ASSOCIATED PhD STUDENTS

Thank you for your interest in the work of the PhD students currently under the supervision of 
Prof. Silvia Schultermandl.

Parisa Arasteh (PhD completed, 2026)
Gulsin Ciftci
Su Kolsal
Estelle Krewiss
Alma Topalli

Parisa Arasteh

2026: PhD completed
2014: Master of Arts: English Literature, Universität Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
2011: Bachelor of Arts: English Literature, Universität Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran

Working Title of Thesis:
Pomegranate Fiction: Cosmopolitanism and Contemporary Arab American Novels

Abstract:
The “transnational turn” in American literary studies has generated enormous literary analysis and debates on American literature’s encounter with and integration into transnationalism and cosmopolitanism. Writers from various marginal ethnicities have had their voices heard; one of the emergent literary groups involved in this transnational turn is Arab American Literature. The present research argues that Arab American writings strive for change in mainstream cultural and social assumptions of ethnicities and minorities, promoting a more plural and cosmopolitan perspective, or what cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah calls “cosmopolitan contamination.” The study attempts to make a contribution to Arab American studies by analyzing selected novels’ engagement with cosmopolitanism and delineating how they contribute to current understandings of cosmopolitanism in literature as well.

Gulsin Ciftci

2020: Master of Arts, American Studies/English Philology, University of Göttingen
2017: Bachelor of Arts, English Language and Literature, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Turkey

Working Title of Thesis:
Piecing Together the Fragmented: Towards a Poetics of Sexual Trauma

Yagmur Su Kolsal

Y. Su Kolsal received her Master of Arts degree in English Literature in 2023 and her Bachelor's in English Language Teaching in 2020 from Middle East Technical University, Turkey.

Working Title of Thesis:
“A Morbid Longing for the Picturesque”: Aesthetic Engagements with Higher Education in Crisis in Dark Academia

Abstract:
While dark academia's emergence can be traced back to the reception of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut The Secret History and of other texts and media associated with it on online platforms in early 2010s, soon after, the term has gained a second meaning as a digital subculture that venerates various cultural elements associated with the literary formation on an atmospheric basis. This study argues that this dual existence is a result of dark academia's affective potential as an object of attachment for readers who are interested in the aestheticization of study.

In addition to offering a descriptive account of the emergence and development of dark academia as a still-developing literary phenomenon, this project positions dark academia and responses to it as forms of affective and ideological engagements that reflect educational anxieties. In this study, the centrality of nostalgic depictions of higher education to the atmosphere that constitutes dark academia is not viewed separately from the cultural elements that make dark academia both relevant and popular. Rather, the problems of the contemporary corporate university are explored as socio-cultural factors that necessitate fictional engagements with universities, and in addition, influence the formation of affective attachments to these works and to the alternative their nostalgic atmosphere offers.

Estelle Krewiss

Estelle Krewiss recently joined the Graduate School Practices of Literature at the University of Münster as a PhD student in English Studies. She earned her MA in English literature from the Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle’s Monde Anglophone in 2023. Her master’s thesis explored the relationship between women and water in two works of creative nonfiction, examining how the shore favors interconnectedness. Currently, Estelle’s research focuses on the blue humanities and ecocriticism in North American literature. She explores the shore as a site of entanglements and loss, encompassing themes such as kinship, grief, and climate change in creative nonfiction.
In the summer of 2023, Estelle did an internship at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, where she contributed editorial work and participated in events. This experience further deepened her passion for the environmental humanities.
In her free time, Estelle enjoys swimming, taking long walks in parks, and drawing. She also loves baking and listening to jazz on Sunday mornings.

Working Title of Thesis:
Loss, Entanglement, and Discovery: Writing the Shore in Contemporary North American Fiction

Alma Topalli

Alma Topalli received her Master of Arts degree in English Language and Literature in 2021 from AAB College in Prishtine, Kosovo; in 2019 she received her Bachelor's degree in Interior and Furniture Design from the University Prishtins in Ferizaj, Kosovo.

Working Title of Thesis:
Female Central Figures – Gender Representation in six Newbery Award winning books

Abstract:
Since its inception in 1922, the Newbery Award has recognized the author of the most distinguished contributions to American literature to children. Widely available in public and school libraries, Newbery Award-winning books hold a special place in the literary landscape, ensuring widespread exposure among young readers. Several studies starting from the 20th century have shed light on the under representation of female protagonists among the honoured work and less studies have exposed the significant gender imbalance noticed in the books that won this award. This current study builds upon the foundations laid by the early studies of Kinman, Henderson, Powell and other scholars who have emphasized the gender imbalance in Newbery Award winning books since the early '70s, also adding on the latest research on the Newbery Award Winning books and gender roles by Alex Paige Brower in 2017 and Courage, Charm and Compassion by Meredith Jachowicz in 2010.

Taking into consideration the importance of reading at an early age and the huge role the books we read as children play in who we become and how we imagine ourselves, this study embarks on an exploration of prevalent stereotypes conveyed in various books, each featuring a female protagonist. The findings will not only contribute to the field of gender studies but also offer valuable perspectives for educators, authors and readers alike in promoting a more inclusive and equitable literary landscape, shaping a future where all voices are heard and celebrated.