The writing and reading of literature have always been itinerant and transitional phenomena. Shaped by multidirectional flows of cultural influences, literary production and reception transcend national and linguistic borders, making the world’s literary histories profoundly intertwined.

Comparative and transnational literary studies focus on these geographical, linguistic and cultural encounters, transmissions, dislocations and conflicts; both as they pertain to literary form and as fundamental human experiences.

Several of the department’s researchers are engaged with literary research questions that encompass multiple linguistic areas and that involve transcultural dialogues. Examples of research fields are literary multilingualism; translation; adaptation and circulation; migration; exile and diasporic studies; postcolonial literary studies and world literature.