English/American Studies

The Department of English and American Studies at the University of Augsburg consists of six chairs. They can be grouped into the departments of Literary and Cultural Studies, Linguistics, and Didactics. Below, we briefly outline the characteristics of each chair and their research areas.

-English Literature:

The focus of the Department of English Literature in Augsburg is on the literatures of Great Britain and Ireland in all their literary/textual and cultural manifestations, from the late Middle Ages and the Shakespearean era to the immediate present of the 21st century. ...

-American Studies:

The Department of American Studies focuses on American literature, language, and culture in their respective cultural-historical contexts. We define American Studies as "North American Studies," which means that we focus not only on U.S. literature and culture, but also on other texts produced on the American continent. ...

-New English Literatures and Cultural Studies:

The field of New English Literatures often refers to English-language literatures from Asian, African, Caribbean, Oceanian, or Canadian contexts, but increasingly also includes English-language texts from regions where English is not an official or dominant language. Literatures from the sphere of influence of the historical British Empire are analyzed from the perspectives of postcolonial studies and decolonial criticism to promote critical engagement with the persistent power structures of these contexts. ...