News

Amorphous Bodies: Lecture-Praxis Series in Critical Posthumanist Dis/ability Studies

Amorphous Bodies is a lecture-praxis series designed to create a space where the critiques of critical disability studies and critical posthuman studies converge. Through lectures, workshops, research clinics, and networking receptions, the series attempts to foster a critical space for co-learning, guided by scholars, artists, practitioners, and activists in the field. With this lecture-praxis series, we wish to break away from the humanist traditions that project the human body as anchored in self-autonomy and sufficiency. Rather, we seek to foreground rhizomatic processes of becoming, reconfigure bodily difference as integral to posthuman existence, and rethink dis/ability within communal contexts, involving multiple agencies and shared embodiments. 

A central feature of our programme is our ‘Research Clinic,’ which invites students and staff of the University to share their research on Critical Posthumanism, Critical Dis/ability Studies, and allied disciplines. This colloquium-style clinic encourages constructive feedback, helping participants refine their ideas and methodologies in a supportive environment. Following the clinic, a light reception will provide an informal setting for participants to engage in meaningful discussions and build connections beyond the event. The clinic will be held on the 13th of December, 2024, commencing at 14:00 CET at ES203, Englisches Seminar, Johannisstraße 12-20, 48143 Münster.

If you are interested in presenting at the Research Clinic, please submit a 150-300 word abstract for a presentation of up to 15 minutes via the registration form by the 30th of November, 2024: https://forms.gle/8oTSatm8aSVeubE57

Further information about the lecture-praxis series can be found here.

Riddling as Encryption: Countering Repression on the Journey to the Pluriverse
Guest Lecture by Dr. Deborah Nyangulu
Thursday, 7 Nov. 2024, 18-20 | ES 202, English Department

We’re excited to invite you all to a guest lecture by Dr. Deborah Nyangulu from the University of Bremen! Dr. Nyangulu will present her research and insights on “Riddling as Encryption: Countering Repression on the Journey to the Pluriverse.”

Dr. Nyangulu is part of the Research Training Group Contradiction Studies: Constellations, Heuristics, and Concepts of the Contradictory at the University of Bremen. Her research spans Literary and Cultural Studies, Contemporary African Literature & African Studies, Masculinities and Power, Social Media and Social Movements, Black freedom struggles, Critical Theory, and theories and histories of nation, nationalism, & transnationalism.

Location: ES 202, Englisches Seminar, Johannisstraße 12-20, 48143 Münster
Time: 18:15-20:00, Thursday, 7th of November, 2024.

This lecture is organized in conjunction with the Homes | Heimat pilot installation, an interdisciplinary project exploring narratives of home and belonging through decolonial art practices, citizen engagement, and community-based participatory research. The project’s stories, which span diverse geographies from India to Senegal, Trinidad & Tobago, Jordan, Peru, and Egypt, examine the fluidity of home in the contexts of colonization and migration. More information here: https://uni.ms/oyrgf

Rooting & Belonging: An Expressive Arts Therapy Session with Fanska Szelok
Thursday, 7 Nov. 2024, 12-14 | ES 203, English Department

We are excited to announce that Expressive Arts Therapist Fanska will be joining us for an interactive session inspired by the Homes | Heimat pilot this Thursday! This session offers a unique and personal opportunity to explore themes of belonging through various art modalities. Expressive arts therapy helps individuals process experiences, understand emotions, and enhance well-being through artistic expression. It empowers people to communicate their concerns, feelings, and thoughts in creative and nonverbal ways.

Date: 7 November 2024
Time: 12:00 - 14:00
Venue: ES203, Johannisstraße 12-20

To register for the session, please use this link: https://shorturl.at/rYuNT. Note that participation is capped at 12, so sign up soon!

This experience is open to everyone, and no prior art experience is necessary!

The session is organized to accompany the pilot run of Homes | Heimat, which will be open for visitation and feedback from 4th to 8th November 2024. The installation is an interdisciplinary project exploring narratives of home and belonging through decolonial art practices, citizen engagement, and community-based participatory research. More information here: https://uni.ms/oyrgf

We look forward to seeing you there!

Homes | Heimat
Pilot Exhibition (4 Nov. - 8 Nov. 2024) | ES 203, English Department

Homes is rooted in principles of knowledge co-production and community organization, aiming to connect people, histories, and processes through shared experiences. This pilot phase offers a glimpse into the project’s exhibits, stories, and concepts, inviting participants to actively shape the initiative by providing feedback and engaging in meaningful dialogues. We view this stage as a collaborative effort, encouraging community members to share their unique perspectives on migration, identity, and belonging. Though limited in scope, this pilot phase focuses on gathering feedback that will be instrumental in shaping Homes as it moves forward. The exhibition is set to take place at the University of Münster's English Seminar—a department well-regarded for its research in migration, multiculturalism, kinship, community, and postcolonial studies. Hosting one of the largest international student communities on campus, this location is ideal for integrating a diverse range of perspectives. 

This pilot is open to all members of the University of Münster.

Tentative Schedule (as of Oct. 28)

Nov 4 - 18:00-20:00 - Opening of the pilot installation, followed by a light reception
Nov 5 - 10:00-18:00 - Open for general visitations and feedback
Nov 6 - 10:00-18:00 - Reserved for pedagogic use
Nov 7 - 10:00-16:00 - Reserved for pedagogic use
Nov 7 - 18:00-20:00 - Closing lecture
Nov 8 - 10:00-14:00 - Open for general visitations and feedback

For more information, please see here.

Katima: Reading and Conversation with Sylvia Schlettwein
Tuesday, 12 Nov. 2024, 19.00 | Stadtbücherei Münster, Alter Steinweg 11, 48143 Münster

In her short story collection ‘Katima’, Namibian author Sylvia Schlettwein recalls her childhood in Katima-Mulilo in what was then known as the Caprivi Strip* in north-east Namibia. In 16 stories, she provides insights into everyday life in Namibia before independence in 1990, when Namibia was still called South West Africa and apartheid still prevailed. Her family joined the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) early on in the fight for Namibian independence. ‘Katima’ is a literary journey through time to the north-east of Namibia in the 1980s and a declaration of love to the country and the people of Namibia. 

The short story collection was published in German in 2021 by Palmato Publishing, Wedel and in English in 2023 by Kuiseb Publishers, Windhoek. 

Sylvia Schlettwein will read from her stories. Sigrid Köhler will be in conversation with her.

Sylvia Schlettwein grew up in South Africa and Namibia. She is a lecturer in German Studies at the University of Namibia. She has also been committed to literature in Namibia for many years and is known as a writer, translator, editor and moderator in addition to her full-time teaching activities. She writes, translates and edits in German, English and Afrikaans.

Sigrid G. Köhler has been a professor at the German Department at the University of Tübingen since 2018. Her work and research specialisations include ‘Law and Literature’, ‘Postcolonial and Critical Race Studies’. She maintains collaborations with universities in Namibia, South Africa and Togo.

* The name of the area goes back to the German Chancellor Caprivi (1890-1894), who negotiated the ‘Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty’.

DATE
Tuesday, 12 November 2024, 19.00
Stadtbücherei Münster, Alter Steinweg 11, 48143 Münster

Entrance is free, a donation is requested.

COOPERATION and SUPPORT
Postcolonial, Transnational and Transcultural Studies (PTTS) at the English Department of the University of Münster, Eine-Welt-Forum Münster e.V., Cultural Office of the City of Münster, Sparkasse Münsterland Ost.

The Continent of Everything and Almost Nothing: Reading and Conversation with Sami Tchak
Friday, 15 Nov. 2024, 19.00 | SpecOps, Aegidiimarkt 5, 48143 Münster

Africa is the continent of everything and almost nothing. Influenced by his reading of the French ethnologist Georges Balandier, Maurice Boyer travelled to Togo in 1970 to explore the life of the Tem in the village of Tédi. He encounters everyday life in the village as well as the inscrutable village chief, his beautiful favourite woman and the mysterious imam. Did he really understand the village in the end? Even in his old age, he is still preoccupied with this question and in many encounters in the novel, positions on the continent clash.

In his novel ‘The Continent of Everything and Almost Nothing’, which has been widely discussed in France, Sami Tchak, who comes from Togo, looks at his village with humour and criticism, but also at current discourses on Africa. When he chooses the figure of the white French researcher of Africa, the question once again arises as to who is in charge of interpreting the continent.

The novel ‘The Continent of Everything and Almost Nothing’ was published by Noack & Block in May 2024.

The interview with Sami Tchak will be conducted and translated by Annette Bühler-Dietrich. Excerpts from the novel will be read by narrator Carsten Bender.

Sami Tchak, born in Togo in 1960, has lived in France since 1986. He became known in Europe for his novel ‘Place des fêtes’ (2001; Ger. ‘Scheiß Leben’, 2004), which is dedicated to the issue of immigration in France. He was awarded the Prix Ivoire in 2022 for his novel ‘Le continent du Tout et du presque Rien’ (2021; tr. The continent of everything and almost nothing, 2024).

DATE
Friday, 15 November 2024, 19:00
SpecOps, Aegidiimarkt 5, 48143 Münster

Admission is free of charge, a donation is requested.

FURTHER INFORMATION
https://afrikanische-perspektiven.de

COOPERATION and SUPPORT
Romance Department of the University of Münster, Postcolonial, Transnational and Transcultural Studies (PTTS) at the English Department of the University of Münster, Eine-Welt-Forum Münster e.V., Cultural Office of the City of Münster, Sparkasse Münsterland Ost.

Artist Talk and Workshop by Sam Godfrey: Wet Glitches and Trans Ecologies as Methodology
Monday, 11 Nov. 2024, 10-12 | ES 130, English Department, Johannisstraße 12-20, Münster

Artist and doctoral researcher Sam Godfrey (Exeter University) will give a guest talk and practical workshop at the English Department on November 11, organized as part of the seminar "Oceanic Imaginaries: Thinking and Reading with Water."

In their talk, Sam Godfrey speaks about their practice-based research using sloppy craft techniques, abject materials, and digital underwater environments to explore the idea of 'creeping' as a trans creative research methodology and to reimagine the relationship between trans visual art, and the wider textile and trans studies fields. In their practice, they create immersive digital underwater environments and textile installations that one must 'creep into' and find ways to move through.

