Anglistik

The central subjects of English Literary Studies in Jena are the literature and culture of Great Britain from the Old English period to the present, as well as Anglo-Irish literature and the new Anglophone literatures.

In teaching as well as in research, an interdisciplinary orientation is of great importance. The guiding principle is the understanding of literary works as cultural artifacts which reflect and process the cultural ideas, values, and norms prevailing in their context of origin, while at the same time actively helping to shape them. In addition to traditional forms of analysis in literary studies, the connections of literary studies to fields such as philosophy, linguistics, media and communication studies, and theology become important elements in the debate and discussion.

Particular emphasis in teaching and research is found in the areas of the English Renaissance and the 17th century; the 19th century novel; modern, postmodern, and postcolonial literature; as well as in popular literature and in comics and graphic novels. In more research-oriented contexts, cognitive science or evolutionary biology topics and concepts are also of particular importance, as is the overall relationship between literature and science.

Students can choose courses according to their own interests from an extensive module catalogue, to which changing courses on a wide range of topics are assigned. In addition to seminars on literary theory, in which essential concepts of the subject are discussed and basic skills are trained, the courses offered include both overview-oriented and in-depth courses. In literary history modules, the historical or also genre-historical development of narrative, dramatic, and lyrical texts is traced. Seminars dealing more with cultural studies focus on the analysis of historical and contemporary cultural phenomena. Further courses focus on the specific circumstances of certain literary periods, on individual authors, or genres. The close cooperation with colleagues from other fields is reflected not least in the regular offer of jointly led interdisciplinary seminars.