This workshop, co-hosted by the American Studies Department, will center on Prof. Laura Bieger’s recent book Reading for Democracy (Metzler, 2024), which develops a timely and thought-provoking account of reading as a socially and politically embedded practice.
Working with selected excerpts from the book, the workshop takes up the question of whether—and in what sense—literature can be understood as a political practice. Discussion will revolve around key themes such as reading as a form of civic engagement, the place of literature in the public sphere, and the complex relationships between texts, readers, and institutional contexts.
Participants will engage closely with pre-circulated material in a combination of guided close reading and open discussion. The workshop is designed to be interactive throughout, with a strong emphasis on dialogue, critical exchange, and the shared development of ideas. Rather than offering a one-way presentation of arguments, it aims to create space for sustained conversation about the book’s key interventions and their implications for literary and cultural studies.
In addition to introducing central aspects of Bieger’s work, the workshop also invites participants to reflect on how its arguments might resonate with or inform their own research. Further information about the book can be found via the publisher’s page.
The workshop is aimed at PhD and advanced MA students. Interested students are invited to express their interest via email: gulsin.ciftci@uni-muenster.de.
The workshop is preceded by a public lecture (registration via Indico).
When? June 18, 2026, 12-2pm (public lecture) and 3-6:30pm (workshop)
Where? ES 203 (Johannisstr. 12-20)
Biographical Note
Prof. Dr. Laura Bieger is Professor of American Studies at Ruhr University Bochum.
Further information on Prof. Bieger's official website.