Sofia University expands contemporary literature program to four schools

The ‘Literature in the Present Time’ pilot program, led by the Faculty of Slavic Philology at Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, is expanding its reach to four schools in Bulgaria. Following a successful pilot at the 203rd Profiled Language High School ‘St. Methodius’ in Sofia, the program will now include the ‘Acad. Lyudmil Stoyanov’ Language High School in Blagoevgrad, ‘Vasil Levski’ Secondary School in Elin Pelin, and ‘Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov’ Secondary School in Godech.

The initiative aims to modernize the literature curriculum by integrating contemporary authors alongside classical works. Students in grades 8, 10, 11, and 12 will engage with elective modules using project-based and problem-based learning methods. The curriculum features a diverse range of modern Bulgarian, Balkan, Western European, Eastern, and Anglophone authors, including Georgi Gospodinov, Zakhar Karabashliev, Orhan Pamuk, Elif Shafak, Michel Houellebecq, Elena Ferrante, Fredrik Backman, Haruki Murakami, and Salman Rushdie.