Forschungsschwerpunkte:

Literatur des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Pragmatismus, modernistische Lyrik, Gender Studies, Black Studies, Cultural Theory, Musik und Visuelle Kultur

In den folgenden Forschungsclustern bin ich aktiv:

Audio and Visual Studies

In the vibrant, ever-expanding field of visual culture and sound studies, our department focuses on four clearly defined areas. A research project funded by the BMBF and co-directed by Alexander Dunst, "Digital and Cognitive Approaches to Graphic Literature" explores graphic novels and comics from a Digital Humanities perspective. Jarmila Mildorf leads a project called "Audionarratology," investigating the interface of narrative and sound. Several projects located at the department investigate the history of photography, in its American context (Christoph Ribbat) and in the UK (Merle Tönnies). Finally, Hollywood cinema, transnational film, and visual culture constitute central research and teaching areas in the department (Alexander Dunst, Christina Flotmann, Alexandra Hartmann, Christoph Singer, Sara StraußMiriam Strube).

Cultural and Intellectual History

The fields of cultural and intellectual history examine the development of cultural practices and thought in the past and their significance for our present, while expanding the study of history and culture beyond the boundaries of traditional disciplines in the humanities. Current research in these fields within the English department focuses on a diverse array of topics, stretching from the mid-nineteenth to the late twentieth century across the United States and Europe. They include the development of sports and foodways, book-length studies in the history of technology and the Cold War, as well as the philosophical movement known as pragmatism. Faculty members active in this area of research are:
  In addition to regular teaching and publication in these fields, the English department has hosted a number of events addressing issues in cultural and intellectual history in recent years, including conferences on “Cultures of Basketball” (2014) and “Revisioning Pragmatism: William James in the New Millennium” (2010). We welcome inquiries from students and researchers with an interest in further study in these areas or collaborating on research projects.

Gender Studies

Gender studies research positions itself in diverse fields. Department members pursue projects in popular culture and philosophy (Strube), 19th to 21st century novels and drama (Flotmann/Tönnies), Chicano/a literature and culture (Reiffenrath), photography and visual culture (Ribbat) as well as interrelations between gender and genre (Ehland/Tönnies). We are pleased to cooperate with the University of Paderborn's Center for Gender Studies. For future collaborative work and/or Ph.D. dissertations, we welcome gender-oriented research undertakings in literary and cultural studies, cultural history, masculinity studies, and queer theory.

Medical Humanities

The interdisciplinary field of the medical humanities studies the experience of illness and its cultural meaning across different historical epochs and media. It adds a distinctive humanities perspective to clinical practice and the medical and biological sciences, offering an emphasis on human expression and subjectivity frequently marginalized in these fields. Current research in the medical humanities within the English department focuses on the cultural and intellectual history of psychiatry and psychology during the Cold War era, as well as narratives of illness and disability in twentieth-century and contemporary literature and culture. Faculty members active in this area of research are:
  We welcome inquiries from students and researchers with an interest in further study in these areas or collaborating on research projects.
 

Postcolonial Studies / African American Studies

Postcolonial and African American studies inform several English and American Studies research projects in our department. Researchers investigate specific aspects of contemporary and late 20th century Black British novels and drama (Tönnies), Black Studies as intellectual history (Strube), modes of resistance and agency in African American culture (Hartmann) and conjunctions between Civil Rights activism, life writing, and the history of the everyday (Ribbat).  We're aiming to expand our international network in these fields. And we would be happy to discuss new projects by junior scholars.