This postgraduate program serves as a pilot project for a new form of Ph.D. in the humanities. Participants are required to supplement their academic abilities and qualifications from literary studies with practical work experience. This structure aims at

• 1. enhancing the practical relevance of literature studies and
• 2. providing the participants with a competitive advantage in the job market for positions in academia, the media, the publishing industry, and journalism.

The program's specific aim is to interlink the following three, currently unconnected, fields of activity:

• academic research on evaluation, canonization, literary mediation, and publishing
• economic and academic applications of criteria established in academic research
• job-oriented training of literary scholars.

Grants for twelve doctoral positions and one postdoctoral position, each for the duration of three and a half years, are awarded. In addition to doing research, the person occupying the postdoctoral position is also required to coordinate the program (BAT IIa).

Eight grant holders began their studies on October 1, 2006. The four remaining grants will be awarded on the basis of a second round of applications. Those grant holders will begin their studies on April 1, 2007.


Participating Departments:

• Amerikanistik/American Studies


• Anglistik/Department of English


• Germanistik/Department of German Philology


• Komparatistik/Comparative Literature Studies


• Romanistik/Department of Romance Studies


• Slavistik/Department of Slavic Sudies

Participating scholars and publishing agents

Each dissertation will be supervised by two professors of the participating universities:

• Prof. Dr. Matthias Freise, Slavistik, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen



• Prof. Dr. Frank Kelleter, Amerikanistik, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen



• Prof. Dr. Hermann Korte, Literaturwissenschaft / Literaturdidaktik, Universität Siegen



• Prof. Dr. Gerhard Lauer, Neuere deutsche Literaturwissenschaft, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen



• Prof. Dr. Ansgar Nünning, Anglistik, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen



• Prof. Dr. Vera Nünning, Anglistik, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg



• Prof. Dr. Gabriele Rippl, Anglistik, Universität Bern



• Prof. Dr. Claudia Stockinger, Neuere deutsche Literaturwissenschaft, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen



• Prof. Dr. Gerhard Wild, Romanistik, Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main



• Prof. Dr. Simone Winko, Neuere deutsche Literaturwissenschaft, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Supervision of Internships and On-the-Job-Training:

Prof. Heinz Ludwig Arnold, Neuere deutsche Literaturwissenschaft, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen


Cooperation Partner:

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Knöbl, Soziologisches Seminar, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen


Publishers' Advisory Board:

Dr. Rüdiger Salat, Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, Stuttgart

Dr. Jörg Bong und Dr. Oliver Vogel, S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt/Main

Michael Justus, J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart

Dr. Alexander Fest und Michael Töteberg (Medienabteilung), Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg

Wolfgang Balk, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, München

Michael Krüger, Hanser Verlag, München

Michael Merschmeier, Friedrich Verlag Berlin, (Literaturen, Theater heute, Opernwelt, Partituren), Berlin

Dr. Hans-Joachim Simm, Suhrkamp und Insel Verlag, Frankfurt/Main

Thedel von Wallmoden, Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen

Heinz Ludwig Arnold, Redaktion Kindler Literaturlexikon und TEXT + KRITIK, Göttingen
(offers one additional internship with edition text + kritik im Boorberg Verlag, München)