During the workshop part of this event, Sam Godfrey introduces the practice of deep listening using their sound compositions of water. Using different materials, together we will then respond to our listening experience in tactile representation.

Interested? Please register here: https://indico.uni-muenster.de/event/2984/

Call for Posters: Empire Studies Conference, October 10-11, 2024

The Centre for Empire Studies at the University of Münster invites students to showcase their research at their upcoming conference, "Empire Studies: (Post)Colonial Histories and Global Entanglements." Posters should explore recent topics in Empire Studies, including those based on final theses (B.A./M.A.) This is a valuable opportunity to present your work, share ideas, and engage with scholars in the field.

The poster should be DIN A0 (841 x 1189 mm) in size and can be in either German or English. It should clearly outline your research topic, methodology, findings, and conclusions. You can find the required details here (in German).

The submission deadline has been extended until September 30, 2024. Selected participants will be notified as soon as possible and will present their posters during the conference. The top two research entries will receive awards of €150 and €100, respectively. For inquiries, please contact ces@uni-muenster.de.

Reading and Conversation with Haji Jabir
Thursday, 12 Sep. 2024, 19.00 | Forum der VHS Münster, Aegidiimarkt 2

In his novel “Black Foam”, Haji Jabir tells the story of the Eritrean Dawoud, who wants to escape his past in politically turbulent times, across national borders in search of a new home and human belonging. In the process, he changes his name, his religion, his cultural affiliation several times - always in the hope of an end to his odyssey. The text was the first novel by an Eritrean author to be nominated for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. The novel will be published in German in September by InterKontinental in Berlin. 

The conversation with the author will be conducted and translated (Arabic/German) by literary scholar Omer Othman. The narrator Thomas Schweins will read from the German version of the novel.

Haji Jabir was born in Massawa, Eritrea, in 1976 and fled to Eritrea with his parents during the Eritrean War of Independence. to Saudi Arabia with his parents during the Eritrean War of Independence. The multi-award-winning author writes in Arabic. In his novels, he deals with the past and present and the present of his home country and the Eritrean diaspora.

The reading is part of the program of the Africa Festival 2024 in Münster. 

DATE
Thursday, 12 Sep. 2024, 19.00
Forum der Volkshochschule, Aegidiimarkt 2, 48143 Münster

ENTRANCE
Free - a donation is requested.

COOPERATION AND FUNDING
Afrikanische Perspektiven e.V., Eritreischer Kulturverein im Münsterland e.V., Postcolonial, Transnational and Transcultural Studies (PTTS) at the English Department of the University of Münster, Eine-Welt-Forum Münster e.V., Afrika Kooperative e.V., Arab-German Literature Circle ArDeLit.net, Peter Hammer Verein für Literatur und Dialog e.V., Cultural Office and Integration Council of the City of Münster.

The Anticolonial Cine-Club

Led by a team of students from the Master's Programme in National and Transnational Studies, the Anticolonial Cine-Club was established in May 2024 as a praxis-based initiative grounded in post/colonial and decolonial theory.

The Anticolonial Cine-Club is dedicated to curating a diverse selection of films and documentaries that explore the impacts of imperialism and colonialism, as well as the intercommunal engagement of postcolonial culture and thought. The Club views storytelling as a powerful tool for systemic change and aims to use these screenings to foster critical thinking and stimulating discussions among students at our university.

The Group hosts weekly film discussions during the lecture period, and their selections can be accessed through their Instagram https://www.instagram.com/anticolonialcineclub/.

Demystifying PhD
Tuesday, 11 Jun. 2024, 12-14 | ES 202, English Department, Uni Münster

Transitioning into a Ph.D. is a multifaceted decision requiring careful consideration. Beyond developing a strong proposal, it is essential to deliberate on aspects such as selecting supervisors, building networks, and, critically, securing funding.

MA students in the English Department who are contemplating pursuing a Ph.D. are invited to an informative advice session with Dr. Anneka Esch-van Kan from CERes and Dr. Anna Thiemann from GS PoL. This session will provide essential information on obtaining funding for your Ph.D. project in English Studies.

This session is open to all interested MA students of the English Department.

Butter, Honig, Schwein, Brot: Reading and Conversation with Francesca Ekwuyasi
Wednesday, 26 Jun. 2024, 19.00 | Forum der VHS Münster, Aegidiimarkt 2, 48143 Münster

In her debut novel, Nigerian author Francesca Ekwuyasi tells the closely interwoven stories of twin sisters Kehinde and Taiye. Their mother Kambirinachi believes she was born an "Ogbanje", a creature that brings misfortune to the family according to Igbo mythology. She sees her fears confirmed when Kehinde is abused in the presence of her twin sister Taiye, who is paralysed with fear - both are still children. The family keeps quiet about the traumatic event and threatens to break apart. 

When she comes of age, Kehinde moves to Montreal and breaks off contact with her twin sister and her mother in order to build a new life. Taiye flees to London and tries to suppress her self-reproach and the loss of her relationships in a life of dissipation. After more than ten years of separation, Taiye and Kehinde return to their mother in Lagos. Here, the three women come to terms with the wounds of the past, a process that is accompanied by cooking and eating together. 

For Francesca Ekwuyasi, eating together is communication and an opportunity for reconciliation. The title of the novel "Butter Honey Pig Bread" refers to this. It will be published in June by InterKontinental, Berlin. After the reading in Münster, the author will present it at the African Book Festival in Berlin, which is taking place from 28 to 30 June as a Queer Edition: https://africanbookfestival.de.

The conversation with the author will be led by Rita Maricocchi, Julian Wacker will translate and Sarah Giese will read from the novel.  

Francesca Ekwuyasi, born in the Nigerian metropolis of Lagos, is a writer, artist and filmmaker. She lives in Halifax, Canada. The themes of her work are faith and morality, tradition and modernity or queerness and togetherness. "Butter Honey Pig Bread" is her first novel. It was awarded the Writers' Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers. In 2021, the novel won second place in the "Canada Reads" competition organised by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Rita Maricocchi is a research associate and lecturer at the Department of English, Postcolonial Studies and Media Studies at the University of Münster. Her research interests include representations of German colonial history in English and German-language literature. 

Julian Wacker received his doctorate from the English Department at the University of Münster in 2022. He has published on queer Nigerian fiction and Afropolitan affiliations in Teju Cole's works.

Sarah Giese works as a performer and speaker for the Centre for Literature, ARD and ZDF, among others. She is a lecturer in speech at the Institute for Music at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, a speech and theatre trainer and play developer at Cactus Junges Theater and a member of the live radio play ensemble Theater ex libris.

Date and place: Wednesday, 26 June 2024, 19.00
Forum der Volkshochschule, Aegidiimarkt 2, 48143 Münster

Entrance fee: 8 € / red. 5 € (Box office)
Entrance is free for members of the Afrikanische Perspektiven e.V. association.

Cooperation and funding: Afrikanische Perspektiven e.V., Volkshochschule Münster, Postcolonial, Transnational and Transcultural Studies (PTTS) of the English Department of the University of Münster, Eine-Welt-Forum Münster e.V., Peter Hammer Verein für Literatur und Dialog e.V., Cultural Office of Stadt Münster.

Queer Diasporic Forms: A Reading and Discussion with Poet Logan February
Tuesday, 30 Apr. 2024, 16.15 | ES 131, English Department, Uni Münster

Join us on April 30th for an event with Logan February, who will read from their newly published collection MENTAL VOODOO. The discussion will address themes of family, religion, queerness, and translation and ask how poetry can be a form for representing and creating intersections between queer and diasporic identities, histories, and experiences.

Logan February (b. 1999 in Anambra, Nigeria) is a multidisciplinary Nigerian poet living in Berlin. A 2024 Literature Fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program, February has received other fellowships from the Cave Canem Foundation and Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, as well as the 2020 Future Awards Africa Prize for Literature. In 2023, their poetry collection MENTAL VOODOO was published in a bilingual English-German edition (translated by Christian Filips, with the collaboration of Peter Dietze, Verlag Urs Engeler, 2023).

Date: 30/04/2024
Time: 16:15
Location: English Dept., Johannisstr. 12-20, Room 131
Entry: Free

This event is organized by the Chair of English, Postcolonial & Media Studies at the English Department of the University of Münster in cooperation with Afrikanische Perspektiven e.V.

MA NTS Open Day - Online Information Event
Tuesday, 23 Apr. 2024, 16.00

Are you interested in interdisciplinary research?
Do you have a passion for Postcolonial Studies?
Are you curious about critiques of the nation state?

Tune in to our info event to learn more about our M.A. National and Transnational Studies at Uni Münster and get the opportunity to speak to current students about their experience.

Date: 23rd April 2024
Time: 4 p.m. (CET)

Register here for the Zoom meeting.

Essay task for the Winter Semester 2024/25 applications is now online!

The essay task for the upcoming application period can be accessed here. Please note that, in order to maximise the time successful applicants have to prepare, we offer two application phases. In this way, successful candidates have a maximum of time to apply for visas (which can be time-consuming) and to arrange funding, travel, and accommodation before the start of the MA NTS orientation week, likely in October 2024. Particularly applicants from outside the EU are strongly advised to apply as early as possible. Further information can be found here.

The CSADS tentative conference programme is now online!

The tentative programme for the Critical South Asian Death Studies conference is now online and can be reached here.

When Hope Is Your Home: Reading and Conversation with Stella Gaitano and Mubeen Khishany
Friday, 15 Mar. 2024, 18.00 | Stadtbücherei, Alter Steinweg 11, 48143 Münster

Writers Stella Gaitano and Mubeen Kishany, who were persecuted in their home countries, are currently part of the Writers-in-Exile program in Kamen. They will read from their texts in Arabic. The speaker Paula Berdrow will read the German translation. The conversation with Stella Gaitano and Mubeen Khishany will be conducted and translated by Sudanese literary scholar Omer Othman.

Stella Gaitano is a well-known South Sudanese writer and activist. Her works deal with the plight of displaced, refugee and marginalized women. Due to her political stance and activism, she was targeted by nationalist and tribalist circles after the split of Sudan, who called for her killing on social media. A selection of her short stories will be published in German in March under the title "Endlose Tage am Point Zero" by Edition Orient, Berlin.

