim that he stages mankind in dark times; others find humour and comic elements to be prominent in his texts. The course will tackle these paradoxes by exploring Kafka´s narrative world from various angles and in all its variety. Narrative kernels will be pursued in his aphorisms and they will also be traced in his diaries and letters, his microfiction, short stories, novellas, and novels. Kafka’s writing invites diverse explorations of the connections and differences between these different genres of expression.

These works will be contemplated vis-à-vis 20th Century narrative conventions and modernist ruptures, with an emphasis on questions about existential issues, freedom, power, and modern societal manifestations. The challenges of transporting the characteristics of Kafka´s writing between languages will also be of concern, for most readers of Kafka get to know his work in translation. This course is aimed at both graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Students could possibly work on aspects of translation, on creative writing projects, or on comparative projects also pertaining to the works of other writers.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Prerequisites
First year | Spring 1
Postfeminism and chick lit (ABF841F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Stéphanie Genz and Benjamin A. Brabon have described postfeminism as a “concept fraught with contradictions. Loathed by some and celebrated by others“. In this course postfeminism will be analyzed as a response to second wave feminism, as a part of postmodernist consumer culture which is influenced by neo-liberal market theories, and in terms of its expressive sexuality. The students will read central theoretical texts on postfeminism and consumer culture, and works by some of the best known chick lit writers, such as Helen Fielding, Candace Bushnell, and Sophie Kinsella, as well as Icelandic counterparts. Chick culture will be analyzed in general through television series such as Desperate Housewives (2004–2012) and Sex and the City (1998–2004), through films, talk shows for women, the music industry, glamour magazines and self-help books. We will also ask whether some central narrative structures, motifs and characters, can be traced back to classic writers such as Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and Edith Wharton. Students will be encouraged to approach postfeminism in a critical manner without engaging in the derogatory language which so often characterizes the debate.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Spring 1
Fantasies (ABF842F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

In the course, various forms of fantasy will be discussed, along with their characteristics and roles, drawing on the perspectives of theorists such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Tzvetan Todorov, Rosemary Jackson, and Mariu Nikolajeva. Additionally, the discussion will encompass different types of imagined worlds and the interplay between reality and fiction in relation to concepts such as the imagination, possible world theory, and unnatural narratives. Furthermore, attention will be given to the hybrid nature of fantasy. Works examined and analyzed in the course include Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), Peter Pan (James Matthew Barrie), selected Moomin books (Tove Jansson), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J. K. Rowling), The Golden Compass (Phillip Pullman) and selected Goosebumps books (R. L. Stine and Helgi Jónsson).

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
First year | Spring 1
Workshop: Angry Men in Literature and Arts (ABF843F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
First year | Spring 1
Direct study in seminar: Angry Men in Literature and Arts (ABF844F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Second year | Fall
Directed Study in Comparative Literature A (ABF020F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Fall
Directed Study in Comparative Literature B (ABF024F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Fall
Seminar: Memory, Self and Narrative (ABF060F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Later.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Fall
Seminar Project: Memory, Self and Narrative (ABF061F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Later.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Fall
Seminar: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’ (ABF724F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

This methodological seminar focuses on the recent and rapidly expanding field of the history of emotion while seeking to apply emotion theory to literature. It traces the development of the ‘history of emotion’ across the multiple different fields, including psychology, neurology and history, followed by an in-depth critical work on emotion theory and its applicability to literature. It tackles questions such as what are literary emotions? Where are they located? How can they be defined and what is the relationship between historical and literary emotionality?

The seminar will expand widely across the theoretical background of emotion studies, presenting and discussing its major terminologies and theories. We will then shift to close reading of selected texts for the sake of reinforcing the methodological approach as a skill set to deepen the students’ understanding of the critical parameters and their application. Ultimately, we will seek to encourage and foster the independent critical work of the students on their own chosen texts, utilising the skill sets that they have acquired throughout the seminar to expand on texts of their own choice.

The seminar will run in the first half of term. The final set of classes will be held at the end of term where students will present their research projects (for those taking the associated 5 credit research project) or a potential research project or paper (for those interesting in attending solely the seminar). Readings will include both theoretical texts and literary works. The seminar will take place in English.

