Team

In her dissertation project, Katharina Scheerer examines the beginnings of German science fiction literature around 1900. These texts already deal with the relationship between humans and the environment in general and humans and plants in particular: Alfred Döblin's Berge Meere und Giganten (1924) or in Kurd Laßwitz's Die entflohene Blume (1910), for example. Katharina developed the exhibition project from the observation that various doctoral students at the GSPoL were dealing with the science fiction genre in their projects.

Pooja Singh's PhD project deals with the topic of futuristic catastrophe in contemporary Sci-Fi, where more than anything the danger of an ecological catastrophe tops the chart. For her, in comparison to the topics, like complex machines, AI or robots, the genre of science fiction was hardly related to plants. With this project, however, she is engaging with another side of Sci-Fi, where plants are active as well as dangerous humanoid characters. She is really looking forward to the exhibition of this project in May, 2022.

In her dissertation project, Linda Göttner examines images of femininity in literary Expressionism. Here, significant links between gender and nature as well as the contrasting of natural origin fantasies with modern mechanization can be observed. Since such complexities can also be exciting for a broader audience, Linda Göttner supports the exhibition team in public relations.

The initial idea of having found an escape from the present by immersing herself in the sometimes unknown worlds was quickly replaced by the realization of never having actually confronted reality and its transformation more intensively. If one allows it, 'science fiction' invites to new spaces of reality, which opens up a completely different dimension of idea development, reflections and expression. By visiting the 'Garden Eden' Jule Hayen would like to observe and, above all, allow her view of the 'green life' around us to gradually change, after all who knows, maybe the plants surrounding us do not remain as still and silent as we first perceive them to be.

Max has always held a deep affection for Sci-Fi. Participating in the exhibition finally provided an opportunity to follow up on the childhood lightsaber battles in his parents' garden. He assists the team's research and financial planning.

In 2017/18, Christina Becher completed her two MA degrees in German Studies and in Cultural Poetics of Literature and Media at the University of Münster. Since 2019, she is a PhD candidate in German Studies and EUmanities fellow at the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School of the University of Cologne. Being located within the developing field of literary and cultural plant studies, her project engages with fictional human-plant hybrids in 20th and 21st century literature and graphic texts. Christina supports the GSPoL’s exhibition project on plants in science fiction as a member of the research team.

Christina is a co-editor of Textpraxis. Digital Journal for Philology and a member of the Literary and Cultural Plant Studies Network.

Aline Klieber is a master student in teaching German and music at the WWU Münster and supports the exhibition team in public relations. With her currently growing enthusiasm for the field of cultural management, which grew out of organizing a musical exhibition series with the WWU's cultural office, she is looking forward to giving free rein to her creative streak in ‘Eden' in the social media work and documentation of the project.

Lis Hansen received her PhD from the Graduate School 'Practices of Literature' at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster with a thesis on the poetics of garbage in contemporary literature. In the course of this, she studied multifaceted representations of nature. Another central research focus of hers is the relationship between literature and museums/exhibitions. In the exhibition project 'Eden? Plants between Science and Fiction' she is part of the scenography team.

Due to the actions of humans, the earth is changing so quickly that the question arises as to how long the currently still existing life will still be possible in this form. What the future will look like remains uncertain, and yet film and literature create images of a possible future in which animals and plants in particular play a significant role. In the science fiction genre, plants appear as actors and either enable life, like the Tree of Souls in "Avatar", or they destroy life, like in "The Day of the Triffids". Pursuing the question of how plants are staged as self-determined and autonomous actors is incredibly rewarding for Ann-Kathrin Klassen and also the reason why she is involved in the literature exhibition in scenography and research.

Can Çakır is a PhD student at the Graduate School Practices of Literature and his dissertation will be about the critique of neoliberal ideology in selected Marxist and anarchist utopian texts. Since his interest in utopianism overlaps with science fiction, both in scholarly terms and in matters of the heart, a sci-fi exhibition is where he feels home. He's a part of the public relations team.