Doing Literature in a Global Perspective
The Cluster of Excellence 2020 "Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective" aims to create a new theoretical and methodological take on literature in a global perspective that moves beyond the categories of nation and period and conceives of literature instead as a transcultural and transtemporal phenomenon in deep time. Based on the insight that literature is a fundamentally performative and intermedial phenomenon, a form of social action taking place in complex networks of human and non-human actors, the Cluster studies how literature becomes global through its temporal entanglements. Introducing the notion of 'temporal communities', the Cluster investigates the ways in which literature reaches out through space and time and establishes extensive transtemporal networks in which the notion of literature itself is constantly re-constituted as it interacts with other arts and media.
EXC 2020 Temporal Communities Governance Structure
- Prof. Dr. Andrew James Johnston, Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature, Freie Universität Berlin
- Prof. Dr. Anita Traninger, Professor of Romance Literatures, Freie Universität Berlin
- Prof. Dr. Anne Eusterschulte, Professor of the History of Philosophy, Moderator, RA 3: Future Perfect
- Prof. Dr. Frank Fischer, Professor of Digital Humanities, Participating Researcher, RA 5: Building Digital Communities
- Prof. Dr. Susanne Frank, Professor of Eastern Slavic Literatures and Cultures, Member, RA 1: Competing Communities
- Prof. Dr. Michael Gamper, Professor of German and Comparative Literature, Moderator, RA 4: Literary Currencies
- Prof. Dr. Karin Gludovatz, Professor of Art History, Moderator, RA 2: Travelling Matters
- Prof. Dr. Beatrice Gründler, Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, Moderator, RA 3: Future Perfect
- N.N. (ex officio), Managing Director
- Prof. Dr. Andrew James Johnston, Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English, Cluster Director, Moderator, RA 3: Future Perfect
- Dr. Alexandra Ksenofontova, Research-Track Postdoc, RA 4: Literary Currencies
- Prof. Dr. Jutta Müller-Tamm, Professor of German Literature, Moderator, RA 4: Literary Currencies
- Prof. Dr. Miltos Pechlivanos, Professor of Modern Greek Studies, Moderator, RA 1: Competing Communities
- Prof. Dr. Anita Traninger, Professor of Romance Literatures, Cluster Director, Moderator, RA 5: Building Digital Communities
- Prof. Dr. Matthias Warstat, Professor of Theatre Studies, Moderator, RA 2: Travelling Matters
- N.N., Managing Director
- Anne Friederike Raschke, Head of Finance and Personnel, Deputy Managing Director (Administration)
- Jannis Sterr, Project Assistant
- Gloria Thiller, Project Assistant (on maternity leave)
- Isabelle Wagner, Programme Coordinator
- Dr. Maraike Di Domenica, Academic Coordinator, International Research Cooperation; Deputy Managing Director (Research)
- Dr. Anna Luhn, Academic Coordinator, Berlin Partners Network
- Sima Ehrentraut, Research Associate, Berlin Partners Network
- N.N., Communication Designer & Research Associate
- Hannah Faber, Student Research Assistant, Academic Coordination
- Melanie Fontana, Student Research Assistant, Academic Coordination
- Maximilian Heusinger, Student Research Assistant, Academic Coordination
- Margaret Marusek, Student Research Assistant, International Research Cooperation
- Franka Schmuck, Student Research Assistant, Berlin Partners Network
The Inter-Departmental Governance Board safeguards the Cluster’s institutional integration within Freie Universität Berlin. The board members examine and evaluate the Cluster’s activities based on the Cluster’s official reports and give recommendations concerning core activities.
- Prof. Dr. Ulrike Schneider, Dean, Department of Philosophy and Humanities
- Sonja Schneller, Managing Director, Department of Philosophy and Humanities
- Prof. Dr. Eun-Jeung Lee, Dean, Department of History and Cultural Studies
- Dr. Michael Vallo, Managing Director, Department of History and Cultural Studies
- Prof. Dr. Karin Gludovatz, Director, Dahlem Humanities Center
- Prof. Dr. Jutta Müller-Tamm, Director, Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School of Literary Studies
- Prof. Dr. Max Steinhardt, Director, John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies
The Steering Committee consists of the representatives of the Cluster’s international cooperation partners. The committee members advise the Executive Board on issues relating to the development and implementation of the Cluster’s international network. Furthermore, the Steering Committee assists in identifying distinguished candidates for fellowships.
- Prof. Dr. Bishnupriya Dutt, Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Dehli (India)
- Prof. Dr. Clare Lees, Professor of Medieval Literature, University of London (UK)
- Dr. Joshua Davies, Lecturer in Medieval Literature, King’s College London (UK)
- Prof. Dr. Timothy Hampton, Aldo Scaglione and Marie M. Burns Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and French, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
- Prof. Dr. Stefan Keppler-Tasaki, Associate Professor of Modern German Literature, University of Tokyo (Japan)
- Prof. Dr. Tanja Michalsky, Director, Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max-Planck Institute for Art History, Rome (Italy)
- Prof. Dr. David Lurie, Wm. Theodore and Fanny Brett de Bary and Class of 1941 Collegiate Professor of Asian Humanities and Associate Professor of Japanese History and Literature, Columbia University (USA)
- Prof. Dr. Claus Kurt Zittel, Associate Professor of German Literature, BemboLab, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (Italy)
The International Advisory Board consists of eight internationally renowned scholars and intellectuals. Each has played a significant role in shaping and developing the field of global literary studies to which the Cluster is dedicated. During an annual community event, the International Academic Advisory Board meets with Principal Investigators, Participating Researchers and early career researchers to advise on the further development of the Cluster and to join resident members in discussing the Cluster’s emergent research questions.
- Prof. Dr. Suzanne Conklin Akbari, Professor of Medieval Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (USA)
- Prof. Dr. Rita Felski, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of Virginia (USA)
- Prof. Dr. Wiebke Denecke, Professor of East Asian Literatures, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
- Prof. Dr. David Damrosch, Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University (USA)
- Prof. Dr. Simon During, Professorial Fellow at the School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne (Australia)
- Prof. Dr. Theo D’haen, Professor of English Literature, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
- Prof. Dr. Robert Reid-Pharr, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University (USA)
- Yvonne A. Owuor, Author, Nairobi (Kenya)
Former Members:
- Prof. Dr. Wai Chee Dimock, William Lampson Professor of English and American Studies, Yale University (USA), member until April 2022
Partners
The Cluster is situated within a vibrant network of international academic partners and local collaborators including universities and libraries as well as literary and artistic institutions and museums, and it combines an international fellowship programme with a dynamic and flexible platform for projects involving early career researchers, established scholars and international fellows from all career stages.
- Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History (Rome)
- Columbia University (New York)
- Fondazione Giorgio Cini (Italy)
- Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi)
- King’s College London
- School of Advanced Study (University of London)
- University of California, Berkeley
- Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (Italy)
- University of Tokyo