Language of instruction: English
Course taught first half of the semester
Second year | Fall
Seminar project: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’ (ABF725F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

This research project is directly associated with the methodological seminar on emotions. The associated seminar will run in the first half of term, followed by a research break in the second half of term where students will work on their own projects utilising the methodological approach or the theory of emotions in history or literature to analyse a work or several works of their own choice. This gives students the opportunity to do in-depth work on a text or set of texts that they may be interested in for their thesis, for instance.
It is not a requirement to attend the seminar for participation in the research project and so students familiar with (or interested in) emotion studies may take the research project independently.
Evaluation criteria is based on a single research paper due at the end of term. The topic selection is due after mid-term. Papers can be written in either English or Icelandic.

Language of instruction: English
Course taught second half of the semester
Second year | Fall
Death of Tragedy and its intended Rebirth (ABF735F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

In the course of the seminar the concept of tragdey will be discussed in depth and attention brought to how the different understanding and definition of that concept can be traced in the history of Western Theatre and society. In that part of the seminar George Steiner’s theory about how tragedy as an art form was bound to give in for the overtaking of modernism. During the latter part of the seminar some recent revivals and adaptations of ancient tragedies will be discussed, and the question raised whether tragedy as a fom for artistic expression is in fact so vivid that it might be stated that it is possible to argue for an era of the rebirth of tragedy in post-modernist, post-damatic times.

Form of teaching: Lectures and discussion

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Fall
MA-thesis in Comparative Literature (ABF441L)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
0 ECTS, credits
Course Description

MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Part of the total project/thesis credits
Second year | Fall
Academic Studies and Research (ABF902F)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Later

Language of instruction: Icelandic/English
Face-to-face learning
Second year | Spring 1
Directed Study in Comparative Literature A (ABF020F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Spring 1
Directed Study in Comparative Literature B (ABF024F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Spring 1
Franz Kafka and Narrative Art (ABF601M)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Franz Kafka is among the best-known modern writers of the Western world. His oeuvre is often thought to be cryptic and hard to interpret, and yet many seem to think that it home to a very distinct meaning which can be summarized with the attribute “Kafkaesque”. Some claim that he stages mankind in dark times; others find humour and comic elements to be prominent in his texts. The course will tackle these paradoxes by exploring Kafka´s narrative world from various angles and in all its variety. Narrative kernels will be pursued in his aphorisms and they will also be traced in his diaries and letters, his microfiction, short stories, novellas, and novels. Kafka’s writing invites diverse explorations of the connections and differences between these different genres of expression.

These works will be contemplated vis-à-vis 20th Century narrative conventions and modernist ruptures, with an emphasis on questions about existential issues, freedom, power, and modern societal manifestations. The challenges of transporting the characteristics of Kafka´s writing between languages will also be of concern, for most readers of Kafka get to know his work in translation. This course is aimed at both graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Students could possibly work on aspects of translation, on creative writing projects, or on comparative projects also pertaining to the works of other writers.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Prerequisites
Second year | Spring 1
Postfeminism and chick lit (ABF841F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Stéphanie Genz and Benjamin A. Brabon have described postfeminism as a “concept fraught with contradictions. Loathed by some and celebrated by others“. In this course postfeminism will be analyzed as a response to second wave feminism, as a part of postmodernist consumer culture which is influenced by neo-liberal market theories, and in terms of its expressive sexuality. The students will read central theoretical texts on postfeminism and consumer culture, and works by some of the best known chick lit writers, such as Helen Fielding, Candace Bushnell, and Sophie Kinsella, as well as Icelandic counterparts. Chick culture will be analyzed in general through television series such as Desperate Housewives (2004–2012) and Sex and the City (1998–2004), through films, talk shows for women, the music industry, glamour magazines and self-help books. We will also ask whether some central narrative structures, motifs and characters, can be traced back to classic writers such as Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and Edith Wharton. Students will be encouraged to approach postfeminism in a critical manner without engaging in the derogatory language which so often characterizes the debate.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Spring 1
Fantasies (ABF842F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

In the course, various forms of fantasy will be discussed, along with their characteristics and roles, drawing on the perspectives of theorists such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Tzvetan Todorov, Rosemary Jackson, and Mariu Nikolajeva. Additionally, the discussion will encompass different types of imagined worlds and the interplay between reality and fiction in relation to concepts such as the imagination, possible world theory, and unnatural narratives. Furthermore, attention will be given to the hybrid nature of fantasy. Works examined and analyzed in the course include Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), Peter Pan (James Matthew Barrie), selected Moomin books (Tove Jansson), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J. K. Rowling), The Golden Compass (Phillip Pullman) and selected Goosebumps books (R. L. Stine and Helgi Jónsson).

