Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature

This master's degree is the logical continuation of the bachelor's degree in Literary Studies and the former pre-EHEA degree in Literary Theory and Comparative Literature. It is also open to applicants from other fields, such as Philology, Humanities, History and Philosophy. The general aim is to deepen knowledge gained during the bachelor's or pre-EHEA degree, to attain a high level of reflection on the theoretical, comparative, historical and critical principles behind current debates in the field of Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature. The field of reflection will be widened to include literary tradition, its crises and transformations, and all this knowledge will be set in motion with a critical approach.

A second objective that complements and is inseparable from the first is for students to specialize in areas of knowledge, depending on their interests. The specialization will be attained in an introduction to advanced research in the field of Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature, through materials proposed in the master's degree and through the conception, development, and defence of a research project supervised by a tutor. The research project can be used to gain admission to doctoral studies.

Generic competences

• Capacity to articulate a complex discourse and address texts, explanations, and complex documents in a multiple, changing context of interpretation.
  
• Capacity to analyse and summarise.
  
• Capacity to undertake studies and in-depth assignments on a range of subjects.
  
• Ability to use general or specific reference resources of the humanities, in their main formats (in libraries, newspaper and periodicals libraries, archives and other documentary sources) and via information technologies.
  
• Capacity to articulate a personal discourse and communicate it clearly and meticulously, and the capacity to transfer knowledge to specialized or non-specialized publics.
  
• Capacity to reflect and demonstrate independent, critical thinking.
  
• Capacity for intellectual reasoning: construction of solid, logical, coherent arguments based on considerable analytical skills, the capacity to summarise, and rigour in the use of concepts.
  
• Capacity to integrate cultural diversity into the specific context, as a source of enrichment and rigour in arguments.
  
• Communication skills: capacity to express arguments clearly, accurately and rigorously, and to express thoughts with clarity in oral and written presentations.

Specific competences:

• Literary competence: capacity to understand and compare complex literary texts and evaluate the characteristics of the composition of each one, the nature of the relationship with the context in which they were produced, the environment in which they were received, and the intellectual dimension.
  
• Theoretical and critical competence: capacity to analyse literary texts and other cultural documents with the specific categories and theoretical concepts that are required, and to generate new critical questions based on commentary on the text.
  
• Comparative competence: capacity to think in terms of interliterary relations and establish a relationship between Catalan, Spanish, European and Western literary traditions.
  
• Cross-disciplinary critical competence: capacity to critically compare the literary tradition with other cultural output (visual arts, cinema, music, architecture, etc.) and with other discursive practices (philosophy, aesthetics, history, law, etc.) to form a whole in a historical sense.
  
• Scientific competence: capacity to develop the competences described above in the form of specific research projects.
  Intellectual competence: capacity to write documents and critical articles of an intellectual nature, which society needs to express itself as such, through an understanding of literary texts and the function they have at the current time.