Forschungsschwerpunkte:

Early Modern Literature and Culture, Romanticism, Middlebrow and Anglo-Indian Literature, Literary Culture and Spatial Practices, Mobility Studies

In den folgenden Forschungsclustern bin ich aktiv:

Drama and Performance Studies

Research projects in the department cover a range of dramatic and theatrical styles in Britain, from the early modern period right up to the 2010s. Different research projects in the department cover a range of dramatic and theatrical styles in Britain, from the early modern period right up to the 2010s. For the dramatic productions of Shakespearean times there is a special focus on the representation of movement and mobility on stage (Ehland). Moving forward in time to the Victorian Age, the theatrical style of melodrama is scrutinised with regard to its generic and cultural implications (Tönnies). With regard to contemporary British theatre, the diverse forms that political drama has taken from the mid-20th century onwards are studied in the context of actual political developments, paying particular attention to the use of dramatic techniques and the roles accorded to the audience (Tönnies).

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.

Space

The influence of the topographical turn is reflected in a number of research initiatives in the department. Our projects address a variety of issues that cover regional, national and postcolonial identities in Britain and the English-speaking world. Here, the focus rests on the representation of landscapes and cityscapes which are endowed with cultural meanings that construct, maintain and circulate myths and histories of national and regional cultures. Individual research activities explore institutional phenomena such as the prison (Wächter), the utopian/dystopian (de)construction of liminal spaces like the shore (Singer), nostalgic reappropriation in political and cultural spaces (Wirth), the 17th-century ritual of the Lord Mayor Show in London (Ehland), the (de)construction and mutual dependency of home and colonial spaces in 19th-century fiction or the spatial dimension in the work of contemporary British photographers (Tönnies).
Members of the department are engaged in a number of initiatives in the field of the study of cultural spaces: the international book series Spatial Practices (Brill Publishing) is edited by members of the department who also maintain close contact with research groups such as the Critical Topography Group in Canada and the US.