General and Comparative Literature, Master 2 subject

Imke Kuhn is a fourth-year student of Comparative Literature Studies. She is pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree, 2-subject programme. Imke's second subject is Art History.

Wieso haben Sie sich damals für Ihr Studienfach entschieden?

Because of my love for literature, which I had not discovered until the sixth form. I was interested a transnational approach to literature.

An welchen Stellen haben sich die Erwartungen an Ihr Studienfach erfüllt, an welchen nicht?

The “transnational” aspect does indeed play a huge role, but it is often difficult to read texts in the original language, as most students are only familiar with English. Consequently, we most often make use of German translations, which, however, bear their own problems on close examination. What I've really liked about the degree programme was the great diversity of seminars that focus on various subjects so that every student may choose his or her own area of specialisation.

Was macht Ihnen in Ihrem Fach am meisten Spaß?

Reading. Plain and simple. I simply do love reading, especially novels of all genres. This made it easy to prepare for the oral BA exam, as I was able to select exactly two topics that I was very much interested in.

Was war bisher die größte Herausforderung?

Not being able to read everything I was supposed to. The reading requirements in some of the seminars are very high and can hardly be managed if you want to do anything else outside the degree programme. And so I spent the odd hour in class having read only the cliff notes.

Was wollen Sie einmal damit werden?

Comparative Literature Studies really was my Minor degree which, in my opinion, does not offer many career options. Perhaps in combination with my other degree, Art History. Working for a publishing house might be quite interesting. However, I will discontinue Comparative Literature Studies in my Master's degree.

Welche Tipps geben Sie den Leuten, die auch überlegen, Ihr Fach zu studieren?

You should do a lot of reading, and don't be afraid of French and English! Theory does not figure largely in the curriculum, so you don’t have to be afraid of it.