From the 9th to the 11th of May 2024, Christine Schwanecke and her team at the Department of English Studies hosted a symposium of the European PhDnet “Literary and Cultural Studies”, a three-year doctoral programme situated at Justus Liebig University (JLU) and six other partner universities across Europe. Given its focus on cutting-edge, transdisciplinary research and international exchange, the participants spent three intense and productive days at their fourth symposium at the University of Graz.
On the first day, progress reports by the doctoral candidates were followed by a keynote lecture by Prof. Dr. Vera Nünning entitled “In Pursuit of Excellence, Happiness and Wellbeing: Promoting Positive Change”. The second day was dedicated to in-depth feedback on PhD students’ draft chapters – ranging from ecocriticism and the musicalisation of Anglophone fiction to Greek mythology and postsecular art – and rounded off by a second keynote by Prof. Dr. Sonja Rinofner-Kreidl, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Graz, who spoke about “Emotional Self-Regulation and the Destructive Power of Arrogance in Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler”. A city tour and a behind the scenes tour of Schauspielhaus Graz were part of the supporting programme of this symposium: Who knew there was a double winding stair case by Leonardo da Vinci in the heart of Graz? Who knew about the turbulent history of Graz’s main theatre house and its intricate, complex current stage technology?
On the final day, Dr. Marie Dücker enthused students with a master class entitled “Narrating the Anthropocene: Climate and Climate Change in Graphic Narratives” featuring, amongst others, discussions about the narrative qualities of an anthropomorphised version of the Great Pacific garbage patch. After that, a guided tour through Eggenberg Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site, left a lasting impression on the symposium participants because of its stunning state rooms, lavish gardens, and peacocks, the real landlords of the castle.