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Second year | Spring 1
Workshop: Angry Men in Literature and Arts (ABF843F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Spring 1
Direct study in seminar: Angry Men in Literature and Arts (ABF844F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Second year | Spring 1
MA-thesis in Comparative Literature (ABF441L)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
0 ECTS, credits
Course Description

MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Part of the total project/thesis credits
First year
  • Fall
  • ABF020F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature A
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF024F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature B
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF060F
    Seminar: Memory, Self and Narrative
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF061F
    Seminar Project: Memory, Self and Narrative
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF724F
    Seminar: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This methodological seminar focuses on the recent and rapidly expanding field of the history of emotion while seeking to apply emotion theory to literature. It traces the development of the ‘history of emotion’ across the multiple different fields, including psychology, neurology and history, followed by an in-depth critical work on emotion theory and its applicability to literature. It tackles questions such as what are literary emotions? Where are they located? How can they be defined and what is the relationship between historical and literary emotionality?

    The seminar will expand widely across the theoretical background of emotion studies, presenting and discussing its major terminologies and theories. We will then shift to close reading of selected texts for the sake of reinforcing the methodological approach as a skill set to deepen the students’ understanding of the critical parameters and their application. Ultimately, we will seek to encourage and foster the independent critical work of the students on their own chosen texts, utilising the skill sets that they have acquired throughout the seminar to expand on texts of their own choice.

    The seminar will run in the first half of term. The final set of classes will be held at the end of term where students will present their research projects (for those taking the associated 5 credit research project) or a potential research project or paper (for those interesting in attending solely the seminar). Readings will include both theoretical texts and literary works. The seminar will take place in English.

    Prerequisites
    Course taught first half of the semester
  • ABF725F
    Seminar project: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This research project is directly associated with the methodological seminar on emotions. The associated seminar will run in the first half of term, followed by a research break in the second half of term where students will work on their own projects utilising the methodological approach or the theory of emotions in history or literature to analyse a work or several works of their own choice. This gives students the opportunity to do in-depth work on a text or set of texts that they may be interested in for their thesis, for instance.
    It is not a requirement to attend the seminar for participation in the research project and so students familiar with (or interested in) emotion studies may take the research project independently.
    Evaluation criteria is based on a single research paper due at the end of term. The topic selection is due after mid-term. Papers can be written in either English or Icelandic.

    Prerequisites
    Course taught second half of the semester
  • ABF735F
    Death of Tragedy and its intended Rebirth
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course of the seminar the concept of tragdey will be discussed in depth and attention brought to how the different understanding and definition of that concept can be traced in the history of Western Theatre and society. In that part of the seminar George Steiner’s theory about how tragedy as an art form was bound to give in for the overtaking of modernism. During the latter part of the seminar some recent revivals and adaptations of ancient tragedies will be discussed, and the question raised whether tragedy as a fom for artistic expression is in fact so vivid that it might be stated that it is possible to argue for an era of the rebirth of tragedy in post-modernist, post-damatic times.

    Form of teaching: Lectures and discussion

    Prerequisites
  • Spring 2
  • ABF020F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature A
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF024F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature B
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF601M
    Franz Kafka and Narrative Art
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Franz Kafka is among the best-known modern writers of the Western world. His oeuvre is often thought to be cryptic and hard to interpret, and yet many seem to think that it home to a very distinct meaning which can be summarized with the attribute “Kafkaesque”. Some claim that he stages mankind in dark times; others find humour and comic elements to be prominent in his texts. The course will tackle these paradoxes by exploring Kafka´s narrative world from various angles and in all its variety. Narrative kernels will be pursued in his aphorisms and they will also be traced in his diaries and letters, his microfiction, short stories, novellas, and novels. Kafka’s writing invites diverse explorations of the connections and differences between these different genres of expression.

