Events

© Bryce Vickmark

Workshop: The American Academic Job Market with Eugenie Brinkema (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

9 May 2023 | 10 AM -16 PM | English Department, Room 203

The international job market offers great opportunities for early-career researchers, but it often works according to different rules than the German system. In this workshop, participants will gain an insight into academic application processes in the US, with a focus on early-career positions in the humanities (assistant professorships).

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Workshop: The Novel in a Postfictional Age with Timothy Bewes

16 June 2023 | 10AM - 3PM | English Department, Room 203

This workshop engages with Prof. Bewes’s latest book, Free Indirect: The Novel in a Postfictional Age (Columbia University Press, 2022), which shakes the grounds on which the theory of the novel has long been standing and offers new ways of seeing and engaging with literature.

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Guest lecture: Multiplicities of Silence with Prof. William Watkin (Brunel University)

11 January 2023 | 6-8PM | Lecture Hall JO1 (Johannisstr. 4)

Sigetics is the name for the philosophy of silence. It is concerned with what philosophers cannot say or name. As such it constitutes the outside of philosophy that thinkers need to make their various systems consistent. In his brief history of sigetics, Prof. Watkin visits the quiet cells and still offices of many thinkers and asks if their multiplicities of silences might be less a limit to philosophy, than a mute indication of its future.

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Public Lecture: Introduction to Public Writing with Irina Dumitrescu

17 November 2022 | 4-6PM | S1 (Schloss)

Scholars who write for a general audience need to familiarize themselves with new genres, writing styles, and outlets that are very different from academic publishing. Our guest lecturer Prof. Dr. Irina Dumitrescu (University of Bonn) will give us a first-hand inside into public writing, scrutinize its pros and cons, and share practical tips for newcomers in the field.

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Network Conference 2022

23 May 2022

At this year's network conference, the GSPoL offers exciting insights into current dissertation projects and career paths for academics with a PhD in literature. Alumni, students, university lecturers and the interested (university) public are cordially invited to attend this event. Further information on the program and registration can be found here.

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Lecture Series "Activism & Academia"

Monday 6-8PM, starting on May 9, 2022

This summer term, the GSPoL hosts a lecture series which focuses on "Activism & Academia." We invite all students, staff and guests to join us and participate in discussions on this important and timely topic. The program and further information are available on the website of the event. Please note that the lecture on May 2 has been rescheduled to June 13.

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Summer School 2022 Tacet Ad Libitum! The Poetics and Politics of Silence

The Summer School will open with the Münster Lectures which seek to combine the merits of theoretical and literary insight of renowned scholars, prominent writers, and cultural activists to discuss current debates, both scholastic and social.
The Münster Lectures are open to doctoral candidates, post-doc researchers, humanities students, and the general public. The Münster Lectures aim to strengthen not only the interdisciplinary exchange among members of the university, but also bridges the gap between the university and the city of Münster.

On July 27, the participants of the summer school will be asked to present their work-in progress on the topic. The conferences will be divided in three panels: theory, poetics and politics, which will be moderated by two speakers each.
The call for abstracts is now closed. We are not accepting any paper presentations.
We welcome you to register as a regular participant. (Spaces are limited)

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Digital Networking Event 2021

June 25, 2021 | 10.30 am

At this year's network conference, the GSPoL offers exciting insights into current dissertation projects and career paths for academics with a PhD in literature. Alumni, students, university lecturers and the interested (university) public are cordially invited to attend this event. Further information on the program and registration can be found here.

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The Role of Media in Making Lives Matter

Evening Lecture | Dr. Anna Poletti | Feb. 8, 2021 | 8pm (sharp)

The GSPoL's final event of this winter term is an evening lecture with Dr. Anna Poletti (Utrecht University). Building on their research on life writing after the book, Dr. Poletti will outline how affordances and aesthetics of other media forms reshape and reinvent autobiographical narratives. Please register with this link if you are interested in joining the event on Zoom. The lecture will be held in English.

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At the Abyss - Today and Tomorrow

Lecture | Prof. Dr. em. Jean-Luc Nancy | January 13, 2021 | 18 h

We are looking forward to welcoming the renowned thinker Prof. Dr. em. Jean-Luc Nancy at the GSPoL. Prof. Nancy will teach a PhD workshop and give a public lecture, which focuses on the abyss and its non-negative potentiality - keeping in mind that the death of god, the end of the law of causation have left us with no metaphysical "Grund" (German for "reason" as well as "ground"). Please contact us via email if you are interested in joining the event via Zoom.

