Goethe-Universität

NELK

Jul 17 2025

- 18.07.2025

EG.01, Normative Orders Building

International Workshop: Multiple Mobilities and Migrations in African and Afro-Diasporic Literature and Media

Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
EG.01, Normative Orders Building
17 and 18 July 2025

This two-day workshop examines multiple mobilities and diverse migratory patterns in African and Afro-Diasporic literature and media from a transcultural and transnational perspective. The main premise is that both literature and media unfold how Africans crisscross the globe, how some Africans have permanently embraced “mobile lives" (Elliott and Urry 2010) and how migration from Africa to other continents and back – whether voluntary or involuntary – shapes African cultures and communities at home and abroad in the age of rapid globalisation. By focusing on mobility and migration as the most pervasive phenomenon of our present times, the workshop seeks to highlight not only the connection between the two, but more importantly, how multiple mobilities define the migrant experience and vice versa, and how a critical investigation of these mobilities facilitates the process of comprehending the distinct experiences of migrants in our interconnected yet conflict-ridden world.

American Studies

Jul 15 2025

18:00

IG 254

Guest Lecture: Yogita Goyal (UCLA) »Race, Caste, and the Failure of Comparison« | American Studies Research Colloquium - Summer 2025

Chaincourt Theatre

Jul 11 2025

19:30

Chaincourt Theater - Summer semester 2025 production

"An Ideal Husband"

What foibles are forgivable?

In An Ideal Husband, celebrated Irish playwright Oscar Wilde explores issues of far-reaching consequence: Is putting people on a pedestal advisable, especially when love is involved? Do we compromise ourselves when we covet power? For what errors in judgement can we pardon those we love; and how should the public judge such missteps? In the play, Evelyn and Gertrude Chiltern are confronted with these questions when the manipulative Mrs. Cheveley threatens to reveal to the press to what and to whom they really owe their wealth and standing in society.

Just as we debate the veracity of “Cancel Culture” as well as the moral decency of those with power, Oscar Wilde’s characters often occupy a grey zone. In An Ideal Husband, these perennial subject matters provoke not only thought and response but also provide a vehicle to entertain an audience.

Experienced cast and crew ready to take on the task

Under the direction of James Fisk, the Chaincourt Theatre Company has adapted the 1894 Victorian comedy to the here-and-now. Both on and off stage, the theatre group is made up of students from various university faculties as well as from alumni of the English department. Although most of the cast and crew are returning members, a number of fresh faces are also making their début. All have taken it upon themselves to deliver the audience an engaging evening of entertainment. Performances are in English and will take place in the “Nebengebäude” next to the Main Building on Campus Westend.

Performances: Opening night on 11 July; additional showings on 12, 17, 18, and 19 July. Curtain is 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: 10€/5€ (reduced); available one hour before curtain (no advanced sales or reservations)

Location: Goethe University, Campus Westend, IG Farbenhaus-Nebengebäude, room NG 1.741

Contact: James Fisk (Managing Artistic Director) fisk@em.uni-frankfurt.de

English Studies

Jul 10 2025

- 20.07.2025

Visiting Fellow Dr Simon Smith (Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham) at the IEAS

We welcome Dr Simon Smith as a visiting fellow in the Department of English Studies.

Simon Smith, FSA, is Associate Professor of Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham. His research focuses on early modern theatre, music and sensory culture.
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/shakespeare/smith-simon

Together with Professor Susanne Scholz, he will lead the block seminar Shakespeare's Audiences, which will take place on the weekends of 11–12 July and 18–19 July 2025.
Dr Simon Smith will give the Wednesday Lecture (Forschungszentrum Historische Geisteswissenschaften, FZHG) on 16 July 2025, titled “Twelfth Night" Reconsidered: Identity, Song and Performativity.

Jul 16

18:15 Uhr

“Twelfth Night" Reconsidered: Identity, Song and Performativity.

Twelfth Night has long been recognised as one of Shakespeare's most musical plays. In recent decades critics have increasingly given attention to the ways in which it is concerned with identity too, from Viola's adoption of the Cesario identity for the vast majority of the play, to the conflict between Malvolio and Sir Toby over social advancement, hereditary rank, and meritocracy. This talk, emerging from my research for the new Cambridge Shakespeare Edition of Twelfth Night, argues that the two threads of song and identity are in fact closely entwined within the play, with each holding the key to a deeper understanding of the other. Looking in particular detail at key scenes including 2.3, 2.4 and 5.1, and drawing on the play's rich stage history that is yet to be fully researched, this talk will suggest ways of reading the play closely in light of the wider themes of identity and song, and suggest outward connections, too, with other plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

https://fzhg.org/termine/termin/10-simon-smith

TEFL

Jul 4 2025

Out now: Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts. Current issues and empirical insights into teaching and learning languages in primary school.

This volume presents state-of-the-art research in early foreign language (L2) education in instructed contexts with a special focus on primary school (ages 5-12). Over the past two decades, early language teaching has become an important factor in both academic inquiry and education policy. Studies have attested to the value of early L2 learning but also revealed specific features and challenges, which highlights the need for more high-quality empirical research. This book addresses this need by presenting current international research on early L2 teaching and learning in regular and CLIL contexts in the primary school setting. Uniting insights from 12 countries, the studies shed light on current issues such as teaching and assessment practice, emerging L2 literacy instruction, teaching materials, and teachers', parents' and learners' perspectives. The volume thus contributes significantly to the advancement of early language education and is an essential resource for researchers and educators in the field.

Frisch, Stefanie & Glaser, Karen (eds.) (2025). Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts. Current issues and empirical insights into teaching and learning languages in primary school. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Open Access.

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