Master Lettres Et Humanites — Littératures comparées

The Master Lettres et Humanités at Université Paris Cité includes a track in Littératures comparées, or comparative literature, offered as a two-year master's degree taught in French in Paris, France, starting in September with annual tuition of 250 EUR. Comparative literature studies literary works across different languages, national traditions, and cultures, examining how themes, forms, and literary movements travel and transform as they cross linguistic and geographic boundaries. Coursework typically involves close reading of texts from multiple literary traditions, often in translation or in their original languages, alongside training in literary theory, translation studies, and methods for comparing works from different periods or cultural contexts. Students usually explore how literature reflects and shapes cultural identity, and how ideas move between literary traditions through translation, adaptation, or influence. A comparative approach often requires familiarity with more than one language and literature, and coursework may include modules on the history and practice of translation, world literature, or the reception of foreign texts within French literary culture. Research skills are typically emphasized, with students often completing an extended piece of written work or dissertation involving comparative textual analysis. Graduates of comparative literature programs commonly pursue careers in teaching, publishing, translation, cultural institutions, or further doctoral research, drawing on their ability to analyze texts across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Since the program is taught in French, strong French language skills are necessary for coursework and assessment, even where the literary material studied originates in other languages, throughout the two years of study in Paris.