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Benjamin and Derrida: Some Reflections on a Problematic Relation

Guest Lecture by Peter Fenves, June 25, 2020, 18:00 Uhr (c.t.)

We look forward to welcoming Prof. Peter Fenves, who will give a webinar and a guest lecture on "Benjamin and Derrida" at our graduate school. Please contact us by email if you are interested in joining the event via Zoom.

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Lecture series "Travelling Concepts"

Mondays 6-8 pm, JO 101, from Oct 07 onwards

In the upcoming winter term, GSPoL once again hosts a lecture series, starting on Oct 07. On Mondays, 6-8 pm, members are invited to attend to this series on "Travelling Concepts". Further information can be found on our website by clicking on this announcement's title.

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"Media and Ideology in the Modern Constitution"

Guest lecture by Dr. Samuel Heidepriem on July 11

GSPoL cordially invites yout to Dr. Samuel Heidepriem's guest lecture on "Media and Ideology of the Modern Constitution", which will be held at JO 101 on July, 11 at 4 pm.

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Ceremony on the occasion of the new cooperation between WWU and Northwestern University

Wednesday June 19, 2019 | 18h | Festsaal (Ceremonial Hall)

On the occasion of our new cooperation with Northwestern University, we would like to cordially invite you to our ceremony on June 19, 2019 at Festsaal (Ceremonial Hall) at 6 pm. Prof. Dr. Jörg Kreienbrock from Northwestern University will open this ceremony by giving a lecture on "Institut für Verbesserung der Weltliteratur. Max Kommerell und Ernst Robert Curtius im Gespräch über Calderón".

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"A World of Translation"

Lecture by Theo D'haen on 6 June

The guest lecture "A World of Translation" by Theo D'haen (KU Leuven) will be held in WWU castle's ceremonial on 6 June at 6 pm. All those interested are cordially invited to attend! (venue: Festsaal, Schlossplatz 5)

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Why Literary Studies Matter Now: Academic Practices in an Anti-Intellectual Climate

Lecture Series 2018/19 | Mondays | starting October 15, 2018 | 6pm | Lecture Hall S 9 (Schloss)

This year's lecture series, titled Why Literary Studies Matter Now: Academic Practices in an Anti-Intellectual Climate, opens up an interdisciplinary and international dialogue on the cultural and political role of literature in today's world, addressing issues such as "Realitie(s) in Literary Studies," "Factual Fictions," and "Political Correctness in Academic Discourse."

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Anniversary Conference - 10 years of GSPoL

Recap and Impressions

The tenth anniversary of the Graduate School 'Practices of Literature' was celebrated on June 19, 2018 with a conference. A diverse program including a networking event “Career Development” for PhD students, a guest lecture by advisory board member Dr. Nicholas Shrimpton (University of Oxford), as well as poster and project presentations by PhD students reflected the Graduate School's research activities. The GSPoL is grateful to everyone who participated and made the anniversary conference a special day with thoughtprovoking discussions!

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Anniversary Conference - GS PoL Turns 10!

June 19, 2018 | Starting at 10 a.m.| Aula at Vom-Stein-Haus (Schlossplatz 34)

To the celebrate the Graduate School's ten-year anniversary, the graduate school has come up with a diverse conference program illustrating the GS PoL's three pillars: literature and theory, literature and society as well as literature and the professional world. Next to PhD poster presentations, it includes academic exchange in the form of a keynote lecture by Dr. Nicholas Shrimpton (University of Oxford) as well as a networking event for PhD students, advisory board members, and alumni.

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CANCELLED - On the forms of self-presentation of authors in digital contexts

Evening Lecture| PD Dr. Christoph Jürgensen (Wuppertal)| June 5, 2018 | 18:15 | VSH 17 (Schlossplatz 34)

***Unfortunately, the event had to be cancelled. The lecture will be held on a later date (tba). ***
The GSPoL gives a warm welcome to University of Wuppertal's PD Dr Christoph Jürgensen: On June 5, 2018, he will be giving a guest lecture on forms of self-presentation of authors in digital contexts ("Digital ist besser? Formen der Autorinszenierung im Internet"), 18:15 at Vom-Stein-Haus (Schlossplatz 34), room 17. Everyone interested is welcome to join the talk and discussion.

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Science Communication Today: More Content, More Colour - More Importance?

