Refugees, Migrants, and Exiles in German and Comparative Literature

Examine migration narratives through literature and media, providing a humanistic understanding of migrant experiences and explore this issue through its expression in German-language literature.

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CIVIS focus area
Society, culture, heritage
Open to
  • Bachelor's
  • Master's
  • Phd
Field of studies
  • Social Science and humanities
Type
  • Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
Course dates
10 February - 22 May 2026
Apply by
30 October 2025 Apply now

This course has a strong interdisciplinary component, as it integrates not only literature but also other forms of media, and as it reaches out to other disciplines and beyond academia (museums, memorial places, NGOs).

It also engages with non-academic stakeholders, such as the Goethe-Institute and the German Embassy.

The programme will be taught in a hybrid format: 10 online lectures will be followed by a 5-day workshop, bringing the students and instructors together in person. Parallel to the lectures, groups of 3-4 students will prepare projects under the supervision of the professors participating in the course.

Main topics addressed

  • explore migration through its expression in German-language literature;
  • study literary texts and learn about the impacts and challenges of migration;
  • analyse diverse types of travellers (refugees, migrants, exiles, expats), questions of identity and community (inter-/transculturality, belonging, integration, exclusion, diaspora, nomadism, cosmopolitanism), and influences on language (pluri- and multilingualism);
  • study texts, films, and other media produced by authors with and without migrant backgrounds; learn to see migration in a broad perspective;
  • explore migration and exile beyond academia (museums, memorial places, NGOs);
  • group research and presentation of the research projects.

Learning outcomes

By taking this course, the students will acquire knowledge from the theories and case studies presented during the online lectures and the workshop. They will improve:

  • their ability of international collaboration and presentation of the results of research and discussion groups;
  • their ability to learn from peers as well as from NGOs dealing with migrants, refugees, and exiles.

By undertaking their research projects, the students will develop their own methodology, compare their individual results, and develop the presentation and conclusion of their results, which will be discussed during the workshop. Students will improve their skills of international collaboration.

In the meetings with local stakeholders and excursions, students and professors gain insight into the cultural memory of refugees, migrants, and exiles. Innovative teaching methods enhance the creativity, the ability to learn from each other, and the self-organisation of the students.

 

Dates: 10 February - 22 May 2026 Total workload: 150 hours
Format: Blended ECTS: 6*
Location: Aix-en-Provence, France Language: German (B2)
Contact: catherine.teissier@univ-amu.fr  

*recognition of ECTS depends on your home university

Physical mobility

The physical mobility section of the BIP will take place between 18-22 May 2026, in Aix-en-Provence, France.

The students and professors will discuss seminal theories in the field. We will also have:

  • keynote lectures by guest speakers (in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Marseille, the Centre Franco-Allemand de Provence);
  • lecture by a writer (in cooperation with Goethe-Institut and the Association LITTERALLEA);
  • meeting with NGO (in cooperation with the NGO SOS Méditerranée);
  • study-visits of locations associated with migration and exile: MUCEM, Mémorial Camp des Milles, Mémorial des déportations Marseille (in cooperation with the three museums).

By preparing projects in advance and presenting them at the workshop, participants gain practical experience of working together and develop their intercultural skills in the broadest sense (communication, interpersonal skills, tolerance).

The keynotes will enable them to complement the knowledge acquired during the online course program. Excursions will focus on the history of migration in the Mediterranean and its links with European history.

Debates with NGOs responsible for rescuing migrants at sea help participants to appreciate the importance of current migration issues and encourage civic engagement.

