Department activities
Department of Comparative Literature is involved in teaching and research in the area of Comparative Literature. The Department's lecturers are experts in their respective academic fields, which are divided in line with the Sections of the Department: Literary Theory; History of World Literature; Comparative History of Croatian Literature; Theatre Studies; Film Studies. Since its beginning, the Department has cherished wide-reaching research and scholarly activities, resulting in more than 80 published books, which make an important research and scholarly institution of its kind in this part of Europe. In recent years, the Department has been in charge of the following research projects: Comparative history of Croatian literature, Literature in transition / Transition in literature, Stylistic description of Croatian film heritage, Croatian theatre journals (1941-2005).
Comparative Literature lecturers have, on a number of occasions, received various science awards and awards given by professional organizations and art organizations; they count among their number members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, researchers with international experience and reputation, editors and collaborators on pivotal lexicographic editions and collaborators on international research projects, teachers at various PhD programmes, and founders of several new areas of study at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and at Zagreb University.
Major or Minor study of Comparative Literature is modelled on the division between 3 years of undergraduate study and 2 years of graduate study. The Department of Comparative Literature also organizes the multidisciplinary PhD (postgraduate) study of Literature, Performing Arts, Film and Culture, which takes 3 years to complete. In order to meet the requirements, it is necessary to obtain 180 ECTS points during undergraduate study (i. e. 90 ECTS points for a Minor), 120 ECTS points during graduate study (i. e. 60 ECTS points for a Minor), and 180 ECTS points to gain a PhD in the PhD programme.
The undergraduate programme of Comparative Literature lasts for 3 years, during which a student needs to collect 180 ECTS points (i. e. 90 ECTS points for a Minor), and the study is completed by obtaining the title of baccalaurea/baccalaureus (prvostupnik) of Comparative Literature. Students attend departmental elective lectures, fulfilling the core programme requirements, and other lectures at the Faculty and University. Students are also required to complete courses in aesthetics and in foreign languages. The graduate study of Comparative Literature takes 2 years to complete, during which a student needs to collect 120 ECTS points (i. e. 60 ECTS points for a Minor), and it is completed by obtaining the title of M. A. in Comparative Literature.
The study of Comparative Literature is quite purposeful, both from the point of view of quality higher education and from the point of view of the labor market in public and private sectors. While enabling students to deal with their narrow area of expertise, the study also offers knowledge of world literature, comparative history of Croatian and other national literatures of the Western world, theory of literature, theatre studies, film studies, and an array of literatures from the neighbouring disciplines in the humanities. It also enables students to perform a wide array of activities in a number of sectors: in universities, public schooling, public libraries, research institutes, NGOs, theatre and film institutions, publishing industry, media (including web portals); it enables them to perform high-quality work in activities such as lexicography, creating cultural policies, translation, marketing, PR. Comparative Literature graduates are to be found at the top of media institutions, public and commercial TVs, working as editors and journalists in dailies and weeklies, in the publishing industry, marketing agencies, state institutions and diplomatic service.