Reference Points for the Design and Delivery of Degree Programmes in Literary Studies 

The attached document, Reference Points for the Design and Delivery of Degree Programmes in Literary Studies, is an attempt to chart the main characteristics of literary studies as an academic discipline practised in universities across Europe, and to articulate the main features of degree programmes in literature and related areas of study. In view of the breadth of the discipline, which covers not only the study of the literary heritage of the ancient and modern cultures of the world, but also a range of related areas such as, among others, cultural theory or gender studies, and which involves a range of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, the present document is, by definition, a very broad-based account of academic practice in our field of study; it is not meant to provide a checklist of academic standards, but rather to capture the diversity and complexity of literary studies programmes at various levels and in the various contexts in which they are delivered, as well as the directions in which they are developing in the ever-changing and increasingly challenging world of twenty-first-century Europe. In this sense, our document is descriptive and aspirational rather than prescriptive.

The document has been prepared by a team of experts from across Europe, representing a broad spectrum of academic specialisms and a diversity of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and operating both within their specific cultural and academic traditions and across political and linguistic boundaries in international and transnational contexts. The composition of the team has ensured that our work has been informed by a broad range of subject expertise as well as by practical experience of academia at different levels and in a variety of political, cultural, and educational contexts; at the same time, however, if you have any comments, please direct them to Ingrid van der Meer ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Vita Fortunati (coordinator) - University of Bologna, Italia
Jan Jędrzejewski - University of Ulster, United Kingdom
Martin Procházka - Charles University in Prague, Ceska Republica
Monica Spiridon - University of Bucharest, Romania
Jasmina Lukic - Central European University, Budapest, Hungarian
Adelina Sanchez - University of Granada Film studies, Spain
Stephanos Stephanides - University of Cyprus, Cyprus
Bela Tsipuria - Ilia State University, Georgia
Marianne Børch - University of Southern Denmark, Denmark