    These works will be contemplated vis-à-vis 20th Century narrative conventions and modernist ruptures, with an emphasis on questions about existential issues, freedom, power, and modern societal manifestations. The challenges of transporting the characteristics of Kafka´s writing between languages will also be of concern, for most readers of Kafka get to know his work in translation. This course is aimed at both graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Students could possibly work on aspects of translation, on creative writing projects, or on comparative projects also pertaining to the works of other writers.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF841F
    Postfeminism and chick lit
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Stéphanie Genz and Benjamin A. Brabon have described postfeminism as a “concept fraught with contradictions. Loathed by some and celebrated by others“. In this course postfeminism will be analyzed as a response to second wave feminism, as a part of postmodernist consumer culture which is influenced by neo-liberal market theories, and in terms of its expressive sexuality. The students will read central theoretical texts on postfeminism and consumer culture, and works by some of the best known chick lit writers, such as Helen Fielding, Candace Bushnell, and Sophie Kinsella, as well as Icelandic counterparts. Chick culture will be analyzed in general through television series such as Desperate Housewives (2004–2012) and Sex and the City (1998–2004), through films, talk shows for women, the music industry, glamour magazines and self-help books. We will also ask whether some central narrative structures, motifs and characters, can be traced back to classic writers such as Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and Edith Wharton. Students will be encouraged to approach postfeminism in a critical manner without engaging in the derogatory language which so often characterizes the debate.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF842F
    Fantasies
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course, various forms of fantasy will be discussed, along with their characteristics and roles, drawing on the perspectives of theorists such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Tzvetan Todorov, Rosemary Jackson, and Mariu Nikolajeva. Additionally, the discussion will encompass different types of imagined worlds and the interplay between reality and fiction in relation to concepts such as the imagination, possible world theory, and unnatural narratives. Furthermore, attention will be given to the hybrid nature of fantasy. Works examined and analyzed in the course include Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), Peter Pan (James Matthew Barrie), selected Moomin books (Tove Jansson), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J. K. Rowling), The Golden Compass (Phillip Pullman) and selected Goosebumps books (R. L. Stine and Helgi Jónsson).

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • ABF843F
    Workshop: Angry Men in Literature and Arts
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF844F
    Direct study in seminar: Angry Men in Literature and Arts
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Fall
  • ABF020F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature A
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF024F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature B
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF060F
    Seminar: Memory, Self and Narrative
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF061F
    Seminar Project: Memory, Self and Narrative
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF724F
    Seminar: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This methodological seminar focuses on the recent and rapidly expanding field of the history of emotion while seeking to apply emotion theory to literature. It traces the development of the ‘history of emotion’ across the multiple different fields, including psychology, neurology and history, followed by an in-depth critical work on emotion theory and its applicability to literature. It tackles questions such as what are literary emotions? Where are they located? How can they be defined and what is the relationship between historical and literary emotionality?

    The seminar will expand widely across the theoretical background of emotion studies, presenting and discussing its major terminologies and theories. We will then shift to close reading of selected texts for the sake of reinforcing the methodological approach as a skill set to deepen the students’ understanding of the critical parameters and their application. Ultimately, we will seek to encourage and foster the independent critical work of the students on their own chosen texts, utilising the skill sets that they have acquired throughout the seminar to expand on texts of their own choice.

    The seminar will run in the first half of term. The final set of classes will be held at the end of term where students will present their research projects (for those taking the associated 5 credit research project) or a potential research project or paper (for those interesting in attending solely the seminar). Readings will include both theoretical texts and literary works. The seminar will take place in English.

    Prerequisites
    Course taught first half of the semester
  • ABF725F
    Seminar project: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This research project is directly associated with the methodological seminar on emotions. The associated seminar will run in the first half of term, followed by a research break in the second half of term where students will work on their own projects utilising the methodological approach or the theory of emotions in history or literature to analyse a work or several works of their own choice. This gives students the opportunity to do in-depth work on a text or set of texts that they may be interested in for their thesis, for instance.
    It is not a requirement to attend the seminar for participation in the research project and so students familiar with (or interested in) emotion studies may take the research project independently.
    Evaluation criteria is based on a single research paper due at the end of term. The topic selection is due after mid-term. Papers can be written in either English or Icelandic.

    Prerequisites
    Course taught second half of the semester
  • ABF735F
    Death of Tragedy and its intended Rebirth
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course of the seminar the concept of tragdey will be discussed in depth and attention brought to how the different understanding and definition of that concept can be traced in the history of Western Theatre and society. In that part of the seminar George Steiner’s theory about how tragedy as an art form was bound to give in for the overtaking of modernism. During the latter part of the seminar some recent revivals and adaptations of ancient tragedies will be discussed, and the question raised whether tragedy as a fom for artistic expression is in fact so vivid that it might be stated that it is possible to argue for an era of the rebirth of tragedy in post-modernist, post-damatic times.