Mubeen Khishany, Iraqi writer, journalist and artist, is co-founder of Maska Magazine for Iraqi poetry. He has been working as a freelance journalist for various newspapers since 2017. Khishany was involved in the Al-Basheer show, a critical satire program popular among young Iraqis for its comical denunciation of the country's ills. After receiving death threats, Khishany fled Iraq.

Admission is free, a donation is requested.

This event is organized by Stadtbücherei Münster and Afrikanische Perspektiven e.V. in cooperation with Eine-Welt-Forum Münster e.V., Postcolonial, Transnational and Transcultural Studies (PTTS) at the English Department of the University of Münster and the Arabic-German literature circle ARDELIT.

Visionäre Afrikas: Reading and Conversation
Saturday, 24 Feb. 2024, 19.30 | Zukunfstwerkstatt Kreuzviertel, Schulstraße 45

Join us on the 24th of February, 2024 for an insightful evening at "Visionäre Afrikas"!

The event centres "Visionäre Afrikas," a collection of texts by forty African authors who narrate stories of African experiences, drawing rooted images of their continent, its diversity and vitality.

The editor and co-author, Dr. M. Moustapha Diallo, will delve into these narratives in conversation with Tatjana Niederberghaus. Sarah Giese will bring the words to life through readings, and the atmosphere will be complemented by the compositions of Ivory Coast's “Modern Songwriter” music ambassador, Urbain N'Dakon.

Do not miss this unique opportunity to interact, learn, and be inspired by these visionaries!

Date: 24/02/2024
Time: 19:30
Location: Zukunftswerkstatt Kreuzviertel, Schulstraße 45, Münster
Entry: Free

This event organized by Afrikanische Perspektiven e.V. in cooperation with the Eine-Welt-Forum Münster e.V. and Postcolonial, Transnational and Transcultural Studies (PTTS) at the English Department of the University of Münster, funded by the Cultural Office and the Integration Council of the City of Münster.

Beyond Protest: Anti-Apartheid Writing and Visual Art Reconsidered
Guest Lecture by Prof. Dr. Pumla Dineo Gqola | Thursday, 25 Jan. 2024, 12.15 | Audi Max

Join us for "Beyond Protest: Anti-Apartheid Writing and Visual Art Reconsidered" by Prof. Dr. Pumla Dineo Gqola on Jan 25, 2024.

Professor Gqola is Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies and the NMU-DSI-NRF SARChI Chair in African Feminist Imagination at Nelson Mandela University. Among her several impactful works are "What is Slavery to Me? Postcolonial/Slave Memory in Post-Apartheid South Africa" (Wits University Press, 2010) and "Rape: A South African Nightmare" (MF Books/Jacana, 2015) which won the 2016 Sunday Times Alan Paton Award for Non-Fiction.

This session is organised as a part of the lecture "Global Literatures in English" by Prof. Dr. Mark U. Stein, Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies.

World Literature and the Appeal of the National: The Case of Outback Noir
Guest Lecture by Dr. Katrin Althans | Thursday, 14 Dec. 2023, 12.15 | Audi Max

Join us for a lecture on "World Literature and the Appeal of the National: The Case of Outback Noir", delivered by Dr. Katrin Althans. This engaging session is part of the ongoing lecture "Global Literatures in English" by Prof. Dr. Mark U. Stein, Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies.

Dr. Katrin Althans's research focuses on postcolonial anglophone and transcultural studies, as well as British literary and cultural studies. She is particularly interested in the fields of law & literature, Australian and Indigenous studies, Gothic and Crime Fiction Studies, and literary and cultural theories.

The lecture will be held on December 14, 2023, at 12.15 PM, at Audi Max, Johannisstraße 12-20, Münster.

Remember Bhopal: Documentary Screening
Monday, 4 Dec. 2023, 18.00 | ES 131

“At first, it smelled of LPG gas, of burning chilies,” recounts Rakesh Gupta, “The gas, it settled deep in our lungs […] seeped into our khoon (blood) and for some,” he narrated, “it never left.”

Frequently regarded as the ‘worst industrial disaster’ in recorded history, BGT was marked by the release of toxic methyl isocyanate gas (MIC) on the night of 2nd December, 1984. By the ensuing morning, thousands had succumbed to the effects of the gas, leaving lasting health and environmental ramifications for subsequent generations. (For more information, please visit: bhopal.org)

In commemoration of the 39th Anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, we invite you to join us for a documentary screening on the 4th of December, 2023. The screening will commence at 6:00 pm at ES131 (Johannisstraße 12, 48143 Münster), and will be followed by a discussion session moderated by Yash Gupta, an intergenerational survivor of the event. Given the histories of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the discussion will cover a spectrum of subjects, including dis/ability rights, postcolonial industrial violence, ecological change, media politics, and other related themes.

The screening is being organised under the research focus on "Critical South Asian Death Studies" (CSADS). Conceived by a team of students at the University of Münster CSADS situates itself in the conspicuous gaps engendered by dominant traditions in the study of Death. With a particular focus on South Asia, the research group is currently engaged with organising The First International Conference on Critical South Asian Death Studies (18th-20th April, 2024). More information on the conference can be found here: go.uni-muenster.de/csads

NTS/BAPS Reception & Graduation Ceremony 2023

What a night to remember! During the Annual MA NTS & BAPS Reception we came together to celebrate the graduation of 13 NTS students and 4 BAPS students, as well as to welcome the students of our new cohorts.
The atmosphere was filled with inspiration as we acknowledged the hard work and dedication of our graduates. To the newest additions, welcome to a journey of knowledge and growth!
A sincere thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this event!

Literary Encounters with Africa: Reading and Conversation with Yirgalem Fisseha Mibrahtu
Saturday, 28 Oct. 2023, 18.00 | VHS-Forum of Volkshochschule Münster, Aegidiimarkt 2, Münster

"I am alive" is the name of Yirgalem Fisseha Mebrahtu's collection of poems, which was published by Wunderhorn in April. Mebrahtu wrote the poems during and after her years of imprisonment in Eritrea. They are about justice, human rights and the longing for peace. In the fall, Mebrahtu's correspondence with Tanja Kinkel will be published by Akono-Verlag. In the personal and moving correspondence, the two writers share their experiences about writing in different worlds - one from Eritrea, the other from Germany.

On October 28, Yirgalem Fisseha Mebrahtu will present some of her texts in Tigrinya. The German translation will be read by Sarah Giese. The conversation with Mebrahtu will be moderated and translated by Mekonnen Mesghena. 

Noel Araya will accompany the event musically on the piano, followed by Eritrean food.

Yirgalem Fisseha Mebrahtu (*1981, Adi-Keh/Eritrea) is a writer and journalist. She has been living in Munich since 2018 and was a fellow of the PEN Germany Writers in Exile program. In 2019, she was awarded the Freedom of Speech and Expression Award by PEN Eritrea.

Mekonnen Mesghena studied journalism and history at the University of Dortmund. He heads the Migration and Diversity Unit at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin. Since June 2023, he has been a member of the German government's Expert*innenrat Antirassismus. He writes for domestic and international magazines, broadcasters and websites.

Admission is free, a donation is requested. Registration is preferred for the meal: info@afrikanische-perspektiven.de or via phone: 015772536608.

This event is organized by Afrikanische Perspektiven e.V., the Volkshochschule Münster, the Eritrean Cultural Association in Münsterland e.V., the One World Forum Münster e.V. and Postcolonial, Transnational and Transcultural Studies (PTTS) at the English Department of the University of Münster, and is sponsored by the Environment and Development Foundation of NRW, and by the Cultural Office and the Integration Council of the City of Münster.

Inaugural Lecture by Prof. Dr. Corinna Norrick-Rühl and Prof. Dr. Silvia Schultermandl
Thursday, 26 Oct. 2023, 16.00 | JO1, Johannistraße 4, Münster

Prof. Dr. Corinna Norrick-Rühl and Prof. Dr. Silvia Schultermandl from the English Department of the University of Münster will be holding their joint inaugural lecture at JO1 on Thursday, October 26th, 2023 at 4 pm. The theme of the lecture will be "Reading Material/Affect/Representation: Perspectives from Book Studies and American Studies", with a reception to follow afterwards in the English Department. In order to plan the event better, please register here.

Reading Session with Gillian Polack
Friday, June 30, 2023 | 11.30-12.30
JO1, Johannistraße 4, Münster

We are thrilled to welcome the acclaimed Australian writer and scholar, Gillian Polack, to “Australian Studies Day,” hosted by the Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies, where she will read passages from across her vast oeuvre. Dr. Gillian Polack is an award-winning Jewish Australian speculative fiction writer. Her novels include the time-travelling Langue[dot]doc 1305, drawing on her background as a Medieval historian, the first Australian Jewish fantasy novel (The Wizardry of Jewish Women), the Ditmar-winning The Year of the Fruit Cake (where aliens and perimenopausal women are not so far apart) and The Green Children Help Out (French superheroes). She was the 2020 recipient of the A. Bertram Chandler (lifetime achievement in science fiction) award. Gillian is an ethnohistorian with a special interest in how story transmits culture. Her most recent non-fiction books are Story Matrices and History and Fiction. She is an Ambassador for Australia Reads.

Polack, who holds doctorates in both literature and history, is keenly interested in the intersections of power, and how they inform national discourses on “Australia”. Writing in a distinctly postcolonial idiom, Polack’s work constantly interrogates how speculative fiction and science fiction – perhaps her two most recognized genres – offer counter-imaginaries to Australia’s national mythmaking. 

The reading will be introduced by yashka Chavan, researcher and lecturer in Australian Studies at the University of Münster. Following the reading, you will have the opportunity to delve deeper into Gillian Polack's literary world and her scholarship in a Q&A session, moderated by speculative fiction and Australian Studies expert Dr. Bettina Burger from the University of Düsseldorf.

Mark your calendars and join us on this special occasion to celebrate Australian literature! If you wish to join the event online, you can find the Zoom link here.

