Research at the Chair of North American Literature
As a field of American Studies, North American literature is a central place for both the study and scholarly reflection of the literary, cultural, and medial formalization of a globalized, increasingly digitized world. By questioning the distinction between approaches to literary theory and cultural studies, faculty members at the Chair of North American Literature investigate the relationship between canonical and popular text archives, the potential effects of the narrative dimensions of knowledge, and historically shaped phenomena of text-, sound-, as well as image-based manifestations of social discourses.
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Research Approach
Research at the Chair of North American Literature is dedicated to a broad understanding of literature. What our thematically diverse research activities have in common is an interest in the social and cultural relevance and functions of literature and other forms of cultural expression in historical contexts. We ask how texts, as formalized practices, provide frameworks for constituting and interpreting individual realities and social, often conflict-laden dynamics and for probing alternative ways of thinking. We ask about the historical, material conditions and the discursive effects of texts and the formal strategies, narrative patterns, and literary means by which these effects are potentially achieved.