Integrated Cultural Studies – (B.A.)

Literature and visual art are (together with music) the most important artistic symbolic forms in human culture. With a solid basis in history, history of religion, theory of language and theory of visuality, the BA program ICS offers in-depth approaches to literature and visual art. Special attention is given to the developments of these symbolic forms in the modern world. To understand them properly, they have to be situated in the context of human culture in its historical depth and global breadth.

The program explicitly takes up the "Goethean term "World Literature", extending the concept to art as "World Art". Goethe already had a vision of a global cultural development which transcends traditional national cultures and languages, without, hoewever, destroying or suppressing them. On the contrary, particular (national, regional) literature and artistic forms should flourish in the presence of the cultural activities of others and should together form the ensemble of a global culture - Weltkultur.

Thus, cultural globalization, the main focus of our program, is not understood as a culture of - for instance - internationally best-selling books and works of art, but as a form of community encompassing very diverse cultural developments.

The ICS degree is a custom-tailored program that was created by the faculty members who teach it, thus resulting in a balanced approach to the subject areas and a clear and well-integrated curriculum. The ICS program promotes the interdisciplinary study of world literature and art from the broader perspective of human culture – paying special attention to historical developments as a foundation and framework by which to comprehend recent reconfigurations and interactions in contemporary global culture. The curriculum’s historical depth and global breadth provide students with essential knowledge and a profound understanding of cultural transformations within and between the modern and the global world.