Australian Studies Day
Friday, June 30, 2023 | 9.00-15.00 PM
JO1, Johannistraße 4, Münster

The PTTS Chair will host an Australian Studies Day at the University of Münster on June 30, 2023 from 9:00-15:00 in JO1. We invite all interested students and staff to this event and hope that we can welcome you on this occasion!

The  Australian Studies Day follows on from the highly successful project launch of the joint online master's programme "Australian Studies" in Cologne last year. The event is designed to report on the development of the MA programme to stakeholders at the University of Münster as well as to facilitate in-person exchange between the four partner universities (Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg-Essen, and Münster). The day's programme will also reflect on the research field and teaching area Australian Studies: what constitutes its core components, what ties it together, and why is it such a vital and exciting research field at the current moment? From literary to cultural studies and linguistics; from feminism to gender studies; from indigeneity to environmentalism; and from migration studies to diaspora, Australian Studies is marked by a complex overlap and intersection of concerns and methods. As such it has so much to offer to adjacent disciplines, including not just English Studies, American Studies, and Postcolonial Studies but also cultural geography, history, different philologies, and more.

We look forward to debating these ideas with you on June 30th! The programme can be accessed here.

If you wish to join the event online, you can find the Zoom link here.

"Let Me Read You Roughly" Reading Session with Nástio Mosquito
Studiobühne der Uni Münster, 25.05.2023, 9.00 PM

An elucidator and a multifaceted artist, Nástio Mosquito has emerged as one of the most dynamic artists of this generation. Trained as a film director and a television cameraman, Mosquito’s work brings together poetry, performance, scenography, audio-visuals and projections. His unpredictable engagements combine the roles of a singer, actor, theatrical producer, and a presenter.

Often centring mimicry, Mosquito highlights the observed nature of human modernity, blurring the distinctions between different forms and schools of art. As such, his performances run against static concepts, merging entertainment, sensoriality and politics. Central to his art is an unwavering commitment to the “potential of language” and re-situating the audience as a source of power. This approach is visible in his previous projects, Politics of Representation at Tate Modern, Projects 104 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), T.T.T.—Template Temples of Tenacity at The Fondazione Prada, and the collective performance Westfailure, among others.

Let Me Read You Roughly presents an amalgamation of Mosquito’s multimedia approach to language, mobilising different languages to perform poetic texts. The session strives to be a subtle guide to unusual processes: how to kill a friend, effectively; how do we let go of evil spirits? And how do we free ourselves from the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves? Mit den Gespenstern leben (haunting|heritage) is funded by the Federal Cultural Foundation, supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in the funding program »Regional Culture Program NRW«, the Commerzbank Foundation and the Kunststiftung NRW.

We invite you to partake in this dynamic event on the 25th of May, 2023, 9.00PM at the Studiobühne of Uni Münster (Domplatz 23, tickets 10 €/7 € disc.) — read, see, hear, and join in.

Application portal for Winter Semester 2023/24 is now open! Apply between May - July 2023

The application portal for the 2023/24 winter term is now open, and can be accessed via the university's application platform (Bewerbungsportal)! Further details, including information on the Essay task for 2023 and the necessary application documents can be found on the Admissions page.

NTS Open Day - Online Information Event

Are you interested in interdisciplinary research?
Do you have a passion for Postcolonial Studies?
Are you curious about critiques of the nation state?

Tune in to our info event to learn more about our M.A. National and Transnational Studies at Uni Münster and get the opportunity to speak to current students about their experience.

Date: 19th April 2023
Time: 5 p.m. (CET)

Register here for the Zoom Meeting.

Queering Postcolonial Worlds: Postcolonial Narrations Forum 2023

The 2023 Postcolonial Narrations Postgraduate Forum: Queering Postcolonial Worlds will be hosted by the University of Bremen and University of Münster. The conference is set to  take place October 6&7 in Bremen and is primarily directed toward  postgraduates (MA and PhD students) working within anglophone,  postcolonial, and queer studies. The main objective of the conference is to probe and interrogate the overlaps and intersections between queer studies and postcolonial studies while maintaining a critical approach to disciplinary boundaries and their assumptions and limitations. The conference organizers welcome papers both on and beyond topics such as predominant whiteness and Europeanness in western queer theory, the interrelation of white supremacy, capitalism, and heteronormativity, the queer decolonial body and decolonial understandings of “queering,” queering power structures in the postcolonial world, representations of the gender non-conforming and trans* postcolonial body and consciousness in text, the erasure of Indigenous and Black queer epistemologies, as well as queer Black and Indigenous futurisms. In addition to paper presentations, the conference will feature a keynote by Shola Adenekan (Ghent University) and a panel on Cultivating Solidarity Networks in Academia with Deborah Nyangulu (University of Bremen), Paula von Gleich (University of Bremen), and Felipe Espinoza Garrido (University of Münster).

Abstracts can be submitted until June 30, 2023 to postcolonialnarrations@g-a-p-s.net. More info at https://postcolonial-narrations.net/current_conference/

Meet the Curator of "Zeitgemäß?"
Dr. Eckhard Kluth
Tuesday, 31 Jan. 2023, 08.30-10.00, ES 131

We are looking forward to “Meet the Curator” on Tuesday, 31 Jan. 2023, 08.30-10.00 in room ES 131. Everyone is very welcome to attend this talk & Q&A. Below there are some links with further information on the University’s infamous name patron, the last German emperor Wilhelm II. Last Wednesday the Senate was presented with the final report “Zur Sache WWU" on Wilhelm. The Senate decided unanimously but provisionally to change the University’s name. A binding decision should be taken in early April. 

Tomorrow’s guest is the curator of the exhibition Zeitgemäß?/ "Up to Date? Wilhelm II. in Discourse", Dr. Eckhard Kluth (who also chaired the committee “Zur Sache WWU”).

Here's more on this topic:

• Zeitgemäß? The exhibition site: https://www.uni-muenster.de/ZurSacheWWU/en/veranstaltungen/ausstellung.html
• Zur Sache WWU-Abschlussbericht (de)/ final report, published 26 Jan. 2023: https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/zursachewwu/zursachewwu-abschlussbericht.pdf 
• A short history of the University’s name: https://www.uni-muenster.de/ZurSacheWWU/en/quellen/index.html 
• Uni Münster teaching an early forerunner of interdisciplinary teaching ‘Auslandskunde & Kolonialwissenschaften’, e.g. in WS 1931/32: https://www.alltagskultur.lwl.org/de/blog/kolonialwissenschaften-universitaet-muenster/ 

Hybrid Symposium: Comics, Popular Visual Culture & Colonialism
January 27, 2023 | 11.30 - 18.30

This day-long symposium aims to bring together academics, comic artists, students, and local community members to discuss how comics and other forms of popular visual culture are used to remember colonial histories, particularly in the German and Dutch contexts. Divided into two parts, the symposium will first address the colonial past in visual cultures more generally, with confirmed talks by Dr. Philipp Erdmann + Dominic Eickhoff (Münster) and Dr. Felicity Jensz (Münster). The focus will then move to the topic of postcolonial storytelling in contemporary comics with talks by PhD candidate Alicia Lambert (Louvain) and Dr. Britta Schilling (Utrecht) + Eeva Langeveld (Münster), as well as two roundtables with comic artists, including Christian Diaz Orejarena, Dido Drachman, Els Deckers, Hannah Bremer, and Peter van Dongen. The first roundtable will highlight comics in the German context and will focus on the topics of knowledge and didactics. The second will make space for reflecting on form and collaboration, particularly regarding comics in the Dutch context.

Program available here!

The symposium will be held from 11:30-18:30 on Friday, January 27, 2023 at the English Seminar (Johannisstraße 12-20) in Münster. All interested participants are welcome to join. Registration is required. To join in person, please send an email to comicssymposium@uni-muenster.de. To join via Zoom, please register here.

Lecture series: "Black German Studies: Transatlantic Perspectives" Dec. 2022 - Feb. 2023

The lecture series “Black German Studies: Transatlantic Perspectives” responds to the question posed by Tiffany Florvil and Vanessa Plumly in their 2018 volume Rethinking Black German Studies: “Who and what do we engage with when we use the category of Black German Studies?” Co-organized by the Chair for German Literature, Comparative Literary Studies and Transatlantic Literary History and the Chair for English, Postcolonial and Media Studies in partnership with the Transatlantic Studies Network, the series seeks to offer space for exchange and reflection on the research field of Black German Studies and for engagement with scholars, authors/artists, and activists who contribute to this discourse. With a particular focus on transatlantic exchange, the lecture series consciously includes multiple, differently-located voices, drawing attention to scholarship from across the Atlantic that invigorates the study of Black German texts, as well as recognizing and centering the work that is being done in this area particularly by Black scholars, artists, and activists, located in Germany. In doing so, continuities between the transatlantic transfer that has been recognized, for example, in Audre Lorde’s impact in the Afro-German movement of the 1980s and the impact of Black US-American scholars in German Studies today are made apparent, as are the problematic implications of the tendency to look to the U.S. when it comes to discourses of Blackness in Germany. Such topics will be explored by several academic lectures, a film screening, a reading, and an evening dedicated to the poetry and transnational activism of May Ayim. In recognition of the continued potential for scholarship, discussions, and ethical practices emerging from Black German Studies to offer lessons and impulses for research and teaching beyond the emergent discipline, the lecture series makes space for these discussions at the University of Münster, inviting students, colleagues, and community members to take part.

Lecture Series Program:

04.12.22, 19:00 (Studiobühne) Film screening »Ivie wie Ivie« (2022) and Discussion with the director Sarah Blaßkiewitz
16.12.22, 19:00 (Studiobühne) »Riverside Drive – Hannah Arendt, Ralph Ellison und W. E. B. Du Bois« Marie Luise Knott (Tractatus Prize Winner 2022)
12.01.23, 19:00 (JO1) »Zur Institutionalisierung von Schwarzem Wissen in Deutschland« Natasha A. Kelly 
19.01.23, 19:00 (JO1) »Afrodiasporisch, widerständig, subversiv – Schwarze deutsche Literatur als Literaturtradition lesen« Jeannette Oholi
26.01.23, 19:00 (Studiobühne) Reading »Adas Raum« (2021) and Discussion with Sharon Dodua Otoo (Bachmann Prize Winner 2016)
16.02.23, 19:00 (JO1) »The Kids Aren’t Alright – Futurity and Black German Childhood in Biskaya« Priscilla Layne
18.02.23, 17:00 (JO1) »Tracing May Ayim's Radicalism« Tiffany Florvil, Film screening Hoffnung im Herz, Reading of May Ayim's Poetry

Guest Lecture: Xander Manshel (McGill): "Literary Prizes and the Contemporary Canon"
January 19, 2023

GUEST TALK via Zoom as part of the seminar “American Institutions of Literature” (Dr. Starre). The Zoom meeting is open to the public. Please register here.