    Form of teaching: Lectures and discussion

    Prerequisites
  • ABF441L
    MA-thesis in Comparative Literature
    Mandatory (required) course
    0
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    0 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

    Prerequisites
    Part of the total project/thesis credits
  • ABF902F
    Academic Studies and Research
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Spring 2
  • ABF020F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature A
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF024F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature B
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF601M
    Franz Kafka and Narrative Art
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Franz Kafka is among the best-known modern writers of the Western world. His oeuvre is often thought to be cryptic and hard to interpret, and yet many seem to think that it home to a very distinct meaning which can be summarized with the attribute “Kafkaesque”. Some claim that he stages mankind in dark times; others find humour and comic elements to be prominent in his texts. The course will tackle these paradoxes by exploring Kafka´s narrative world from various angles and in all its variety. Narrative kernels will be pursued in his aphorisms and they will also be traced in his diaries and letters, his microfiction, short stories, novellas, and novels. Kafka’s writing invites diverse explorations of the connections and differences between these different genres of expression.

    These works will be contemplated vis-à-vis 20th Century narrative conventions and modernist ruptures, with an emphasis on questions about existential issues, freedom, power, and modern societal manifestations. The challenges of transporting the characteristics of Kafka´s writing between languages will also be of concern, for most readers of Kafka get to know his work in translation. This course is aimed at both graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Students could possibly work on aspects of translation, on creative writing projects, or on comparative projects also pertaining to the works of other writers.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF841F
    Postfeminism and chick lit
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Stéphanie Genz and Benjamin A. Brabon have described postfeminism as a “concept fraught with contradictions. Loathed by some and celebrated by others“. In this course postfeminism will be analyzed as a response to second wave feminism, as a part of postmodernist consumer culture which is influenced by neo-liberal market theories, and in terms of its expressive sexuality. The students will read central theoretical texts on postfeminism and consumer culture, and works by some of the best known chick lit writers, such as Helen Fielding, Candace Bushnell, and Sophie Kinsella, as well as Icelandic counterparts. Chick culture will be analyzed in general through television series such as Desperate Housewives (2004–2012) and Sex and the City (1998–2004), through films, talk shows for women, the music industry, glamour magazines and self-help books. We will also ask whether some central narrative structures, motifs and characters, can be traced back to classic writers such as Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and Edith Wharton. Students will be encouraged to approach postfeminism in a critical manner without engaging in the derogatory language which so often characterizes the debate.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF842F
    Fantasies
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course, various forms of fantasy will be discussed, along with their characteristics and roles, drawing on the perspectives of theorists such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Tzvetan Todorov, Rosemary Jackson, and Mariu Nikolajeva. Additionally, the discussion will encompass different types of imagined worlds and the interplay between reality and fiction in relation to concepts such as the imagination, possible world theory, and unnatural narratives. Furthermore, attention will be given to the hybrid nature of fantasy. Works examined and analyzed in the course include Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), Peter Pan (James Matthew Barrie), selected Moomin books (Tove Jansson), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J. K. Rowling), The Golden Compass (Phillip Pullman) and selected Goosebumps books (R. L. Stine and Helgi Jónsson).

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • ABF843F
    Workshop: Angry Men in Literature and Arts
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF844F
    Direct study in seminar: Angry Men in Literature and Arts
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • ABF441L
    MA-thesis in Comparative Literature
    Mandatory (required) course
    0
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    0 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

    Prerequisites
    Part of the total project/thesis credits
Second year
  • Fall
  • ABF020F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature A
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF024F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature B
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF060F
    Seminar: Memory, Self and Narrative
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF061F
    Seminar Project: Memory, Self and Narrative
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF724F
    Seminar: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This methodological seminar focuses on the recent and rapidly expanding field of the history of emotion while seeking to apply emotion theory to literature. It traces the development of the ‘history of emotion’ across the multiple different fields, including psychology, neurology and history, followed by an in-depth critical work on emotion theory and its applicability to literature. It tackles questions such as what are literary emotions? Where are they located? How can they be defined and what is the relationship between historical and literary emotionality?

