Research profiles
Cross-cutting topics
Cultural and Literary Theory: Our focus on literary and cultural theory is dedicated to the historical genesis of the concept of culture as a guiding concept in the humanities up to the present day, and to the implications of cultural theory for literary studies. In the context of our research profile in interculturality, we inquire into the meaning and validity of concepts such as cultural belonging and ask what influence theories of culture and language, such as those of Herder, Nietzsche and Arendt, have on literary practice. Our seminars aim to impart knowledge of central positions in cultural and literary theory from the past and present, with students being invited to work out the different dimensions of culture, literature, and text, and to question existing paradigms.
Didactics: German didactics explores teaching-learning situations with regard to language, literature and media. Language didactics explores possibilities to initiate, support, improve, and/or correct the acquisition of oral and written communication skills. One focus of language didactics at the University of Luxembourg is multilingualism in teaching-learning processes. Literary didactics analyses the teaching of literary texts as well as the acquisition of literary skills in and out of school. Literary didactics at our institute specialises in the possibilities and limits of intercultural learning. Media didactics examines the significance of (old and new) media in the context of literary and language education and explores in particular, in an anthropological perspective, how self and world are accessed through media.
Theatre Studies: Theatre is in several respects a key component of literary and cultural studies. Although drama is one of the three literary genres, its central genre-specific feature – the theatrical performance – is often underestimated. The literary study of a theatre text must, however, always adopt the perspective of performance analysis to account for its theatrical realizations in the past and present. In doing so, it must recognize that, as a place of assembly and (intercultural) interaction between actors and audience, theatre is a social and political site – where people can watch each other acting, directly reacting, and exerting influence. Research and teaching in theatre studies are based on intensive cooperation with theatres and theatre professionals in the Greater Region in the form of joint projects, but also practical seminars and the provision of internships. The focus here is on the close interrelation between theory and practice, of cultural and socio-political life and university research.
Law and Culture: The research focus ‘Law and Culture’ mainly deals with the representational bond between subject and institutional order, taking into account current linguistic and structural, but especially technological tendencies (focus on Blockchain) and developments, examining their effects on traditional concepts of subjectivity, institutionality, and law. One of the achievements of our work in this area is the German edition of the work of the psychoanalyst and legal historian Pierre Legendre. There is cooperation with numerous institutions in Germany and France.