Lecture/Discussion | 7.5.2018 | 18:15 | Aula im Schloss

What shape can science communication take on today next to a traditional press release, a lecture series or a tweet introducing a new publication? Science Communication Today: More Content, More Colour - More Importance? aims to elaborate on these question with a lecture by Philipp Niemann, head of science communication at Karlsruher Institut für Technologie and a following discussion with various experts in science communication and researchers.
This event was inspired by the exhibition and book launch of Traveling Exhibition UpSideDown and its associated academic graphic novel based on Münster's second international circus conference UpSideDown | Circus and Space (June 2017, organized by GSPoL PhD student Franziska Trapp).

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Impressions: Münster Lectures 2018 | Theory and Practice in Feminism* Today?

Jan. 12, 2018 I 7pm I Lecture Hall JO1 (Johannisstr. 4)

The GSPoL is pleased to have held a productive Münster Lectures 2018 exploring the relationship between feminist* theory and activism. Cultural theorist and author Laina Dawes from the Department of Music at Columbia University (USA) and Sonja Eismann, co-founder, co-publisher and editor-in-chief of Missy Magazine: Magazin für Pop, Politik und Feminismus (Berlin, Germany) introduced their work and located it in the field of theory and activism, inviting fruitful discussion with the audience. Find impressions of the event here:

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Student Conference "Pop Hero and Action Princess - Negotiating Gender in Popular Culture

January 12 - 13, 2018 | English Department WWU Münster

This conference aims to address the role of gender in popular culture, how it is represented and read. The discussion will focus on the political power of such representations and their impact on cultural practices; their critical and subversive potential. In order to do so, we would like to engage with various aspects of popular culture and look forward to discussing gender (re-)presentations and performances in a range of different media, including Film, Music, TV, Literature, Comic, Social Media, and other online media.

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Lecture Series: Literary Concepts Post 2000

This winter term, we cordially invite all PhD students and guests to attend our new lecture series. Five international guests will present and discuss their papers on concepts and developments that have shaped our understanding of literature in the new millennium. 

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Filmscreening of the CineClub

Every Wednesday | German Department VSH18 | 20:00

The GSPoL project group Cine Club would like to invite anyone interested in joining them for their new film series " Alternate Realities". Every wednesday the Cine Club meets at the German Department, room VSH18, 20:00, to screen and discuss a movie with the subject "Alternate Realities in Film".

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Filmscreening of the CineClub: "Inside Llewyn Davis"

Mon February 20th, 2017| 8 p.m. | VSH 116

The 'Cine Club', a GSPoL project group, would like to invite anyone interested in joining them for a film screening on Monday, February 20th, at 8 p.m. in VSH 116, Schlossplatz 34.

After screening and discussing Wong Kar-Wai's melancholy tale of love and loneliness "In the Mood for Love", followed by meta-comedy "Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance" (Alejandro G. Iñárritus), British satire "Four Lions" (2010) by Chris Morris, "Mulholland Dr." by David Lynch (2001) and "La Grande Bellezza" by Paolo Sorrentino (2013), the next movie to be analysed is "Inside Llewyn Davis".

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Public Lecture & Masterclass: "Mediterranianism"

with Dr. Tomislav Zelic | 08.02.2017 | 18:00 c.t. | Festsaal | Schlossplatz 5

The GSPoL extends a warm welcome to Dr. Tomislav Zelic from Zadar University, Croatia, for a public lecture and following masterclass concering the idea of "Mediterranianism" as a tool for discourse analysis in the tradition of Said's "Orientialism" (1977) and Todorova's "Balkanism" (1997). The Mediterranean Sea as catalyst of European identity formation connecting self-autorization and self-authentification furthers the (self)distinction between the European Self as Other. Dr Zelic asserts that this literary-imaginative process can be seen in German literary history analyzing baroque and German contemporary literature as example.

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Public Lecture "'Realitätswütig' - on contemporary varieties of aesthetic intervention"

Prof. Dr. Lars Koch | 18.01.2017 | 6 p.m. | Festsaal, Schlossplatz 5

The GSPoL is pleased to welcome Prof. Dr. Lars Koch from Dresden to a public lecture and masterclass. The lecture focusses on different art activists fighting against global capitalism: Friedrich von Borries, Milo Rau, and the Centre for Political Beauty, three main figures but with different approaches in the field of aesthetic intervention. Examining the aesthetical self- and external reference, and their different approaches to disrupt and redefine reality conventions as well as cultural perception, the lecture seeks to point out the interrelationship of politics and art.