    The seminar will expand widely across the theoretical background of emotion studies, presenting and discussing its major terminologies and theories. We will then shift to close reading of selected texts for the sake of reinforcing the methodological approach as a skill set to deepen the students’ understanding of the critical parameters and their application. Ultimately, we will seek to encourage and foster the independent critical work of the students on their own chosen texts, utilising the skill sets that they have acquired throughout the seminar to expand on texts of their own choice.

    The seminar will run in the first half of term. The final set of classes will be held at the end of term where students will present their research projects (for those taking the associated 5 credit research project) or a potential research project or paper (for those interesting in attending solely the seminar). Readings will include both theoretical texts and literary works. The seminar will take place in English.

    Prerequisites
    Course taught first half of the semester
  • ABF725F
    Seminar project: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This research project is directly associated with the methodological seminar on emotions. The associated seminar will run in the first half of term, followed by a research break in the second half of term where students will work on their own projects utilising the methodological approach or the theory of emotions in history or literature to analyse a work or several works of their own choice. This gives students the opportunity to do in-depth work on a text or set of texts that they may be interested in for their thesis, for instance.
    It is not a requirement to attend the seminar for participation in the research project and so students familiar with (or interested in) emotion studies may take the research project independently.
    Evaluation criteria is based on a single research paper due at the end of term. The topic selection is due after mid-term. Papers can be written in either English or Icelandic.

    Prerequisites
    Course taught second half of the semester
  • ABF735F
    Death of Tragedy and its intended Rebirth
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course of the seminar the concept of tragdey will be discussed in depth and attention brought to how the different understanding and definition of that concept can be traced in the history of Western Theatre and society. In that part of the seminar George Steiner’s theory about how tragedy as an art form was bound to give in for the overtaking of modernism. During the latter part of the seminar some recent revivals and adaptations of ancient tragedies will be discussed, and the question raised whether tragedy as a fom for artistic expression is in fact so vivid that it might be stated that it is possible to argue for an era of the rebirth of tragedy in post-modernist, post-damatic times.

    Form of teaching: Lectures and discussion

    Prerequisites
  • Spring 2
  • ABF020F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature A
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF024F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature B
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF601M
    Franz Kafka and Narrative Art
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Franz Kafka is among the best-known modern writers of the Western world. His oeuvre is often thought to be cryptic and hard to interpret, and yet many seem to think that it home to a very distinct meaning which can be summarized with the attribute “Kafkaesque”. Some claim that he stages mankind in dark times; others find humour and comic elements to be prominent in his texts. The course will tackle these paradoxes by exploring Kafka´s narrative world from various angles and in all its variety. Narrative kernels will be pursued in his aphorisms and they will also be traced in his diaries and letters, his microfiction, short stories, novellas, and novels. Kafka’s writing invites diverse explorations of the connections and differences between these different genres of expression.

    These works will be contemplated vis-à-vis 20th Century narrative conventions and modernist ruptures, with an emphasis on questions about existential issues, freedom, power, and modern societal manifestations. The challenges of transporting the characteristics of Kafka´s writing between languages will also be of concern, for most readers of Kafka get to know his work in translation. This course is aimed at both graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Students could possibly work on aspects of translation, on creative writing projects, or on comparative projects also pertaining to the works of other writers.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF841F
    Postfeminism and chick lit
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Stéphanie Genz and Benjamin A. Brabon have described postfeminism as a “concept fraught with contradictions. Loathed by some and celebrated by others“. In this course postfeminism will be analyzed as a response to second wave feminism, as a part of postmodernist consumer culture which is influenced by neo-liberal market theories, and in terms of its expressive sexuality. The students will read central theoretical texts on postfeminism and consumer culture, and works by some of the best known chick lit writers, such as Helen Fielding, Candace Bushnell, and Sophie Kinsella, as well as Icelandic counterparts. Chick culture will be analyzed in general through television series such as Desperate Housewives (2004–2012) and Sex and the City (1998–2004), through films, talk shows for women, the music industry, glamour magazines and self-help books. We will also ask whether some central narrative structures, motifs and characters, can be traced back to classic writers such as Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and Edith Wharton. Students will be encouraged to approach postfeminism in a critical manner without engaging in the derogatory language which so often characterizes the debate.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF842F
    Fantasies
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course, various forms of fantasy will be discussed, along with their characteristics and roles, drawing on the perspectives of theorists such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Tzvetan Todorov, Rosemary Jackson, and Mariu Nikolajeva. Additionally, the discussion will encompass different types of imagined worlds and the interplay between reality and fiction in relation to concepts such as the imagination, possible world theory, and unnatural narratives. Furthermore, attention will be given to the hybrid nature of fantasy. Works examined and analyzed in the course include Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), Peter Pan (James Matthew Barrie), selected Moomin books (Tove Jansson), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J. K. Rowling), The Golden Compass (Phillip Pullman) and selected Goosebumps books (R. L. Stine and Helgi Jónsson).

