Course content and focus areas
The joint degree master's program provides knowledge on current and historical research questions in the area of children's and youth media. At its core is the scholarly exploration of the cultural and economic significance of children's and youth media, which is examined through the interplay of literary, cultural, book, and other media studies perspectives.
The program is designed for students who wish to pursue intensive research and systematically advance their expertise across disciplines, including book and media market-oriented as well as cultural, literary, and media studies horizons. It equips students with the skills to contextualize various literary and media phenomena within their historical and contemporary frameworks.
Students gain in-depth knowledge of the history, themes, narrative, and publication forms of children's and youth literature and media. The program emphasizes literary, book, and cultural studies research approaches in the field of children's and youth literature within an international context. It particularly focuses on engaging with literary, book, and cultural studies theories and methods, incorporating discourses on childhood, youth, gender, and generations. Additionally, the program offers opportunities for independent exploration in neighboring disciplines as well as in research and career-oriented projects.
The master's program is offered by the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University (Institute for Research on Children's Literature) in cooperation with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Gutenberg Institute for World Literature and Written Media/Department of Book Studies) as part of the strategic alliance of Rhine-Main Universities. Furthermore, the program collaborates with key regional and national partners from the publishing and media industries related to children's and youth media.