Asked about their professional futures, many students of German studies, comparative literature, and related fields say: “I'd like to work for a publisher. Or in theater. Or at a literary festival.” What becomes of these ambitions when AI, digital platforms, and changing reading habits transform the world of work? What career opportunities does studying literature open up today—and what opportunities might it offer tomorrow? The University of Bern's new “Literature and Professional Practice” program will showcase innovative approaches. 

Many graduates of literary studies programs work beyond schools and universities, helping to shape literary culture or make literature accessible to wider audiences. Traditionally, seminars, field trips, and internships alongside their studies have given them opportunities to gain initial experience in editing, dramaturgy, and translation; in editorial offices and bookselling; in archives, libraries, and museums; and at literary centers and in politics. 

The wide range of literary institutions in Switzerland and neighboring European countries is relatively well known to the audiences they serve. From the perspective of professional practice, however, this landscape has only begun to be systematically mapped. This also reflects a concept of “practice” that deserves closer scrutiny. As recent scholarship in science studies has shown, the conventional distinction between “theory” and “practice” raises fundamental questions. 

Shouldn't research and teaching in literary studies, scholarly editing, and peer review also be understood as forms of “practice”? Conversely, haven't some of the most significant theoretical impulses in literary studies in recent years come from publishing, theater, exhibitions, and the public presentation and promotion of literature? 

Change in the Twenty-First Century 

The relationship between literary studies and professional practice must be rethought in the twenty-first century. Since the 1990s, new technologies, digital media, and the reading habits of different generations have fundamentally transformed the literary world. 

These changes directly affect publishers and booksellers, newspapers and magazines. Digital platforms, for example, use algorithms to direct and hold people's attention, while AI applications raise new questions about authorship and translation, texts and interpretation, copyright and usage rights. 

“The relationship between literary studies and professional practice must be rethought in the twenty-first century.”

Neither narratives of the decline of books and reading nor nostalgic attempts to cling to outdated traditions get to the heart of the matter. Nor is it enough to point to the additional opportunities for communication offered by #bookstagram or BookTok. Such arguments fail to address the larger questions surrounding the future of the literary public sphere. As recent studies of the book market and reading habits show, the situation is far more complex: Books and digital infrastructures coexist. 

Public and private organizations compete for scarce resources. Serving diverse audiences requires a broader range of offerings. At the same time, this increases the effort involved and makes an already complex landscape harder to navigate. 

Teaching in literary studies cannot simply observe these transformations from the sidelines. It can strengthen the connections between academic study and professional practice, examine innovative approaches from an international perspective, and develop them further through pilot projects. 

New Program: “Literature and Professional Practice” 

This is the aim of the new “Literature and Professional Practice” program, launched at the University of Bern in the fall semester of 2026. It responds to a growing need to bridge academic work and professional practice and is designed for students of German studies, comparative literature, and related fields. 

Rather than starting from a fixed set of occupations, it focuses on examining how the literary public sphere is changing in the twenty-first century. 

The “Literature and Professional Practice” program is organized in collaboration with the Robert Walser Center in Bern and other partners. To mark its launch, former German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck will visit the University of Bern on November 2, 2026 (see information box). Habeck studied literature and philosophy and earned a doctorate in literary studies. 

In his literary, political, and academic work, he has emphasized the importance of language in how political processes are perceived and shaped. During the conversation, he will look back on his literary writing and scholarship in literary studies and reflect on which scholarly methods he brought with him into political practice. 

Further events featuring prominent guests are planned for the coming semesters. These will be open to students and anyone interested. 

The program encompasses a broad spectrum of professional activities, providing students with foundational skills as well as professional contacts and internship opportunities. The first course, offered this fall, explores “Literature and the Public Sphere in the Twenty-First Century,” drawing on recent research. 

In the spring semester of 2027, a course on “Literary Anniversaries” will examine communication strategies and their reach, combining academic inquiry with practical exercises. How do the media, cultural institutions, and the book trade use commemorative dates to direct public attention—for example, the centenary of Ingeborg Bachmann's birth in 2026 or the bicentenary of Johanna Spyri's birth in 2027? What might the Robert Walser anniversary year in 2028 look like? 

“The transformation of the world of books is not predetermined; it is something we can actively shape.”

An intensive, hands-on archival course on “Women Writers and Their Literary Estates,” taught by Nadia Brügger, a lecturer at the Institute of Germanic Languages and Literatures, will also enrich the program in spring 2027. Students will learn how literary institutions operate and have the opportunity to develop and test their own ideas and critical perspectives in collaboration with experts. 

The goal is to take students' interests and needs into account as fully as possible and to develop an engaging program over the coming semesters—one that enriches the curriculum in German studies, comparative literature, and related fields while inspiring research and interdisciplinary dialogue. By forging stronger connections between university study and professional work, the program also helps students make the transition into their careers. 

Working together gives us confidence: The transformation of the world of books is not predetermined; it is something we can actively shape.