An International Master Double Degree at Leipzig University and Université Libre de Bruxelles in Slavic Studies from a comparative perspective is launched.

« The Slavs occupy more space on earth than in history? »
This quotation is by the German philosopher J. G. Herder, but the question mark is not by him, it is by us – the M. A. Slavia Litteraria Europaea study curriculum at Leipzig University (UL) und Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

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The Slavs are an important presence in European history from the early Middle Ages yet they have been somehow considered as peripheral to European history at least until ca. 1800 when Herder writes. Their contribution to European history is rarely discussed especially in Western Europe, far away from the Slavic settlement area.
And yet:

1. Who are the Slavs and do they have common cultural features apart from their shared linguistic group?
   Or: How are these other features imagined by Slavs and not Slavs?

2. Is it possible to speak of »the Slavs« without any essential attributions? How do the Slavs (Croats, Czechs, Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Slovenes…) differ from one another, now and in historical perspective? What relates these groups in specific ways to different European and not European people, countries and cultures?

3. Which role does Literature play in the Cultural History of the Slavs in the european Context? What did they take from other European literatures? What did they give to them in different epochs?

How is research applying the contemporary theories in the field of literary cultural studies (Cultural Memory Studies, Gender Studies, Postcolonial Studies…) to the Slavs? How can these theories help to understand the macro-historical processes – e.g. integration and isolation – characterizing the Slavs in their relation to the rest of Europe?

Leipzig University as one of the oldest centres of Slavic Studies in Europe and Université Libre de Bruxelles as a renowned university of the capital of the European Union and the major centre for the study of Slavic languages in Belgium set up an International Double Degree Master for students interested in answering these questions!

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What we offer:

• An interdisciplinary, good structured study program (4 semesters) in Leipzig and in Brussels

• An exciting, interdisciplinary and international working environment with structured supervision

• A wide range of opportunities to develop academic and professional skills at both universities

• Erasmus Founding for the stay at the respective foreign university ( 1 to 2 semester )

Courses in Slavic languages and Slavic literatures from the Middle Ages until today in their European context, East and East Central European history, Slavic-Jewish history and film.

Students attend courses at both partner universities. They spend the 1st and 2nd semester at their "home university", the 3rd semester at the other university and the 4th semester at one of both universities according to their choice.

The teaching language at the home university is French at ULB and German at UL. Students must therefore know the language of their home university to enroll. The teaching language during the semester(s) abroad is English (no necessity to know both French and German – and yet a good opportunity to learn the other language!). The knowledge of Slavic languages is useful, yet they can be studied also during the Master.