Dr Britta C. Jung
Research interests
Migration; transculturality; multilingualism; language policy; cultural memory; national socialism & holocaust studies; children’s & young adult literature; German, Dutch and English-language literature of the 20th & 21st century.
More information
My research brings together cultural, comparative and inter-/transcultural literary studies. It is highly interdisciplinary and has a strong focus on the German- and Dutch-speaking context. I have published widely in these areas in German, English, and Dutch. In addition, I have led a major applied research project on the impact and learning experience of foreign languages for the Irish Government (2018-2020).
My first monograph Komplexe Lebenswelten – Multidirektionale Erinnerungsdikurse (V&R, 2018) investigates the specific dynamics of postmemory in a broad corpus of German literary texts aimed at younger audiences, and in dialogue with the broader socio-cultural context of Germany and Europe. The study has been lauded as a “milestone in our understanding of memory discourses in youth literature” (S. Blumesberger, Vienna) and as “a novel approach to the literary genre” (K. Kumschlies, Trier) that will influence the field moving forward (e.g. G. v. Glasenapp, Cologne; L. Jagdschian, Bielefeld).
I have held academic positions (i.e. research and/or teaching) at University of Groningen, Mary Immaculate College, University College Dublin, and Maynooth University. In 2025, I will be a Visiting Professor at the Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France in Valenciennes, France, and the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia, in January and April/May respectively.
Recent talks/presentations:
14-16 March 2024
The Hill We Climb. Debating Identity, Symbolism and Genre in the Translation of Amanda Gorman’s Spoken Word Poem “The Hill We Climb”; The Challenges and Consequences of Cultural Misunderstanding. Linguistic, Legal and Translational Perspectives, Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, in collaboration with the Université Grenoble-Alpes and the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau, Valenciennes, France, 14-16 March 2024.
13 March 2024
Defining Europe. Of Geographical Borders and Mindscapes; Invited Guest Lecture to Students of Geography and History at the Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, Valenciennes, France, 13 March 2024.
Recent academic publications include:
- The Hill We Climb / Den Hügel hinauf. Intercultural Misunderstandings and Semantic-Stylistic Shifts in the Translation of Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem. In: S. Schwerter/D. Dias (Eds.): Intercultural Misunderstandings in Literary and Song Translation. Stuttgart: Ibidem, 2025 (forthcoming).
- An Claíomh Défhaobhrach / A Double-Edged Sword. Irlands konstitutionelle Zweisprachigkeit und das Erlernen moderner Fremdsprachen. In: S. Schwerter/N. Rentel/B. Meisnitzer (Eds.): Mehrsprachigkeit. Spracheinstellungen, mediale Erscheinungsformen und didaktische Implikationen, Stuttgart: Ibidem, 2024, pp. 281-306.
- Die Judenverfolgung und der Holocaust in der deutschsprachigen Kinder- und Jugendliteratur. In: AG Jugendliteratur und Medien (Ed.): kjl&m (76/2), 2024, pp. 13-23. Invited article for the thematic issue „Nie wieder!“ ist jetzt. Verfolgung im Nationalsozialismus in der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, guest edited by P. Josting/L. Jagdschian.
- Territories of Otherness. Genoa’s Prè Neighbourhood as a Deviant Terrain and Exotic Counterspace in Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer’s La Superba (2013). In: B.C. Jung/S. Ehrig/G. Schaffer (Eds.): Exploring the Transnational Neighbourhood. Perspectives on Community-Building, Identity and Belonging, Leuven: Leuven UP, 2022, pp. 265-289. Open access.
- Local Color Literature und Frontier Humor. Der Zerfall der ‚Germania Slavica‘ aus Sicht von Josef Holubs böhmischem Lausbuben. In: S. Egger/S. Hajduk/B.C. Jung (Eds.): Sarmatien – Germania Slavica – Mitteleuropa. Vom Grenzland im Osten über Johannes Bobrowskis Utopie zur Ästhetik des Grenzraums / Sarmatia – Germania Slavica – Central Europe. From the Borderland in the East and Johannes Bobrowski’s Utopia to a Border Aesthetics, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021, pp. 233-250.
- Verboden te vliegen. Oorlog verbeeld. In: WO2 Onderzoek uitgelicht (10/1), 2021, no pagination.
- The Learning Experience and Impact of Foreign Languages on Participants of Erasmus+ in all Education Sectors in Ireland, Dublin: Higher Education Authority/Léargas/Department of Education and Skills, 2020, 120 pp.
- Komplexe Lebenswelten – multidirektionale Erinnerungsdiskurse. Jugendliteratur zum Nationalsozialismus, Zweiten Weltkrieg und Holocaust im Spiegel des postmemorialen Wandels, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018, 310 pp.
Academic articles/chapters in preparation:
- Die Universität als Institution. In: S. Neuhaus/H. Grugger (Eds.): Der Campusroman. Texte – Theorien – Traditionen. Berlin: J.B. Metzler, 2025/26.
- Andreas Höfele. Die Heimsuchungen des Assistenten Jung. In: S. Neuhaus/H. Grugger (Eds.): Der Campusroman. Texte – Theorien – Traditionen. Berlin: J.B. Metzler, 2025/26.
- Hartwig Spitzer. Elfenbeinturm. Roman einer Universität In: S. Neuhaus/H. Grugger (Eds.): Der Campusroman. Texte – Theorien – Traditionen. Berlin: J.B. Metzler, 2025/26.
- Porosity and the City. Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer's La Superba (2013) and the Mediterranean Cityscapes of Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, and Siegfried Kracauer.
Public engagement:
- Why All Quiet on the Western Front Resonates so much in Germany, RTÉ Brainstorm, 2023.
- Why Germany is a Country Grappling with Its Past, Present and Future, RTÉ Brainstorm, 2022.
- Bernhard Schlink’s Der Vorleser. German-Language Study Materials for Students and Teachers, Lezen voor de lijst (Database for the Dutch Primary and Secondary Education Sector).