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Invitation: Screening "Birdman"

Monday 12th of December| 6 p.m. | VSH

The 'Cine Club', new project group of the GSPoL, would like to invite anyone interested to join them for the first screening on Monday 12th of December at 6 p.m. in VSH, Schlossplatz 34. The first film to be watched and discussed was be Wong Kar-Wai's melancholy tale of love and loneliness from 2002: "In the Mood for Love". This time we will take an analytic look at the meta-comedy "Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance".

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Symposium on The Cambridge History of Black and Asian British Writing

September 28-30th 2016

From September 28-30th, the Chair of English, Postcolonial & Media Studies and Open University will be co-hosting a unique collaborative Symposium. Compiling the very first Cambridge History of Black and Asian British Writing, editors Professor Susheila Nasta (Open Univesity) and Professor Mark Stein (Münster) have invited their contributors to a three-day research and cooperation workspace through which the writing process shall be enhanced and productively facilitated.
The Event includes an Evening to Celebrate Black and Asian British Writing on Thursday 29 September with readings from renowned authors, showcasing literature from the UK’s Black and Asian writers. More

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THE FANTASTIC NOW: RESEARCH IN THE FANTASTIC IN THE 21st CENTURY

Seventh annual conference of the Association for Research in the Fantastic

The seventh annual conference of the Association for Research in the Fantastic under the title The Fantastic Now: Research in the Fantastic in the 21st Century aims to include the greatest possible number of diverse voices and perspectives to do justice to the multiplicity and interdisciplinarity of the field in order to discuss its societal and cultural implications.
The conference will takeplace at the Westfälische-Wilhelms University of Münster, English Seminar, from the 22nd to 24th of September 2016.

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Europe as a space of science

Invitation to the 7th Networking Day at the WWU!

On June 22nd 2016, smartNETWORK, the association of the graduate schools of the humanities and social sciences, will host the seventh networking day at Johannerstraße 4. Opportunities provided by the European Union for young researchers will be the day's topic.

For further information, click here


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Second General Assembly of all PHD Students of the WWU

June 22nd 2016 I 6 p.m. I seminar room of the Graduate Centre (Schlossplatz 6)

At the second general assembly of all PhD students of the WWU, the ASta representatives for the PhD students will be elected. After that, a film screening of PhD Movie 2 with free snacks and drinks will provide a casual setting for an informal get-together.

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Optimal Publication of a Dissertation

June 13th 2016 I Festsaal der WWU I Schlossplatz 5

The GS PoL is pleased to announce a workshop in cooperation with Dr. Viola Voß and the ULB, which will focus on the optimal publication of a dissertation.

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Closing Event of the PhD Research Group Literary Theory as Theory of Society

The PhD Research Group (Promotionskolleg) Literary Theory as Theory of Society, which took up work in the summer term 2012, is an independent college of the Graduate School Practices of Literature and it is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation. The official ending of the project will be celebrated with a closing ceremony on May 3rd 2016. Prof. Dr. Eckart Gobel from the Univserity of Tuebingen will hold a lecture on "Paria und Patria. Hannah Arendts 'Gespensterwelt'"at the event.

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Lecture with Prof. Dr. Clemens Ruthner (Trinity College Dublin)

"Thresholds & Transitions. Liminality as heuristic concept in literary and cultural studies"

In his lecture, Clemens Ruthner will explore the question how the principle of liminality (Victor Turner) is a defining factor of the genre "fantastic literature". Furthermore he will examine if and how fantastic literature and literature in general can overcome liminality through "undead" key figures e.g. the vampire.
Place and Time: Thu, 14.01.2015, 18:15 - 19:45, Senatssaal (Schlossplatz 2)

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Masterclass on "Parallelpoesie"

On augst 20th Prof. Dr. Jörg Kreienbrock will hold a masterclass on „Parallelpoesie: Zur Relation von Dichtung und Theorie nach deren Ende“.

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Conference "Work in Progress. Work and auto/biographical narration"

The aim of the conference is to take the multiple discursive links into account and to ask how the different dimensions of work shape the presentation of one’s (own) life. On the one hand, the conference will take a look at auto/biographies and other auto/biographical media, i.e. on genres that allow an explicit focusing on an individual’s life or on the individual as a foil for more general, epistemological reflection. On the other hand, auto/biographical forms will be taken into account, that serve as a data basis for the science of history, sociology or psychology.