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • ABF843F
    Workshop: Angry Men in Literature and Arts
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF844F
    Direct study in seminar: Angry Men in Literature and Arts
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Fall
  • ABF020F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature A
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF024F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature B
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF060F
    Seminar: Memory, Self and Narrative
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF061F
    Seminar Project: Memory, Self and Narrative
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF724F
    Seminar: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This methodological seminar focuses on the recent and rapidly expanding field of the history of emotion while seeking to apply emotion theory to literature. It traces the development of the ‘history of emotion’ across the multiple different fields, including psychology, neurology and history, followed by an in-depth critical work on emotion theory and its applicability to literature. It tackles questions such as what are literary emotions? Where are they located? How can they be defined and what is the relationship between historical and literary emotionality?

    The seminar will expand widely across the theoretical background of emotion studies, presenting and discussing its major terminologies and theories. We will then shift to close reading of selected texts for the sake of reinforcing the methodological approach as a skill set to deepen the students’ understanding of the critical parameters and their application. Ultimately, we will seek to encourage and foster the independent critical work of the students on their own chosen texts, utilising the skill sets that they have acquired throughout the seminar to expand on texts of their own choice.

    The seminar will run in the first half of term. The final set of classes will be held at the end of term where students will present their research projects (for those taking the associated 5 credit research project) or a potential research project or paper (for those interesting in attending solely the seminar). Readings will include both theoretical texts and literary works. The seminar will take place in English.

    Prerequisites
    Course taught first half of the semester
  • ABF725F
    Seminar project: Literary Emotionality and the ‘History of Emotions’
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This research project is directly associated with the methodological seminar on emotions. The associated seminar will run in the first half of term, followed by a research break in the second half of term where students will work on their own projects utilising the methodological approach or the theory of emotions in history or literature to analyse a work or several works of their own choice. This gives students the opportunity to do in-depth work on a text or set of texts that they may be interested in for their thesis, for instance.
    It is not a requirement to attend the seminar for participation in the research project and so students familiar with (or interested in) emotion studies may take the research project independently.
    Evaluation criteria is based on a single research paper due at the end of term. The topic selection is due after mid-term. Papers can be written in either English or Icelandic.

    Prerequisites
    Course taught second half of the semester
  • ABF735F
    Death of Tragedy and its intended Rebirth
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course of the seminar the concept of tragdey will be discussed in depth and attention brought to how the different understanding and definition of that concept can be traced in the history of Western Theatre and society. In that part of the seminar George Steiner’s theory about how tragedy as an art form was bound to give in for the overtaking of modernism. During the latter part of the seminar some recent revivals and adaptations of ancient tragedies will be discussed, and the question raised whether tragedy as a fom for artistic expression is in fact so vivid that it might be stated that it is possible to argue for an era of the rebirth of tragedy in post-modernist, post-damatic times.

    Form of teaching: Lectures and discussion

    Prerequisites
  • ABF441L
    MA-thesis in Comparative Literature
    Mandatory (required) course
    0
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    0 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

    Prerequisites
    Part of the total project/thesis credits
  • ABF902F
    Academic Studies and Research
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Later

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Spring 2
  • ABF020F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature A
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF024F
    Directed Study in Comparative Literature B
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF601M
    Franz Kafka and Narrative Art
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Franz Kafka is among the best-known modern writers of the Western world. His oeuvre is often thought to be cryptic and hard to interpret, and yet many seem to think that it home to a very distinct meaning which can be summarized with the attribute “Kafkaesque”. Some claim that he stages mankind in dark times; others find humour and comic elements to be prominent in his texts. The course will tackle these paradoxes by exploring Kafka´s narrative world from various angles and in all its variety. Narrative kernels will be pursued in his aphorisms and they will also be traced in his diaries and letters, his microfiction, short stories, novellas, and novels. Kafka’s writing invites diverse explorations of the connections and differences between these different genres of expression.