Virtual part

The virtual component of the course will be held from 10 February until 28 April 2026:

  • 10.2.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Einführung/ Grundlagen der europäischen Migrationsliteratur Kollektiv (Blioumi, Colin, Karakassi, Kimmich, Leucht, Merkel, Miglio, Mitterbauer, Radulescu, Teissier)
  • 17.2.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Social Event – CIVIS Social Lab Kollektiv (Blioumi, Colin, Karakassi, Kimmich, Leucht, Merkel, Miglio, Mitterbauer, Radulescu, Teissier)
  • 24.2.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Kultursemiotik: Grenzen, Eingrenzen, Ausgrenzen - Katerina Karakassi (NKUA)
  • 3.3.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Migration und postkoloniale Perspektiven im deutsch-afrikanischen Kontext - Ibrahima Diagne (Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar)
  • 10.3.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Repräsentation von afrikanischen MigrantInnen bei deutscher AutorInnen/Postmigration bei - Fiston Mujila Mwanza, Joan Mwangovya/Helga Mitterbauer (ULB)
  • 17.3.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Migration und Postmigration aus dem Osten: einige Beispiele - Catherine Teissier (AMU)
  • 24.3.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Exilort Schweiz - Robert Leucht (Unil)
  • 31.3.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Sprache und Schreiben im Exil seit 1933 - Caroline Merkel (SU), Dorothee Kimmich (Tübingen)
  • 7.4.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Zwischen Deutschland und Afrika: Marseille als Exilort - Nicole Colin (AMU)
  • 21.4.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Transnationale und trans-sprachliche Orte und Räume der Flucht und Migration am Beispiel Ulrike Draesners Romans "Die Verwandelten" - Camilla Miglio (Sapienza)
  • 28.4.2026 von 18-20 Uhr: Afrika- und Mittelmeerraumdiskurse in den Werken kanonischer deutsch- sprachiger Autor_innen aus dem 19. Jh. (aus postkolonialer Sicht) - Raluca  Rădulescu (UB)  

Assessment

The evaluation of the course will be based on: 

  • participation in all online lectures and in the workshop: 25%;
  • preparation and presentation of a project in groups of 3 to 4 students from different universities: 25%;
  • individual paper connecting the theoretical knowledge with a literary text discussed in the course or with the collaborative project in which the student participated: 50%.

The programme is open to students at CIVIS member universities from all academic levels (Bachelor, Master, PhD), with knowledge of German literature on exile and migration & knowledge of the major issues surrounding past and present migration.

Skills such as international collaboration, the ability to conduct a research project and to present a research project, along with critical thinking and empathy ar also required.

A B2 level in German is required to enable students to follow the course and read the reference bibliography. Knowledge in text analysis and interest in questions of Migration, Exile, and Refugees are a plus. 

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) - a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe.

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. 

This course is also open to students with the same academic profile, who are enrolled at a CIVIS strategic partner university in Africa. Please check here if you can apply and if this particular course is open to applications from your university. Successful applicants will receive an Erasmus+ grant covering travel and subsistence costs during their stay. Applicants should be willing to extend their stay at the host university for 1-3 weeks for additional research and/or training purposes.

Partner universities:

  • Aix-Marseille Université (France)
  • Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Germany)
  • National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece)
  • Sapienza Università di Roma (Italia)
  • Stockholm University (Sweden)
  • Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
  • University of Bucharest (Romania)
  • University of Salzburg (Austria)
  • Université de Lausanne (Switzerland)
  • Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (Senegal)

Professors

  • Dr. Aglaia Blioumi, Associate Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
  • Prof. Dr. Nicole Colin, Full Professor, Aix-Marseille University
  • Dr. Ibrahima Diagne, Associate Professor, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar 
  • Prof. Dr Katerina Karakassi, Full Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
  • Prof. Dr Dorothee Kimmich, Full Professor, University of Tübingen
  • Prof. Dr. Robert Leucht, Full Professor, Université de Lausanne
  • Dr. Caroline Merkel, Associate Professor, University of Stockholm
  • Prof. Dr. Werner Michler, Full Professor, Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg 
  • Prof. Dr. Camilla Miglio, Full Professor, Sapienza University of Rome
  • Prof. Dr. Helga Mitterbauer, Full Professor, Université libre de Bruxelles
  • Prof. Dr. Raluca Rădulescu, Full Professor, University of Bucharest
  • Dr. Catherine Teissier, Associate Professor, Aix-Marseille University

 

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 30 October 2025, also including your CV and Motivation letter.

Applications will be evaluated based on:

  • level of German (B2);
  • interest in the topic of migration and intercultural literature;
  • motivation for participating in an international collaboration project.

Apply now

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