News Archive

The Chair of Anglophone Cultural and Literary Studies is pleased to welcome Prof. Brycchan Carey for a guest lecture on "Olaudah Equiano, The African: An Eighteenth-Century Citizen of the World". The lecture will take place on Thursday, 26 January 2023 at 11:00 a.m. as part of the seminar "Discourses of Slavery and Abolition in the 17th and 18th Centuries" by PD Dr. Nora Pleßke (Building 40, Room 226, Zschokkestraße 32). The lecture is open to everyone who is interested.

Brycchan Carey is Professor of English at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is currently President of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and Vice-President of the Association for Study of Literature and Environment (United Kingdom and Ireland), and served as the first President of the Literary London Society. In his numerous publications, primarily on the culture and literature of the Atlantic world, Carey has focused on discourses on slavery and the abolitionist movement, the content of which ties in seamlessly with the seminar topic. His lecture focuses on Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797), an eighteenth-century African writer and Britain's first Black civil servant, who also acted as an anti-slavery activist, navigator, and explorer. Carey has extensively edited and published Equiano's Interesting Narrative and will also discuss his experiences as an editor during the guest lecture.

The Herbst-Uni (Autumn University) is an offer for pupils in the 11th and 12th grades to feel like students for a week during the autumn holidays and to take a closer look at the courses offered at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg. In 2022, the Autumn University will take place from 25 to 28 October. The Chair of Anglophone Cultural and Literary Studies will open its regular seminar "Narratives of Identity" (9.15 to 10.45 a.m.) to interested students on 26 October. The seminar is a compulsory course in the first semester of the Cultural Engineering programme, deals with identity as a central object of cultural studies and introduces three of the central dimensions of identity (class, ethnicity and gender). After the event, all students will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with the lecturer and the students. Further information on the Herbst-Uni and the possibility to register can be found here.

The Call for Papers for the 2023 annual conference of the Inklings Society for Literature and Aesthetics (Inklings-Gesellschaft für Literatur und Ästhetik e.V.) is now published.The conference will take place from 29 April to 1 May at Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, be organised by Carsten Kullmann and Dr. Maria Fleischhack (University of Leipzig), and dedicated to the theme "Defying Death: Immortality and Rebirth in Fantasy" on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of J.R.R. Tolkien and the 60th anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis, two formative Inklings, as well as the 40th founding year of the Society. Abstracts of 300-500 words can be sent to either of the organisers until 31 January 2023.

In 2023, the annual conference of the Inklings Society for Literature and Aesthetics (Inklings-Gesellschaft für Literatur und Ästhetik e.V.) will take place from 29 April to 1 May at Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg. The conference, organised by Carsten Kullmann and Dr. Maria Fleischhack (University of Leipzig), will be dedicated to the theme "Defying Death: Immortality and Rebirth in Fantasy" on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of J.R.R. Tolkien and the 60th anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis, two formative Inklings, as well as the 40th founding year of the Society. The Call for Papers can be found here.

The German Historical Institute London (GHIL) is hosting a Summer School titled "Environment and the British Empire" from 19 to 22 July 2022. The Summer School will focus on the British Empire, with a particular emphasis on colonial India, to explore the relationship between imperialism and colonialism and the devastating, lasting changes to the global environment. How did colonial exploitation of natural resources and control of populations through political power and racial ideologies change the environment? The experts, renowned historians Prof. David Arnold (Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick) and Neeladri Bhattacharya (Ashoka University, formerly JNU, New Delhi), will discuss key issues in the history of environment and empire with students in a lively and stimulating atmosphere. While India and South Asia will be the focus of the summer school, examples from other parts of the British Empire, such as Africa and Southeast Asia, will also be covered. In addition to classes, excursions in London will also be organised as part of the programme.

The Summer School is aimed at advanced BA or MA students of History, English Studies or other related subjects at all German universities. An interest in the history of the British Empire and its colonies and/or in environmental history is desirable. The course is open to students from all German universities. There are 20 places in total. The summer school is part of the GHIL's India Research Programme. The course leader is Dr. Indra Sengupta, Head of the India Research Programme at GHIL. If you are interested, please apply in writing by 4 April with the following documents as a single PDF file and by email only to Dr. Indra Sengupta:

• A cover letter of 1-2 pages explaining why you would like to participate in the summer school;
• A short letter of recommendation from one of your lecturers;
• A list of the courses you have attended and exams you have taken.

The GHIL will cover the costs of travel and accommodation.