Guest Lecture/Workshop: Kinohi Nishikawa (Princeton): "Black Paratext"
January 12, 2023 | 12.00-16.00, ES 203

On January 12, Kinohi Nishikawa (Princeton University) will come to Münster for a guest lecture and workshop based on his current research project “Black Paratext.” At noon, he will give a lecture titled “Blues for Black Childhood”. Following the lecture, Prof. Nishikawa will offer a workshop to discuss his research on paratextuality and African American Literature from the rise of the modern paperback in the 1940s to the contemporary book arts scene. He will be joined by respondents Ellen Barth, Cedric Essi, and Silvia Schultermandl. As a case study, participants of the workshop will explore various editions of Ishmael Reed’s novel Mumbo Jumbo, first published in 1972.

The lecture and workshop are open to the public. If you wish to attend the workshop, please register in advance to get access to the suggested readings.

Registration Link: Black Paratext

Sudan: Struggle for social and political renewal
Reading and Conversation with Dr. Ishraga Mustafa Hamid and Omer Othman

Audi Max, English Department
6 April 2022 | 19.00

With the fall of long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, the path to a free, democratic future seemed to open up for the people of Sudan. In this spirit of optimism, Sudanese author Dr. Ishraga Mustafa Hamid initiated the "Bread and Roses" literary scholarship. This gave young women in particular the opportunity to write down their experiences, reflect on them and pass them on. The motto was "Writing for Social Change".

In October 2021, the military staged a coup and is currently in control of the government. However, many Sudanese people continue to fight for the goal of political and social renewal. They protest in the streets, risking their lives. In this difficult situation, the writing project was completed as planned. Texts by more than 60 young authors are now available in print in Arabic. Themes include the 2019 revolution in Sudan, resistance to the military regime, experiences of violence and abuse, equality and the environment.

The association Afrikanische Perspektiven has accompanied the project from the beginning. Donations have supported female authors, writing workshops, as well as the publications. Now, texts from the literary scholarship will be presented and information about the situation in Sudan will be provided in two events: The first event will take place on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at 7 p.m. in the Audi Max of the English Seminar, Johannisstr. 12, Münster.

There, Dr. Ishraga Mustafa Hamid will report on the writing project. A selection of the texts translated into German will be read by the actress Sarah Giese. The literary scholar Omer Othman will moderate and provide information about recent events in Sudan. The event will also be broadcast online. The Zoom link is https://wwu.zoom.us/j/62561526105. The event will take place in German, there will also be a summary translation into Arabic online.

The second event will be online only, the date and Zoom access details to be announced.

The events of Afrikanische Perspektiven e.V. take place in cooperation with the English Seminar of Uni Münster - Postcolonial Studies, the Volkshochschule and the Eine-Welt-Forum Münster e.V.. They are sponsored by the Cultural Office of the City of Münster and the Advisory Council for Municipal Development Cooperation.

NTS Open Day - Online information event

Are you interested in interdisciplinary research?
Do you have a passion for Postcolonial Studies?
Are you curious about critiques of the nation state?

Tune in to our info event to learn more about our M.A. National and Transnational Studies at Uni Münster and get the opportunity to speak to current students about their experience.

Date: 19th April 2022
Time: 12 p.m.

Register here for the Zoom Meeting.

Social Media Internship

Are you an NTS student interested in gaining work experience at the Chair of English, Postcolonial & Media Studies?

The PTTS team is looking for a social media intern to start late March/early April. Application deadline: March 18, 2022. Please find the detailed job description here [pdf].

Any questions? Just get in touch: sekstein@wwu.de

Applications 2021: Early-bird offers for 23 students +++ applications still possible until 31 July (extended deadline)

All MA NTS applications received in May 2021 were processed in early June and the 'early bird' round of this year’s selection process has been completed. We are delighted with the results: 23 offers have been sent out to students from 14 different countries on 4 continents!

We'll be offering more MA NTS places in August. So you can still apply before July 31 (extended deadline). We are looking forward to reading all applications and your essays on trans/nationalism, COVID, and literary or cultural texts – and to working with a highly international and diverse group of students once again!

Prospective students are able to submit their application for the MA NTS via the university's electronic application platform (Bewerberportal) [de].

Indigenous Texts & Contexts – Reading group

If you are interested in indigenous literatures, the Indigenous Texts & Contexts reading group at the English Deparment might be the perfect fit for you. The group offers an informal setting to discuss indigenous texts in relation to their political and cultural contexts. Everyone who has a keen interest in indigenous literatures, incl. students, lecturers, library staff, ..., is welcome to join their meetings. The group meets via Zoom for the time being. 

Dates: 20 May – 17 June – 8 July – 29 July 2021 from 6.30 to 7.30pm

For more info, please see their flyer or contact the hosts, Mareike Reinfandt and Alissa Preusser , via email.

MA National and Transnational Studies #MANTS

Online information event, Wed. 27 May 2020 @2pm (CET) via Zoom

On Wednesday, 27 May 2020, faculty members hosted a digital info event for BA students interested in our international Master’s programme National and Transnational Studies: Literature—Culture—Language at Uni Münster.

The event took place in Zoom and covered the following topics:

* General introduction to the Master’s programme
* Fields of study (literary and cultural studies, linguistics, book studies, etc.)
* Application procedure and “corona concessions”
* Q&A session

Start of teaching postponed at Uni Münster

Due to the corona pandemic, the Land NRW has closed down its schools and postponed face-to-face teaching at University. For now, these measures are in place until 20 April 2020. As things currently stand, 17 July remains the final day of teaching this summer semester.

Because of the rapidly changing situation, it’s essential to keep yourself and fellow students well-informed, especially in case you were planning return travel to the University of Münster. Please see: further information on the coronavirus by the Rectorate

If you cannot find the answers you need on the web, you can also turn to Die Brücke which fields questions through its information desk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diebrueckemuenster

March 2020: New Essay Task for Applications 2020 Now Online!
Visit the admissions website for further information (section Essay task 2020)

April 2019
Students interested in applying for the MA NTS programme, please note that we will host an information event on 17 April 2019 in room ES226 starting from 18:00 c.t.

February 2019: New Task for Application Essay 2019 Now Online!
 Visit the admissions website for further information.

October 2018: Students Assistants Wanted
Dr. habil. Markus Schmitz of the English Department is seeking to contract two students assistants. Knowledge of Arabic and/or French is required. Application deadline is 20 October 2018. Application details can be found in this pdf document in both English and German

7. July 2018 | JO 1 & JO 101 | Johannisstr. 4 | 48143 Münster

The development of the Master of National and Transnational Studies: Literature – Culture – Language (MA NTS) since its accreditation in 2008 has been a success story. Steadily growing numbers of national and international applications indicate the unbroken appeal of a transdisciplinary programme which transcends the conceptual boundaries of traditional thought and combines literary and cultural studies as well as book studies and linguistics. With the high number of foreign students, averaging at 75%, the MA NTS contributes significantly to the international profile and cultural diversity of the University of Münster.

By now, close to 100 MA theses on current research questions have been written and submitted. The topics come from the diverse area of international literatures and cultures, often with disciplinary connections to sociology, history, and media studies. Graduates from eight years are now spread across the globe – either as scholars and teachers at international universities or working in the media, for agencies, companies, or foundations.

In the context of the tenth anniversary celebrations of this interdisciplinary Master programme, which will include two presentations by NTS graduates and a guest lecture by photographer PDF: Johny Pitts (London), the new NTS Alumni-Network will be launched. There will also be a workshop developing strategies for academic and non-academic cooperation between the Programme and its alumni.

June 2018
Renowned Professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o will read from and discuss his recent memoirs. The event will take place on June 14 from 6pm at Freiherr-von-Vincke-Haus, Domplatz 36, 48143 Münster. All are welcome to attend.  PDF: Further Information

May 2018
This year’s information event for applicants and interested students will take place on Wednesday, 02 May 2018 at 6:00 pm in the English Department, Room ES 131.

November 2017
On Thursday, 23 November 2017 at 6:15 p.m., we will host a joint an informal get-together for the MA programmes National and Transnational Studies, and British, American, and Postcolonial Studies. The event will take place in room ES 131.


Winter Semester 2017/18
We are pleased to announce that the MA Programme: National and Transnational Studies has welcomed 33 new students from over 10 countries. We wish the new students a pleasant stay here at the University of Münster, as well as academic and personal growth.


September 2017

Please note that you can apply for a DAAD fully-funded scholarship to study for a post-graduate degree in Germany. More information on DAAD scholarships and application procedure can be found on the DAAD website.



August 2017

Applications to the MA NTS programme for the Winter term 2017/18 closed in mid-July. We are pleased to announce that we received over 80 applicants from Africa, America, Asia and Europe and have been able to offer a place to about half the number of applicants. Applications for the following academic year (2018/19) will coomence in May 2018.

April 2017

This year’s information event for applicants and interested students will take place Wednesday, 26 April 2017 at 6:00 pm (s.t.) in the English Department, Room ES 131.

March 2017

We are happy to announce that in the summer semester 2017, Prof. Isidore Diala will join the English Department as Georg Forster-Senior Research Fellow (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation)
Isidore Diala holds a B.A. (Hons.) in English and Literary Studies from Imo State University Etiti (now: Abia State University, Uturu) Nigeria, and an M.A. in the same field from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His Ph.D. thesis on the fiction of the South African novelist André Brink was also written at the University of Ibadan. Beginning his university teaching career at Abia State University Uturu, Diala is currently Professor of African Literature in the Department of English, Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria. A Humboldt Research Fellow in the Department of English, University of Münster (hosted by the Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies) from November 2010 – April 2012, Diala was also a Visiting Research Fellow, Centre of African Studies, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom from October 2005 to March 2006.

