Modern German Literary Studies

The field of work Modern German Literary Studies (NDL) specialises in the teaching of and research into German-language literature from the early modern period to the present day. The focus is on cultural-historical as well as literary and media-theoretical approaches. The focus of literary history includes romanticism, realism, modernism and contemporary literature. Questions of literary theory, also from the fields of (post-)digitality, posthumanism/postmigration, gender studies and medical humanities, are complemented by aesthetic questions on forms of literariness, sensuality, perception and representation of time. The mediality of literature is considered as well as its connection to other media (e.g. radio, film, television, internet, social media). With the Greifswald authors Sibylla Schwarz, Hans Fallada, Wolfgang Koeppen and Judith Schalansky, classes regularly approach the literary life of the local region. The Wolfgang Koeppen Archive, which supervises and performs research into the author's estate, provides insights into the work of a literary archive. The International Research Training Group "Baltic Peripeties", which is closely linked to the department, offers opportunities to connect with interdisciplinary research projects on the Baltic Sea region. The close links to the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies (IZfG) also contribute to the NDL's profile and offer students the opportunity to organise events independently, for example in the "Exchange Forum Feminism and Pop Culture".

Based on a broad concept of culture that encompasses the sciences and arts, politics and social issues, the field of work understands the ratio of text and culture as dynamic, showing itself in diverse and historically different constellations over the course of literary history. The classes are designed in such a way that a synthesis of systematic-theoretical and historical exploration and reflection on literature is created for each study phase.