Three questions for ...

What surprised or inspired you the most during your studies?

All the things that can be grouped under the heading of German studies. With a great enthusiasm for fine literature and a moderate background knowledge, I was able to get to know a lot of new things right from the start. Of course, not everything is equally interesting - and that's not a bad thing. If it's not literature that motivates me, then perhaps it's the language of youth. Or it might be medieval spells. Or, or, or. Through a broad-based course of study, with medieval studies, linguistics, literary studies, practical, theoretical, compulsory and free courses, you gradually come closer to your own enthusiasm over the years. Which means that you can finally face the Neukirchner moment within the family in a more de-escalating way, fully calibrated and anointed with real water...

You came to the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Graz from Heidelberg - how do you like it here, and what are the biggest differences?

I really like it here and feel very much at home. The city of Graz is beautiful and somehow already feels Mediterranean. Not everyone has the privilege of working and living in a place where others spend their vacations! And the university and the Department of German Studies also offer a varied working environment with extremely nice, open-minded colleagues who all work on interesting research areas. The biggest difference to Heidelberg is perhaps the size of the department. Although there are also many young people studying German here, there are very few staff members with permanent contracts. On the other hand, there are also advantages of working together in a small group, because it means you quickly get to know each other and people’s different research interests.

What is the significance of medieval studies today?

When dealing with medieval literature - and this is also possible in German classes at school, for example - we are confronted with narrative worlds that are not part of people’s general experience today. This foreignness of pre-modern texts may at first seem to be a hurdle to understanding. But it is precisely the peculiar, irritatingly different ways of thinking and narrating in the texts that make us question what we take for granted and can trigger an examination of our own cultural and historical influence. The medieval world is foreign enough for us to question our habits of thought. At the same time, especially because of the language and the culture, it is close enough to be relevant for our social self-perception. This can be seen not least in the above-mentioned popular fascination with medieval worlds, figures and mythical creatures such as knights, dragons and unicorns, which evidently people still identify with to this day and can be encountered not only in children's books but also in computer games and on packets of gummy bears - in other words, everywhere.

The topics and questions just described are also dealt with in sociological or economic research. But why is it worth examining literature in particular and what else can literary studies shed light on?

On the one hand, literature can convey moods from a society or a social structure that cannot be captured in the same way with scientific data and facts. One of the possibilities of literary representation is, for example, polyphony. Art always appeals to a certain sensitivity and empathy, which can help us not to see the (working) world and how it is changing in black and white, but to allow many to have their say and thus possibly promote tolerance of ambiguity. Last but not least, dealing with the digitalized world of work is also about the work of the writer under changed conditions of production and reception. But that would be the subject of another dissertation.

What are your professional plans for the future and what wishes do you have regarding young academics in the humanities?

After completing my dissertation, I would like to continue my research at an Austrian university and pass on the knowledge I have gained from it through teaching. For me and other young researchers in the humanities, I would like to see more financial support and structural integration in the future, especially at the doctoral level. From my own experience and from conversations with colleagues and supervisors, I know that young academics often find themselves in uncertain and/or short-term employment, while the path to the next qualification level with tenure often seems like a gamble.

When people around you, your family, ask you: Why German studies? What is your answer?

Unlike many of my fellow students and colleagues, I didn't choose German Studies because I liked literature, but I am one of the few (it seems to me) who chose German Studies because I was already fascinated by grammar in school. The prospect of finding clear patterns and structures in something (relatively) abstract like language has always held a great attraction for me. In any case, I believe that most (if not all) of the knowledge that humans can have is based on discovering patterns and structures in the world. Combined with my great interest in language and culture, in communication within a linguistic community and between linguistic communities, the study of German offers me particularly exciting insights. And isn't the moment of realization one of the most beautiful feelings in life?