December 2016

On 1st December, we hosted a reception for the Master programme National & Transnational Studies. It was a pleasure to meet the new NTS master students, as well as the second year students and faculty members at this informal get-together.

October 2016

We are happy to welcome 18 new students from 12 different countries and four different continents starting the NTS Master this year. We look forward to working with a highly international group of students once again.

November 2015

On Tuesday, 10 November 2015 at 6.15 p.m., we will host a Reception for the MA-programme National & Transnational Studies. We’re happy to invite you to this informal get-together; this meeting marks the eighth time that the two-year MA-programme in National & Transnational Studies commences here at Uni Münster. We would like to welcome our 24 new students to the NTS programme and provide them with an opportunity to meet with faculty and the ‘seasoned’ NTS students who started last year. The reception will take place in room ES 131.

October 2015

We have now completed the selection process for this year's MA NTS group. - We are  delighted that 24 new students from 12 different countries and 4 different continents will be starting in Münster this month! We are looking forward to be working with a highly international group once again.

25. August 2015

This week, Viola Pannhorst was the first of her year to complete her MA. In her viva exam she successfully defended her thesis "Advocating Indigenous Self-Determination: Reading Larissa Behrendt’s Home" with top marks.
Congratulations on behalf of the entire MA NTS team!

May 2015

Cristina Calvopiña Heredia, one of our current MA NTS students, will speak at the international conference "Ideology in Postcolonial Texts and Contexts" (May 14-16 2015), hosted by GAPS and the English Department in Münster. The title of Cristina's paper is: “Countering Colonial Ideology in Latin America: The Importance of Historical Consciousness and Performativity in One Hundred Years of Solitude.” She is from Quito, Ecuador, finished her BA in Bremen, Germany, and is currently completing her first year of the MA National and Transnational Studies (NTS).

Deborah Nyangulu, an MA NTS graduate and PhD student at the Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies in Münster, will give a paper on "The Postcolonial as False Totality." Deborah is from Malawi where she also completed her BA with a major in English Literature. She graduated from the MA National and Transnational Studies (NTS) in 2013. Her current PhD research explores literary representations of the big-man in contemporary African literature.

For more information on the GAPS conference, including the programme, go to: GAPS 2015.

December 2014

We are pleased to announce that the MA National and Transnational Studies (NTS), which was first accredited in May 2008, was  re-accredited in 2014 for another six years. For details see ZEvA [de]

November 2014

On Wednesday, 5 November 2014 at 4.15 p.m. we will host a Reception for the MA-programme National & Transnational Studies. We’re happy to invite you to this informal get-together; this meeting marks the seventh time that the two-year MA-programme in National & Transnational Studies commences here at Uni Münster. We would like to welcome our fifteen new students to the NTS programme and provide them with an opportunity to meet with faculty and the ‘seasoned’ NTS students who started last year. The reception will take place in ES 226. Refreshments and snacks will be provided. (Please can you r.s.v.p. to Sandra Bregulla sekstein@wwu.de.)

October 2014

The selection process for students starting the MA in October 2014 has now been completed. A warm welcome to our 15 new students from 14 different countries! We are very pleased to be working with a highly international group once again.

September 2014

On the 26th of September, the English Seminar hosted its annual NTS graduation party, in celebration of this year's graduates and their achievements during their Masters. Congratulations to all!

August 2014

In August 2014, MA NTS graduate Courtney Batteau participated in a talk show on Deutsche Welle, commenting on the conflict in the Ukraine, the US increased militarization of its police force, and the fight to destigmatize depression.

Find the show on Deutsche Welle: http://www.dw.de/program/agenda/s-30415-9798

The selection process for students starting in October 2014 was completed in July. The University will offer a place on the MA NTS to over thirty students from over twenty countries. We look forward to working with a highly international group of new students once again.

*A note to applicants*: The selection committee has informed successful applicants. You can verify the status of your application on this website:

  https://movein-uni-muenster.moveonnet.eu/movein/portal/studyportal.php?_language=en

Official letters to be sent out on August 11, 2014 by the University registrar.

NTS reception_20th Nov 2013

You are cordially invited to an informal get-together. This meeting marks the sixth time that the two-year MA-programme in National & Transnational Studies commences here at Uni Münster. We would like to welcome all our new students to the MA programme and provide an opportunity for faculty and students, new and old, to meet each other.

The reception will take place on Wednesday, 20 November 2013 at 3 p.m. in ES 333 (fourth floor, behind the AudiMax) Coffee and cake will be provided.

October 2013
We are welcoming 9 new students to the NTS Master this October.

September 2013
On the 26th of September, 12 NTS students attended the graduation party at the English Seminar that was held to celebrate their achievements during their Masters. Congratulations to all!

Events

Forthcoming
Recent
Past

CfP: Research Clinic: Amorphous Bodies
Deadline: 30 November 2024
Further information here.

CfP: Neoliberal Global Capitalism - Challenges for Postcolonial Studies (Annual GAPS Conference)
Deadline: 15 December 2024
Further information here.

CfP: The 1st Annual Conference on Critical South Asian Death Studies
Deadline: 15 October, 2023

CfP: SPACLALS Precarious Planet Conference
Deadline: Extended until 31 August, 2023

CfP: Queering Postcolonial Worlds (2023 Postcolonial Narrations Postgraduate Forum)
Deadline: 30 June, 2023

CfP: Plague as Metaphor (Special Issue of Open Cultural Studies)
Deadline: 30 April, 2023

CfP: Disruptive Imaginaries (Joint Annual Conference of the Science Fiction Research Association and the German Research Association for the Fantastic)
Deadline: 1 March, 2023
Conference: 15-19 August, 2023, TU Dresden

CfP: Cultures of Skin: Skin in Literature and Culture, Past, Present, Future (International Conference)
Deadline: 1 February, 2023
Conference: 7-8 July 2023, University of Surrey, UK

CfP: Postcolonial Infrastructure (Annual GAPS Conference)
Extended Deadline: 31 January 2023
Conference: 18-20 May 2023, University of Konstanz
Further information here.

CfP: Uncovering British Chinese Cultures (International Conference)
Deadline: 25 January 2023
Conference: 8-9 August 2023, TU Dresden

CfP: Envisioning Queer Black and Indigenous Self-Representations within the Digital Literary Sphere (Special Issue of AmLit)
Deadline (for full essays): 16 January, 2023

CfP: Decolonizing the Study of Memory (Special Issue)
Deadline: 10 January, 2023

Comics, Popular Visual Culture & Colonialism
Uni Münster, Symposium
January 27, 2023
Further information here.

Black German Studies: Transatlantic Perspectives
Uni Münster, Lecture series
December 2022-February 2023
Further information can be found here.

G.L.A.M. Guest Lectures in American Studies Münster | Winter Term 22-23
Uni Münster, Guest lectures
3 November 2022-19 January 2023

Kinohi Nishikawa (Princeton): "Black Paratext"
Uni Münster, Guest lecture/workshop
12 January 2023
Further information here.

Postcolonial Narrations Forum 2022
University of Bonn, Germany
20-22 October, 2022
CfP deadline: 31 May, 2022
Further information here.

Eden? Plants between Science and Fiction
Literature Exhibition
Botanical Garden, Münster, Germany
15-29 May, 2022
Further information here.

Activism & Academia
Uni Münster, Lecture Series
Organized by the Graduate School Practices of Literature
JO 1, Johannistraße 4, Münster, Germany
2 May - 11 July, 2022, Mondays, 18.00-20.00
Download the program here.

G.L.A.M. Guest Lectures in American Studies Münster, Summer Term 2022
Uni Münster, Online and hybrid guest lectures
7 April - 19 May, 2022

MA NTS Open Day
Online Event, Zoom Meeting
19 April, 2022 | 12.00

Sudan: Kampf um politische und soziale Erneuerung
Lesung und Gespräch mit Dr. Ishraga Mustafa Hamid und Omer Othman
Hybrid Event @ Audi Max, English Department, Münster
6 April, 2022 | 19.00

MA NTS Information Event
Online Event, Zoom Meeting
April 15, 2021 | 14.00

MA NTS Information Event
Online Event, Zoom Meeting
May 27, 2020 | 14.00 (CET)

MA NTS Information Event
English Department, Münster
April 17, 2019 | ES226 | 18.00 c.t.

AfroEuropeans: Black In/Visibilities Contested VII
Lisbon
July 4-6, 2019
Call for Panels: May 2, 2018 - August 15, 2018
Call for Papers: November 1, 2018 - January 31, 2019
Further information

The Radical Sixties: Aesthetics, Politics and Histories of Solidarities
Brighton, UK
June 28-29, 2019
CfP deadline: 28 Sep, 2018
Further information

Decolonizing “Prehistory”: Deep Time and Topological Knowledge in the Americas
Schwerin - Symposium
July 21-23, 2018
Further information

10 years on National & Transnational Studies at Uni Münster and beyond
Uni Münster - English Department - Workshops and alumni meeting
July 7, 2018
PDF: Further information

Colonial Repercussions Symposium III
Berlin
June 23-24, 2018
Further information

Long Night of Postcolonial Perspectives
Uni Münster - Scharnhorststraße 100
June 21, 2018 | 6 p.m.
Event flyer & speakers

Empire and Tourism
Lisbon
April 3–4,  2019
CfP deadline: August 1, 2018
Further information

International Organizations and Decolonization in Historical Perspective
Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Universities of Basel, Munich and Heidelberg
25.01.2019 - 26.01.2019
CfP deadline: 15.06.2018
Further information

Transnational History of Socialism. Second Half of 19th Century to 1914
Rouen, Paris, Strasbourg, Leipzig
May 30, 2018 (Rouen)
September 28, 2018 (Paris)
November 6, 2018 (Strasbourg)
December 7-8, 2018 (Leipzig)
CfP Deadline: May 10, 2018
Further information

Contact - Conqest - Colonization. Practices of Comparing between Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, from Antiquity to Present.
Bielefeld
October 11-13, 2018
CfP Deadline: April 30, 2018
Further Information