Lecture & Masterclass on digital editions with Dr. Gabriele Radecke and Mathias Göbel

On 19th of February Dr. Gabriele Radecke will hold a lecture on Theodor Fontane's notebooks: "Notizbuch-Editionen. Zu Materialität und Medialität von Theodor Fontanes Notizbüchern und ihrer editorischen Repräsentation". On 20th February there will be an additional masterclass on "Digitale Editionen" with Dr. Radecke and Mathias Göbel, that will give an introduction to edition philology as well as "TextGrid".

Masterclass “Game Studies & Game Design”

The Graduate School Practices of Literature proudly presents Kevin Mentz, Gamedesigner working for Daedalic Entertainment, which is currently holding the Studio of the Year Award 2013. He will give a talk on "Story breaking and breaking stories" at Thursday, September 4th 2014.

Rambo meets Tatort

Special Guests from Kiel at the WWU: The GSPoL will host a special lecture on Rambo and Tatort. The event takes place on wednesday 25th of June, 6 pm, room JO1 (Johannisstraße). Please note that the lectures will be held in German.

Lecture Series: Europa. Literarische Figurationen

The Europakolleg will host a lecture series on literary figurations in europe. The event takes place on wednesdays, 16. pm, room JO1 (Johannisstraße). Please note that the lectures will be held in German.

International Conference on European Identities

In April, the Europa Kolleg will host the international conference "Living Europe, Writing Europe: Literary Perceptions of Urbanization and ‹Provincializing› European Identities". The event is is organized by doctoral students of different fields of research and is addressed to young academics.

Guest Lecture: Dr. Thomas Ernst

Upon the invitation of Hans Böckler PhD Research Group (Promotionskolleg) Literary Theory as Theory of Society, Dr. Thomas Ernst (Universität Essen/Duisburg) will hold a public lecture on his recent publication Literatur und Subversion. Politisches Schreiben in der Gegenwart.

4th Network-Day Topic: Research and Fraud: Plagiarism

What is our understanding of plagiarism, what are the effects and how can researchers deal with this topic? On the 14th of February 2013 the smartNETWORK invites all members of the participating graduate schools to their 4th Network-Day. The event takes place in the facilities of the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” (Johannisstraße 4).

Lecture and Workshop with Dr. Carrie Smith-Prei

The Graduate School Practices of Literature and the PK LitG Literary Theory as Theory of Society will host a workshop with Dr. Carrie Smith-Prei (University of Alberta) on the topic “Failures, precarious feminisms and the political potential of the awkward”. The event will take place on the 15th and 16th of January 2013 and includes a public lecture and a workshop for the graduate students of the GS PoL and PK LitG.

Opening of the Europa-Kolleg

The newly-established Europa-Kolleg unites three individual projects from English, German and Slavic studies that are funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The event will last about two hours and takes place at the Festsaal of the University on the 27th November 2012, at 6 pm at the Festsaal (Schlossplatz 5). Everyone interested is kindly invited to join the event.

Lecture and Workshop with Prof. Dr. Klaus-Michael Bogdal

The Graduate School Practices of Literature and the Promotionskolleg Literary theory as Theory of Society (University of Münster) will host a workshop with Prof. Dr. Klaus-Michael Bogdal (Bielefeld) on the 21st and 22nd of November 2012.

Lecture and Workshop with KD Wolf

On the 21st of May 2012 KD Wolff will give a lecture on the topic Von der 68er Studentenbewegung zum Klassikerverlag (18.15-20.00, Festsaal of the University). Seminar of the GSPoL and of the PK LitG: 22nd of May 2012 (10.00-12.00 and 13.00-15.00), Alexander-von-Humbold Haus (Hüfferstraße 61), Room 139.

Opening: Promotionskolleg

On 11th of April 2012 the official opening ceremony of the PhD Research Group (Promotionskolleg) Literary Theory as Theory of Society took place in the Festsaal of the University.

Graduate Conference

The GSPoL organized a graduate conference titled “Anything goes? Literary theory in the 21st Century” at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster (21st and 22nd May 2010).

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Why Literary Studies Matter Now: Academic Practices in an Anti-Intellectual Climate

Lecture Series 2018/19 | Mondays | starting October 15, 2018 | 6pm | Lecture Hall S 9 (Schloss)

This year's lecture series will create an interdisciplinary dialogue by addressing issues such as "Realitie(s) in Literary Studies", "Factual Fictions", as well as "Political Correctness in Academic Discourse", and more. Further information and a detailled schedule coming soon!