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Literature and Rhetoric Concentration

What is “literature”? Established as a special category in the eighteenth century, the specificity of the literary object has since been subject to debate: it cannot be defined by fictiveness or by a special use of language wholly distinct from “ordinary” expression. Nevertheless, the recognizability and importance of literature persists, and the methods used to understand and analyze it have been extended to the broader interpretation of culture, deriving their approaches from a range of disciplines, including history, sociology, linguistics and philosophy. This concentration introduces the manifestations of the literary object, its genres and styles and their development, as well as their relationship to other discourses and forms. In particular, it examines the connection between literary production and interpretation and the history of rhetoric, or the exploration of patterns of communication and their effectiveness.
Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Overview


 

Students in this concentration begin their studies with foundational coursework in both the production and analysis of literature. Advanced courses build on this basis, and incorporate a social analysis of the writer’s ‘place’ in the world. For any given module listed in the overview above, several courses may be offered that allow students to fulfill the requirement.

Cultivating an interdisciplinary knowledge of the origins, structure, and affiliations of literary art, the concentration provides the tools and background necessary for bringing the strategies and insights of literary hermeneutics to the scrutiny of cultural norms and values as systems of language. The literature concentration at Bard College Berlin includes the opportunity to take courses in the practice of a variety of kinds of writing, from journalistic reportage to creative writing, in workshops at foundational and advanced level. 

BCB Course List

Literature and Rhetoric Concentration Overview

Sample Courses

Study Abroad Opportunities

Study Abroad text
Bard College, Annandale-upon-Hudson, Warden's Hall

Literature and Rhetoric students may spend up to two semesters abroad during their third year of study. Students can pursue a wide array of coursework in literature at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Students also can pursue study at Central European University in Vienna.
 
For a full list of options visit the Study Abroad page.

Study Abroad

Literature and Rhetoric Faculty

Literature and Rhetoric Alumni/ae

Students who graduated from the Literature and Rhetoric HAST BA program have gone on to:

  • Graduate Programs at:
    • Vanderbilt University
    • University of Oxford
    • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Employment at:
    • Curious Theatre Branch
    • Stallmann Gallery
    • American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Erick Moreno Superlano '22

Erick Moreno Superlano '22

Venezuela
Concentration: Literature and Rhetoric
Currently: PhD in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford

"The class discussions were the best part for me. They were enriching and really taught me how to think critically about others' ideas as well as question my own."

Sam Zamrik '21

Sam Zamrik '21

Syria
Concentration: Ethics and Politics & Literature and Rhetoric
Currently: Author, Fellow at Stiftung Mercator

“I published an award-winning bilingual book of poetry (ICH BIN NICHT) with one of Germany's biggest publishers (Hanser Berlin)....My first book is being taught at some universities here and in the US.”

Erëmirë Krasniqi '13

Erëmirë Krasniqi '13

Kosovo
Concentration: Art and Aesthetics & Literature and Rhetoric
Currently: Art curation, leads the Oral History Initiative

“I went on to pursue a degree in Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College in the US, largely influenced by the Literature courses I took at BCB, as well as the third year I spent studying Cultural Studies at Trent University, which BCB generously supported this year of self-discovery, giving us full autonomy to design our own educational experience.”

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