Studying Migration Policy at the Interface between Empirical Research and Normative Analysis
Bielefeld
September 10-12, 2018
CfP Deadline: March 23, 2018
Further information

Nations and Nationalisms: Theories, Practices and Methods (International Postgraduate Conference)
Loughborough
September 10-11, 2018
Abstract Deadline: April 13, 2018
Registration Deadline: May 20, 2018
Further information

Ecotones: Encounters, Crossings, and Communities
University Paul-Valéry Montpellier, France in partnership with Coastal Carolina University (SC, USA) and MIGRINTER (UMR CNRS-Poitiers, France)
2015-2019
Further information

Nationalism and the Postcolonial
Annual Gaps Conference 2018 at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
10 – 12 May 2018
CfP Deadline: 31 December 2017
CfP and PDF: Further information

Contested Borders? Practising Empire, Nation and Region in the 19^th and 20^th Centuries
Conference at the German Historical Institute, London
26 – 28 April 2018
CfP deadline: 16 October 2017
Further information

Representing Migration: The Legacy of Post-Imperial Migrations from World War I to the Cold War
International Conference at the Center for Advanced Studies, LMU Munich
29 - 30 January 2018
CfP deadline: 1 September 2017
Further information

Past

New Perspectives on Gender in Postcolonial Studies
University of Liège, Salle de l’Horloge, Belgium
19 February 2016
Further information and registration

Postcolonial Passages into the 21st Century. Redrawing Lines of Engagement Across Literatures and Cultures in English
University of Bologna, Italy   
14-15 January 2016
Further information

AFROEUROPEANS: BLACK CULTURES AND IDENTITIES IN EUROPE
Fifth Biennial Conference 2015
The conference is organized by the Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies, Uni Münster
16-19 September 2015 I English Seminar, Münster

Find detailed information on our website:  www.wwu.de/AFROEU2015
and Facebook page: www.facebook.com/afroeuropeans2015

Roundtable discussion “Why is my professor not black?”
Thursday, 17 September, 16:00 - 18:00
Exzellenzcluster „Religion und Politik“ JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 Münster
With: Susheila Nasta I Karim Fereidooni I Shanell Johnson I Natasha A. Kelly I Emily Ngubia Kuria I Linda Supik I Vanessa Thompson

For the roundtable, registration is not necessary and admission is free. You can register for the entire conference here: www.wwu.de/AFROEU2015/registration.html

Fishbowl discussion “African European Studies: Aims, scope, and disciplinarily”
Saturday, 19 September, 14:00 - 15:30
Exzellenzcluster „Religion und Politik“ JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 Münster
With: Natasha A. Kelly I Elisa Joy White I Matti Traußneck

For the discussion, registration is not necessary, admission is free. You can register for the entire conference here: www.wwu.de/AFROEU2015/registration.html

CfP:`Minority´ Cultures and Travel
Aberystwyth, Wales
14-16 September 2015
PDF: CfP

CfP: Empires and Revolutions. R.B. Cunninghame Graham and Other Scottish writers on Globalisation and Democracy
Stirling, Scotland
3–5 July 2015
PDF: CfP

Information session and Q&A: Applying for the M.A. National & Transnational Studies
Thursday, 11 June 2015
2 pm (c.t.) in room ES 130, English Department
For more information on the study programme, visit the NTS webpage: http://www.wwu.de/MA_transnational/ or find us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MANTSMuenster.

CfP: Voices of Their Own: South Asian Women’s Writing
Technische Universität Chemnitz
4-6 June 2015
PDF: Further information

Ideology in Postcolonial Texts and Contexts
hosted by the association GAPS, formerly known as GNEL/ASNEL
May 14 – 16, 2015
University of Münster
Link: Conference website
Download: PDF: CFP

Reading: Perspektiven Afrikas - Ngugi wa Thiong‘o (Kenia/USA)
May 12, 2015 | 19 uhr
Hörsaal Jo 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 Münster

Conference on Social and Educational Perspective on Bilingualism/ Trilingualism and Varieities of English
University of Malta
23 - 25 March 2015
See website for further information

CfP: Cultures of Resistance? Theories and Practices of Transgression in the Caribbean and its Diasporas
University Bielefeld
22-24 January 2015
PDF: CfP

CfP: Lyrik transkulturell
University of Innsbruck, Austria
21-23 January 2015
PDF: CfP

CfP: 3rd International Conference on Cultures and Languages in Contact
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, El Jadida, Morocco
December 4-5, 2014
PDF:CfP

Graduate Workshop for Master students and PhD students:"Negotiating Narratives in/for the Third Millennium"
University of Cologne
14 November 2014
See website for further information

CfP: Oceans, Seas, Rivers: Crossings in Indian Societies and Cultures
University of Salamanca, Spain
29-31 October 2014
PDF: CfP

CfP: Celebrating Chinua Achebe's Legacy
University of London Senate House
24-25 October 2014
PDF: CfP

CfP: Scotland in Europe, Conference II
University of Warsaw
15-17 October 2014
PDF: CfP

CfP: Wealth and the Commons
Sugar Land, Texas, USA
October 12-13 2014
PDF: CfP

CfP: Encounting Austrailia: Transcultural Conversations
Monash Prato Centre, Italy
24-26 September 2014
PDF: CfP

Conference: Reading Across Cultures. New Comparative Approaches in a Globalized World
Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main
21-23 September 2014
Further information

CfP: Space in Colonial and Postcolonial Contexts: Language, Literature, and the Construction of Place and Diaspora
University of Bremen, Germany
3-7 September 2014
PDF: CfP

CfP: Transformation of Australian Studies in a Globalising Age
Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
26-27 July 2014
PDF: CfP

Shifting Grounds: Cultural Tectonics along the Pacific Rim
Mainz, Germany
17-19 July 2014
PDF: CfP

CfP: Black British Women’s Writing: Tracing the Tradition and New Directions
University of Brighton, UK
9 July 2014
Conference webpage

CfP: New Zealand in the First World War
Birkbeck, University of London
3-4 July 2014
PDF: CfP

CfP: Collegial Communities in Exile Conference: New histories of the Irish, English, Scots, Dutch and other colleges founded on the continent in the early modern period
Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland
19-20 June 2014
Conference Website
Irish in Europe Project Website

Guest lecture:
Prof. Dr. Susanne Reichl (Universität Wien) - Judging a book by its cover: Black British literature in the marketplace
18 June 2014 | 10.15-11.45 lecture room JO 101 | Johannisstraße 4
PDF: Further information

14. Afrika Festival Münster - "Business as usual? Unternehmergeist und Ideen aus Afrika"
17 June 2014 | 20.00h | Stadtbücherei am Alten Steinweg 11, 48143 Münster
Further information on readings [de]

CfP:Revisiting Black History, Identities, Sexualities, and Popular Culture
PAN-AFRICAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT, KENT STATE UNIVERSITY (USA)
11-12 April 2014
Further information

Writing the 'Rainbow Nation'? Examining 20 Years of Post-Apartheid Literature
International Conference - University of Regensburg (Germany)
4-5 April 2014
PDF: CfP PDF: Provisional programme

CfP: Partition, Democracy, (and Europe)
University of St. Andrews, Scotland
1-2 March 2014
PDF: CfP

Symposium: Enlightened Powers: American, French and British Interactions in Botany Bay, 1789-1800
Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg
8 February 2014
PDF: CfP

Planned Violence. Post/Colonial Urban Infrastructures and Literature. Workshop: Empire and Post-Empire in the Global City.
30-31 January 2014 King´s College, London, UK
Further information and registration

Hotspots in Literary / Cultural Studies and Linguistics
Wednesdays, 6.15-7.45 p.m., ES131
PDF: Programme

Conference: The Transnational Imaginaries of M. G. Vassanji
University of London, UK
8-10 November 2013
Further information and registration

Conference: „Black Presence and Practices of Enslavement in 18th Century Central and Northern Europe“
Bremen
7-9 November 2013
PDF: Further information

Symposium: “World-Ecology, World-Economy, World Literature”
University College Dublin
25-27 October 2013
PDF: Flyer

International Conference: Scotland 2014: Coming of Age and Loss of Innocence?
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
17–20 October 2013
Further information and PDF: flyer

Challenging Boundaries: Postcolonial Narratives and Notions of the Global
Georg-August-University Göttingen
10-12 October 2013
PDF: CFP

Guest lecture: “A Window on the World “
Dr. Rachel King, National Museum of Scotland
9 October 2013 | 20:00 Uhr

Conference: Afroeurope@NS IV: Black Cultures and Indentities in Europe
London, UK
1-4 October 2013
PDF: CFP
Programme and further information

Summer school
Just Politics? Postcolonial Ecocriticism between Imagination and Occupation
ASNEL/GNEL summer school hosted by the University of Potsdam
2-6 September 2013
PDF: Flyer

“‘The current unbroken/ the circuits kept open’: Connecting Cultures and the Commonwealth”
The 16th Triennial ACLALS Conference - St. Lucia, West Indies
August 5 –9 2013
PDF: CFP

23rd Freundenstadt Symposium on European Regionalism. Europe at the Crossroads: Integration or Disintegration
5-7 July 2013 Freudenstadt, Germany
PDF: CFP and further information

Reading:
Grace Nichols and John Agard - Literatures and cultures of the Caribbean diaspora
17 June 2013 | 12.15h | Johannisstraße 4, lecture room JO1
PDF: Flyer

Partitions and Cultural Memory. An International symposium as part of the AHRC Research Network Partitions: What Are They Good For?
Cardiff University, UK
3-4 June 2013
PDF: CFP

Come Together? Concepts of Community in Contemporary British and Irish Literature and Culture
University of Mannheim, Germany
31 May – 1 June 2013
PDF: CFP

"Straddling Boundaries: Hemispherism, Cultural Identity, and Indigeneity"
Conference - Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
24-26 May 2013
CFP and further information

Nation, nationality, nationhood: What's in a name?
Conference - Tiranë, Albania
2-4 May 2013
conference website

Conference: On the Contrary: André Brink and his Oeuvre
University of Pretoria, South Africa
22-23 March 2013
Further information

What is Africa to me now? The continent and its literary diasporas
Conference - University of Liège, Belgium
21-23 March 2013

AISCLI Conference: Cultures and Imperialisms
17-18 January 2013, University of Rome
PDF: CFP

Race and the South Asian Diaspora
Conference - Boston, USA
2-3 January 2013
PDF : CFP

Lawrence Norfolk reads from his new novel John Saturnall's Feast
23 November 2012, 8 p.m. | Haus der Niederlande (Krameramtshaus), Alter Steinweg 6-7

Further Information: Johns Saturnall's Feast on YouTube | Author's homepage | PDF Announcement

Conference on Cultures and Languages in Contact
22-23 November 2012
PDF: CFP

Reception for the MA-programme National & Transnational Studies
Thursday, 8 November 2012 at 5 p.m. in ES 130

Staff and students of the MA NTS-programme are cordially invited to an informal get-together. This meeting marks the fifth time that the two-year MA-programme commences here at Uni Münster.

