Papers and Exams

We have compiled lists of important texts and authors in the English and American literatures and in literary and cultural theory. These lists can help you select texts for general reading, papers, and exams. They are not meant to delimit your reading—feel free to explore other texts and authors too.

Literature Reading List​​​​​​​

Theory Reading List

This rubric (pdf) will guide the assessment of your paper.

Before writing your term paper, download and read the guidelines for term papers (pdf), which must be observed in all of our courses.

All term papers must include the signed declaration of academic integrity (pdf).

If you are planning to write your final thesis in the B. A. British or American Studies, B. Ed. or M. Ed. English, or the English literatures specialization of the M. A. Literaturwissenschaft, the first step is to contact potential supervisors (see the list at the bottom of this page). Look at the instructors’ websites to find the person(s) best suited to your topic ideas and contact them well in advance. For a B. Ed. English thesis you need one supervisor only. For all other final theses you need a first and a second supervisor.

The second step is to sign up for the final thesis with the examination office. Questions about deadlines and legal requirements should be directed to the examination office as well. The Study section of the Department of Arts, Literature, and Media contains additional information.

The form and structure of the final thesis is essentially the same as in term papers in our seminars (see above). Use the examination office’s template for the title page. Ask your supervisor about expectations regarding content, argumentation, and research.

The length requirements for final theses in English / British and American Studies are as follows (+/- 10% with 12 pt font and 1.5 line spacing):

Bachelor of Arts:  30 pages
Bachelor of Education:  20 pages
Master of Arts:  55 pages
Master of Education / State Exam:  45 pages

The page counts do not include the title page, table of contents, list of works cited, or appendix (if there is one).

Consult the examination office for information on your final oral exams.

B. A. British and American Studies / B. Ed. English: Oral exams can next be scheduled for the period of October 14 to October 25, 2024. All instructors listed below are eligible as examiners.

B. A. British and American Studies: Guidelines and requirements for the final oral exams can be downloaded here.

M. Ed. English: Guidelines and requirements for the final oral exams can be downloaded here. Please contact potential examiners at least three weeks before the registration deadline with your topic suggestions.

M.A. Literaturwissenschaft: With examiners in English and/or American literature, two core topics plus defense of the M.A. thesis. Each of these three parts will be examined for about 20 minutes. The core topics must include both English and American examples but need not be evenly divided between them. For the number of texts per core topic, see the M.Ed. English guidelines above ("Schwerpunktthemen").

The following instructors are currently available as supervisors:

Dr. Joel Duncan (bachelor's programs)
Dr. Nataliya Gorbina (bachelor's programs)
Dr. Eva Gruber (bachelor's programs)
Dr. Jonas Kellermann (bachelor's programs)
Dr. Dominik Steinhilber (bachelor's programs)
Dr. Otilia Teodorescu-Stadler (bachelor's programs)
Dr. Leila Vaziri (bachelor's programs)

Prof. Dr. Irmtraud Huber (all programs)
Prof. Dr. Timo Müller (all programs)
Prof. Dr. Christina Wald (all programs)