The academic profile of the Department of English and American Studies is shaped by the categories ‘identity, diversity, and transformation’. Within a transnational and intercultural theoretical framework, these three categories determine our engagement with the languages, literatures and cultures of the British Isles, North America and the English-speaking regions of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Caribbean.
From this vantage point of ‘identity – diversity – transformation’, the English Linguistics section constitutes an internationally well-known and recognized research center in the field of “World Englishes” by investigating language variation and varieties of English worldwide, including the use of English as a lingua franca in Europe.
Research in the British Studies section encompasses British and Anglophone literatures and cultures from the middle ages to the present, from the regional diversities within the British Isles to Anglophone cultures around the globe, including immigrant cultures and ‘New English Literatures’.
American Studies explores the multiethnic, multilingual, and transnationally interrelated diversity of North American literatures and cultures from colonial times to the immediate present. Particular areas of research include: cultures of memory, visual cultures, performance studies, and interrelationships between Europe and America. The internationally recognized Regensburg European American Forum (REAF) serves as the platform to integrate the interdisciplinary agenda of Regensburg American Studies.
In English Language Teaching we follow a transdisciplinary approach by linking the insights gained from relevant academic disciplines such as applied linguistics, cultural and literary studies, education, psychology and sociology to concerns of ELT practitioners.
The Department of English and American Studies at the University of Regensburg enjoys high national and international renown and has established itself among the leading German research institutes in the field.