Scotland in Europe - Conference
University of Warsaw, Poland
17-19 October 2012
PDF: CFP and further information

"'Turks of Tartary'? Images of Islam in Scottish Writing"
Seminar at the 11th Conference of the European Society for the Study of English,
Istanbul
4–8 September 2012
PDF: CFP and further information

AISCLI Summer School World Cultures & Literature in English
17-22 September 2012
Information and programme http://www.uep.corep.it/ss_world_cultures
PDF: Flyer

Conference: “Transculturation and Aesthetics”
Bergen, Norway
31 August - 2 September 2012
https://www.uib.no/rg/nnlts/projects/conference-transculturation-and-aesthetics

Globalising the Local, Localising the Global: Globalisation, the Media and Popular Culture in Africa
Conference - SMC, Pan-African University
23-25 August, 2012
PDF: CFP and further information

Scottish Universities' International Summer School (SUISS)
on Scottish literature, modernism, and contemporary British and Irish literature.
Edinburgh, July & August 2012
PDF: Information SUISS

Digital crossroads: Media, Migration and Diaspora in a Transnational Perspective
Conference, Utrecht University, Netherlands
28-30 June 2012
PDF: CFP

International Conference on the Literature of Region & Nation
University of Pécs, Hungary
20-24 June in 2012
PDF: CFP

Interrogating Cosmopolitan Conviviality: New Dimensions of the European in Literature
Conference, University of Bamberg
24-25 May 2012
PDF: CFP

Multiculturalisms: Theories and Practice
Conference - Cardiff, Wales
14-17 May 2012
PDF: CFP and further information

Narrating the Caribbean Nation
Leeds - Metropolitan University
14-15 April 2012
PDF: CFP and further information

Nationalism and the City
Conference - Cambridge
10-11 February 2012
CFP and further information

International Conference on Diaspora and Development: Prospects and Implications for Nation States
School of Extension and Development Studies & School of Interdisciplinary and Trans-disciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India
14-15th October 2011
Download:   PDF: CFP

Europe: Out of Many, One People
3rd International Conference - AFROEUROPE@NS III: CULTURES AND IDENTITIES, Cádiz, Spain
28-30 September 2011
Download: PDF: CFP and further information


Crossing the Borders: Reality, desire and Imagination in Australian, New Zealand and the Pacific lives, literatures and cultures
11th Biennial European Association for Studies on Australia (EASA), University of Prešov, Slovakia
12-15 September 2011
Download: PDF: CFP and further information
http://easa-australianstudies.net/node/192


Between the National and the Transnational, 1980 TO THE PRESENT: Masculinities in Britain and the U.S.
The Second of Three International Workshops: Kent State University
4-7 August 2011
Download: PDF: CFP
http://www.comparativemasculinities.com/


Postkoloniale Gesellschaftswissenschaften. Eine Zwischenbilanz.
Conference, Humboldt University, Berlin
17-18 June 2011
Download: PDF: Further information
http://www.bgss.hu‐berlin.de/lehrbereiche/divpol/mitteilungen/aktuveran [de]

African Engagements: On whose terms?
AEGIS 4th European Conference on African Studies (ECAS 4), Uppsala, Sweden
15-18 June 2011
Download: PDF: CFP and further information and PDF: Flyer
http://www.nai.uu.se/ecas-4/
 

Future Postcolonialisms: Comparing, Converting, Queering, Greening/Le postcolonial-en-devenir
Conference in the wake of the twentieth Anniversary of the publication of The Empire Writes Back
27-28 May 2011
Download: PDF: Tentative programme

Under Construction: Gateways and Walls
EACLALS Triennial conference 2011, Bogazici (Bosphorus) University, Istanbul, Turkey
26-30 April 2011
Download: PDF: CFP and further information
http://www.eaclals.ulg.ac.be/conferences.html


Postcolonialism and Labour
EACLALS Postgraduate Conference, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany
26-27 March 2011
PDF: Flyer
http://www.eaclals.ulg.ac.be/pg-conference/

New Geographies: Studies in Postcoloniality and Globalization
The University of the West Indies, Trinidad
24-27 March 2011
PDF: CFP

Border Crossing
International conference, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
22-23 March 2011
PDF: CFP and further information

Guest lecture:
Dieter Riemenschneider
"Wildes Licht. Gedichte aus Aotearoa/Neuseeland"
3 February 2011, 19.30 | ROSTA Buchladen, Aegidiistr. 12, Münster

Transcending Diaspora: Whiteness, Performativity and the Politics of the Body
Inaugural Workshop of the DFG Young Scholars Network “Black Diaspora and Germany”, Uni Münster, Germany
3-4 December 2010
Download: PDF: Information and programme

Guest lecture:
PD Dr. Susanne Reichl, Universität Wien
"Postcolonial children's literature"
09 December 2009, 16:15-17:45 | English Department, Uni Münster (AudiMax)

Guest lecture:
Dr. Markus Schmitz, Uni Münster
"Arab American literature"
02 December 2009, 18:00-19:30 | English Department, Uni Münster (AudiMax)

Guest lecture:
Dr. Marga Munkelt, Uni Münster
"Crossing borders: Chicano/Chicana writing"
02 December 2009, 16:15-17:45 | English Department, Uni Münster (AudiMax)

Guest lecture:
Prof. Lyn Innes, University of Kent, Canterbury
"Australia: The colonial/postcolonial state and its cultural complexities"
25 November 2009, 16:15-17:45 | English Department, Uni Münster (AudiMax)

Guest lecture:
Prof. Dr. Frank Schulze-Engler, Goethe Universität Frankfurt/Main
"Transcultural dimensions of African literature"
18 November 2009, 18:00-19:30 | English Department, Uni Münster (AudiMax)

Guest lecture:
Kenneth Crichton (britischer Verbindungsoffizier)
"9th of November 1989, A Personal View 20 Years After"
16 November 2009, 20:00 | English Department, Uni Münster (Hörsaal 19)

Kenneth Crichton was stationed as a soldier in Berlin when the Wall fell. He will tell us firsthand about his experiences and impressions of this historical event.

Guest lecture:
Dr. Florian Stadtler, Open University, London
"Narrating the nation: The South Asian novel in English"
11 November 2009, 16:15-17:45 | English Department, Uni Münster (AudiMax)

Guest lecture:
Prof. Dr. Katja Sarkowsky, Univ. Augsburg
"Canadian literature: A survey"
04 November 2009, 16:15-17:45 | English Department, Uni Münster (AudiMax)

In May 2009, Muenster University hosted the large international conference
"Postcolonial Translocations".
It was the 20th annual conference of the Association for the Study of the New Literatures in English (ASNEL/GNEL), with c.300 participants from 35 countries.
Some of our M.A. students were also involved in the conference, in terms of both organisational support and paper presentation.
www.gnel2009.de

10 YEARS ON

National & Transnational Studies in Münster and Beyond

10 YEARS ON started off with the workshop “Strategies for the Sustainable Internationalization
of an Interdisciplinary Field”, organized and chaired by AOR Dr. habil. Markus Schmitz. The workshop focussed on continuing exchanges, institutionalized partnerships, and stable collaborations between NTS alumnae/i scattered across diverse geographical and disciplinary locations and Münster-based individuals who study or teach in our programme. Alumni, current students, and faculty staff discussed how the NTS programme’s already established informal network structure can be translated into both informal cooperations on the individual level and formally codified cooperations with partner institutions.

Opening the anniversary celebrations, the Rector of the University of Münster, Prof. Dr. Johannes Wessels, talked about the NTS programme’s prominence and its importance as an integral part of the university’s overall internationalisation strategy.

In his anniversary address, NTS course director Prof. Dr. Mark U Stein talked about the roots of the MA programme and that it attracts students from around the globe who want to make a difference within the University and beyond. He cautions that NRW is considering to charge international students tuition fees — at a time when Europe is seen to keep non-Europeans out. He then announced the official launch of the NTS AlumNetwork.

Julian Wacker introduced the NTS AlumNetwork’s new online platform, which allows all alumnae/i to share news with each other, post job opportunities, and find a professional and fun way to keep in touch after they graduate from the program.

Chaired by Theresa Krampe, two NTS alumnae shared their experiences after the NTS and outlined their impressive career paths in the academic as well as non-academic sectors.

Dr. Isabel J Raabe has been hugely successful in her academic career after graduating from the NTS program a few years ago, obtaining both an MSc as well as a PhD degree in Sociology from the University of Oxford. She is currently pursuing her post doctorate at the University of Zurich. In her talk, she outlined her journey from the NTS to her doctorate.

Demonstrating that career perspectives after the NTS are by no means limited to an academic path, NTS alumna Selver Bener talked about how her time in Munster has helped her to pursue a career in marketing. Having worked for renowned companies such as Nike, she is now a Partner Executive at Booking.com, all the while also pursuing her passion for photography.

Johny Pitts (London), renowned photographer, writer, and broadcast journalist, introduced the concept of Afropean. Using his photographic work and personal experience to shed light on issues of transnational photography, his talk offered new ways of seeing and left the audience with plenty to think about and discuss.

Following the anniversary programme, a reception offered plenty of time for students, staff, alumnae/i, and guests to catch up over food and drink.

We wish to thank the English Seminar, The International Office of the Uni Münster and the International Centre "Die Brücke" for their generous support.