Sorbian studies is an academic discipline dealing with Sorbian language and literature.[1][2] It is a subfield of Slavic studies.
The only institute for Sorbian studies is at Leipzig University (German: Institut für Sorabistik; Upper Sorbian: Institut za sorabistiku).[1] The University of Potsdam publishes the series Potsdamer Beiträge zur Sorabistik.[3] Furthermore, the Sorbian Institute is conducting research in Sorbian studies and biannually publishes Lětopis, the only journal on Sorbian studies.[4][5]
Students can earn a B.A. or an M.A. degree in Sorbian studies at Leipzig University. Furthermore, Sorbian language education degrees are available.[6]
Initiated by Adolf Černý, Sorbian literature is taught at Charles University in Prague since the 19th century. Since 1933, there is a chair for Sorbian literature, first held by Josef Páta. In 1842, Jan Pětr Jordan, a Sorbian linguist, became lecturer of Slavistics with a special focus on Sorbian in Leipzig.[7][4]
The history of institutionalized Sorbian studies began in the 1950s with the creation of the Sorbian Ethnological Institute in Bautzen and the Institute for Sorbian Studies in Leipzig.[5][1]
Unlike students of most minor academic disciplines, Sorbian studies graduates are sought after in Lusatia, as the states of Saxony and Brandenburg guarantee that classes in Sorbian language are available.[8][9]