World Literatures in English

Education facts

Code: 5EN538

This course explores the literatures from and circulating through the modern world system. It introduces students to the concept of 'world literature', traces its historical development, and investigates its contemporary permutations. In doing so, it shows how the world literary field has been shaped by, among others, translation activities, the emergence of a global single market; the rise of the internet; the world book trade; and intensifying globalization and commercialization of culture and literature. While these forces may appear to unify the global literary field, many theorists of world literature have pointed out the unequal and uneven flows of literature as globalized culture across the world. Throughout this course you will engage with twentieth and twenty-first century Anglophone literary texts, which will be studied from the perspective of theories of world literature.

Entry requirements

120 credits. English A1, B1 and C1, or 90 credits in a language subject or in literary studies.

Education offerings

Each offering has its own dates and conditions. Closed offerings are retained as history and do not mean that a new application is open.

• World Literatures in English

  Uppsala University

  Start date: 2 November 2026

  End date: 17 January 2027

  Pace of study: 50 %