Research

Forum Texts.Signs.Media

The research association of university faculty, scholars, graduate students, and postdocs constituting the forum Texts.Signs.Media is characterized above all by the same scholarly approach to these objects (texts, signs, media) that is set out in the Erfurt Concept of Literary Studies. This approach is primarily shaped by two relations: on the one hand, joint research on the topic of “knowledge of philology” and, on the other hand, interdisciplinary connections to which literary studies contributes its specific analytical skills. This currently includes the following research groups, projects, and frameworks at the University of Erfurt

• the research group Spatialization and Cultural Techniques
• the research project: What is Western about the West? Spatiotemporal Appropriation and Ordering of the World from the Modern Period Onward (Europe, America)
• the Erfurt Group on New Materialism
• Erfurt Spatio Temporal Studies 
• Gotha Research Library
• the interdisciplinary Forum on Religion

The forum Texts.Signs.Media organizes the colloquium Literature as Cultural Studies, which takes place every two weeks and brings together doctoral students, postdocs completing a habilitation, university faculty, and research associates. The colloquium invites scholars from other universities to present their current research; guests often come from abroad and work in all areas of literary and cultural studies. The colloquium also discusses projects from literary studies at the University of Erfurt. In order to ensure that the colloquium maintains its interphilological approach, it is supervised by at least two colleagues from different literary disciplines.

Current events

Doctoral students have the opportunity of being admitted to the Graduate Centre research group of the forumTexts.Signs.Media.