Seminar for English Studies

Literary Studies

English Literary Studies places the historical context and the aesthetic character of literary texts at the centre of research and teaching. The subject of teaching and research is English-language literary texts from Great Britain and Ireland as well as the former British colonies, for example from Ghana, Nigeria, Canada or Australia.

Teaching ranges from the beginnings of English-language literature, the Anglo-Saxon heroic epics of the 8th century, to its current manifestations, for example spoken word poetry. Although the focus is on literary texts, other related media such as engravings and herbals as well as cultural phenomena such as landscape gardens are also considered. Closely linked to the research questions of literary studies are the exploration of reading practices, considerations of genre conventions and periodisations.