    These works will be contemplated vis-à-vis 20th Century narrative conventions and modernist ruptures, with an emphasis on questions about existential issues, freedom, power, and modern societal manifestations. The challenges of transporting the characteristics of Kafka´s writing between languages will also be of concern, for most readers of Kafka get to know his work in translation. This course is aimed at both graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Students could possibly work on aspects of translation, on creative writing projects, or on comparative projects also pertaining to the works of other writers.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF841F
    Postfeminism and chick lit
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Stéphanie Genz and Benjamin A. Brabon have described postfeminism as a “concept fraught with contradictions. Loathed by some and celebrated by others“. In this course postfeminism will be analyzed as a response to second wave feminism, as a part of postmodernist consumer culture which is influenced by neo-liberal market theories, and in terms of its expressive sexuality. The students will read central theoretical texts on postfeminism and consumer culture, and works by some of the best known chick lit writers, such as Helen Fielding, Candace Bushnell, and Sophie Kinsella, as well as Icelandic counterparts. Chick culture will be analyzed in general through television series such as Desperate Housewives (2004–2012) and Sex and the City (1998–2004), through films, talk shows for women, the music industry, glamour magazines and self-help books. We will also ask whether some central narrative structures, motifs and characters, can be traced back to classic writers such as Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and Edith Wharton. Students will be encouraged to approach postfeminism in a critical manner without engaging in the derogatory language which so often characterizes the debate.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF842F
    Fantasies
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course, various forms of fantasy will be discussed, along with their characteristics and roles, drawing on the perspectives of theorists such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Tzvetan Todorov, Rosemary Jackson, and Mariu Nikolajeva. Additionally, the discussion will encompass different types of imagined worlds and the interplay between reality and fiction in relation to concepts such as the imagination, possible world theory, and unnatural narratives. Furthermore, attention will be given to the hybrid nature of fantasy. Works examined and analyzed in the course include Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), Peter Pan (James Matthew Barrie), selected Moomin books (Tove Jansson), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J. K. Rowling), The Golden Compass (Phillip Pullman) and selected Goosebumps books (R. L. Stine and Helgi Jónsson).

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • ABF843F
    Workshop: Angry Men in Literature and Arts
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

    Prerequisites
  • ABF844F
    Direct study in seminar: Angry Men in Literature and Arts
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Angry men are prominent in literature and art from the beginning of Western cultural traditions. Their existence is part of the essence of narrative art. In the course we will examine a variety of examples of angry men from the point of view of the theory of emotion, all the from the anger of Achilles to Donald Duck. Who is allowed to get angry? Why are they angry and what purpose does their anger serve from a cultural historical perspective. We will read a sample of works and theoretical texts on angry men and anger as a phenomenon.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • ABF441L
    MA-thesis in Comparative Literature
    Mandatory (required) course
    0
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    0 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

    Prerequisites
    Part of the total project/thesis credits
Additional information

The University of Iceland collaborates with over 400 universities worldwide. This provides a unique opportunity to pursue part of your studies at an international university thus gaining added experience and fresh insight into your field of study.

Students generally have the opportunity to join an exchange programme, internship, or summer courses. However, exchanges are always subject to faculty approval.

Students have the opportunity to have courses evaluated as part of their studies at the University of Iceland, so their stay does not have to affect the duration of their studies.

This degree can open opportunities in:

  • Publishing
  • Media
  • Advertising and PR
  • Cultural activities

This list is not exhaustive.

  • Torfhildur is the organisation for literature students at the University of Iceland.
  • The organisation aims to foster a strong student community, both within the subject and across the University, as well as advocating for student interests. Torfhildur also organises various events throughout the academic year, such as workplace tours, theatre performances, a Halloween party, an annual gala, a Christmas party, new student socials and poetry evenings.
  • Torfhildur page on Facebook

More about the UI student's social life

Students' comments
""
Starting in comparative literature, I initially thought it would be about reading literary classics daily, but it expanded my skills to interpret texts critically and understand literary analysis tools, applicable beyond literature.
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