Thousands of study and academic opportunities in Literature are available internationally. Conferences and summer schools in Literature are organized regularly in the best academic centers of the world. The majority of universities and many foundations also offer BA, MA, and Ph.D. programs in Literature as wells as postdoctoral research grants, awards, and fellowships. Below you will find the updated list of international opportunities available in Literature.
Literature Scholarships
- Brian McDonald Legacy Scholarship in Literature
- University of Wisconsin Languages & Literatures Scholarships and Awards
- University of Aberdeen the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture Scholarships
- UWM Comparative Literature Scholarships
- Gwenda Ford English Literature Scholarship
- Eastern Michigan University Department of English Language & Literature Scholarships
- University of Toronto Polish Language and Literature Scholarships and Awards
- Georgia Southern University Literature Scholarships and Awards
- Dr. Agnes O’Donnell Scholarship in Literature
- Flanders Literature Translation Grants
Literature Fellowships
- Royal Literary Fund Fellowships
- Oregon Literary Fellowships
- State Library Victoria Children’s Literature Fellowships
- Columbia University Department of English and Comparative Literature Graduate Teaching and Fellowship
- Lannan Literary Awards and Fellowships
- The New India Foundation Fellowships
- Kent State University Fellowships
- Yale University Department of Comparative Literature Fellowships and Funding
- UCLA Department of Comparative Literature Fellowships and Grants
- The American Literature Association Fellowships
Literature Conferences
- The American Literature Association Annual Conference
- International Conference on Culture, Languages, and Literature
- American Comparative Literature Association Annual Meeting
- Society for Comparative Literature and the Arts Conference
- International Research Society for Children’s Literature Congress
- Georgia Conference on Children’s Literature
- Transnational Literature and Writing Conference
- ARLE Conference
- The American Literary Translators Association Conference
- Annual Colorado Teen Literature Conference
Literature relevant accounts on Twitter
- @Literature
- @lithub
- @C_L_Journal
- @ilkleylitfest
- @RSLiterature
- @ElecticLit
- @LitWales
- @LitBritish
- @PalFest
- @LitWorks
Literature as a discipline
Literature is one of the best ways to transfer the human experience from generation to generation. Those who had ever come across a life-changing book in their life will prove it. Literature is the documentation of feelings and an opportunity to explore significantly more than what happens in our personal life. Humans contribute to this broad and life-essential field in two ways: authors create the Literature, and specialists coordinate the rest. If you want to be in the second group, Literature studies academic programs will come in very handy.
Let's start with the Literary studies definitions first. You will read different curriculums and different structures of the literary studies academic program. However, there is a basic approach for all.
The first thing you should know about literary studies is that it is not a study of how to become a literature author. Literary students do not learn how to write novels, poems, or other pieces, and you shouldn't discover extraordinary writing talent in you to choose the program.
Literary studies are the study about Literature, how it was created, what it transferred to us, and how deeply it formed our society. You will analyze the writings, read to draw conclusions, and explore how authors can communicate their main ideas.
Literary studies can also be described as a study of speech, the most powerful weapon of all times. Talented authors educate generations simply by their ability to manipulate the language so that it influences the reader. In this regard, it might be claimed that literary students also learn writing. If they constantly analyze and assess others' works, they form their checklists of what tips and patterns are considered good in writing. Therefore, theoretically, they might implement it and create new pieces of art.
However, Literature, and especially writing, is a talent that comes from inside. Many students become well aware of Literature and its main approaches and never begin their writing career.
Literary studies
Let's refer to more academic definitions of Literary studies.
Firstly, Literature refers to verbal means of engaging with the historical periods. It does satisfy not only human aesthetic needs but also is an obsession with human precedences and traditions. It also gives readers a space to discover many non-reachable spheres such as the afterlife, immortality, permanence, etc. The term literature refers to written works generated by the imagination of people. The most popular types of such works include poetry, fiction, drama, etc. Literary works are the primary documents thanks to which we can investigate the life of the past: history, notable events, the development of races, classes, and genders.
Historically, the practice of studying the writings of the past was mainly related to reading them in Classical languages: Greek and Latin. This method of literary studies was especially popular in Europe. It was around the 19th century when modern Literary studies developed in universities, and students were reading and analyzing the literary works in modern languages.
Also, there is an evolution in the purpose of the Literature discipline. Before, it was mainly connected to the necessity of learning the culture of the past. Modern Literary studies are meant to develop student's critical thinking and creativity. Also, students learn to interpret literary works to make their meaning accessible to the large public. In this regard, students need to have good persuasive skills to make their interpretations acceptable for others.
Is it worth studying Literature?
This question is frequently asked both in societal and in scholarly environments. No one doubts that interacting with Literature is essential for every person. However, as it does not grant students a certain practical profession for the future career, its role like a thorough discipline is usually questioned.
The main benefits of the discipline are the development of critical thinking, solid cultural understanding, communication skills, and the enrichment of creative potential. Therefore, the studies are more fitting for those who write themselves and enrich their writing talent. Also, Literary studies are beneficial for those students who pursue careers in roles requiring collaboration, research, and analysis. The common employment areas for Literature graduates include publishing companies, magazines, libraries, websites, educational institutions, also business fields like advertising, consulting, marketing, and sales.
Literature Studies Research opportunities
There are millions of writers in the world who wrote about hundreds of spheres of our life. Most probably, the most famous writers praised in society nowadays are not the only ones whose works need wide appreciation. There are many unrevealed and not enough popularized writings that society can benefit from, and revealing that not fully explored Literature is the main research opportunity for Literary students.
Many researchers focus on specific writers, and along with their works, explore and popularize the author's personal and career moments. Others focus on the Literature of particular periods, revealing the main tendencies and purpose of the time's writing. There are also research directions based on the genres, literature directions, styles, topics of discussions, etc.
Below, there are some of the leading research directions that are offered in modern universities:
- American Literature
- Children's Literature
- Early Modern Studies
- Book History
- Medieval Literature
- Eighteenth-Century Studies
- Nineteenth-Century Literature
- Twentieth-Century Literature
- Contemporary Literature, etc.
As a society, we learn and develop from the experience sharing, both from the people that share with us the same time period, and those who lived before. Literature smoothly organizes the transition of human experience and emotional richness from generation to generation. Use the opportunities in this section of ARMACAD to contribute to that everlasting learning practice.