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Languages, Literatures, & Cultures

Prof Rebecca Braun

D.Phil, MA, BA, PG Cert

Contact Details

Executive Dean
E: rebecca.braun@universityofgalway.ie
 
researcher
 

Biography

Rebecca Braun joined the University of Galway in 2021 to take up the position of Executive Dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies. Before then, she was Professor of Modern Languages & Creative Futures at Lancaster University in the UK, where she was also Co-Director of the Institute for Social Futures from 2017-2020. She has held further lectureships and research fellowships at the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester and Oxford in the UK and at the Freie Universität Berlin. She grew up in West Cork and Tipperary and likes nothing better than a good long run outdoors.

Research Interests

Rebecca's work explores how literary texts can drive new ways of thinking about the future, both as objects of analysis (traditional literary criticism) and as a co-creative process (practice-focused workshops using creative writing techniques). This futures work builds on a deep understanding of the power of people and stories, which she has traced in numerous books on authorship, world literature, transnationalism, and cultural value. Most recently, these include Authors and the World: Literary Authorship in Modern Germany (Bloomsbury 2022), World Authorship, co-edited with Tobias Boes and Emily Spiers (Oxford: OUP, 2020) and Transnational German Studies, co-edited with Benedict Schofield (Liverpool: LUP, 2020). In her current projects and speaking engagements, Rebecca highlights the power of creative practice and the importance of linguistic and cultural difference to contemporary  futures thinking as undertaken by a variety of governmental, industry and third sector stakeholders. 

Contract Researchers

  Researcher Name Project Role Funding Body
Orla Lehane Literary Futures Postdoctoral Research Associate
Maria Roca Lizarazu Literary Futures Post-doctoral Research Assistant

Books

  Year Publication
(2022) Authors and the World: Literary Authorship in Modern Germany.
Braun, Rebecca (2022) Authors and the World: Literary Authorship in Modern Germany. New York: Bloomsbury. [DOI] [Details]
(2008) Constructing Authorship in the Work of Günter Grass.
Braun, Rebecca (2008) Constructing Authorship in the Work of Günter Grass. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [DOI] [Details]

Edited Books

  Year Publication
(2020) Transnational German Studies.
Braun, Rebecca; Schofield, Benedict (Ed.). (2020) Transnational German Studies Transnational German Studies. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. [DOI] [Details]
(2020) World Authorship.
Boes, Tobias; Braun, Rebecca; Spiers, Emily (Ed.). (2020) World Authorship World Authorship. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [DOI] [Details]
(2010) Cultural Impact in the German Context : Studies in Transmission, Reception and Influence.
Braun, Rebecca; Marven, Lyn (Ed.). (2010) Cultural Impact in the German Context : Studies in Transmission, Reception and Influence Cultural Impact in the German Context : Studies in Transmission, Reception and Influence. Rochester, N.Y: Camden House. [Details]
(2008) Changing the Nation: Günter Grass in International Perspective.
Braun, Rebecca; Brunssen, Frank (Ed.). (2008) Changing the Nation: Günter Grass in International Perspective Changing the Nation: Günter Grass in International Perspective. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann. [Details]

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2018) 'Pacing out a Polyglot Poetics: An Interview With Ulrike Draesner At The Victoria & Albert Museum'
Braun, Rebecca (2018) 'Pacing out a Polyglot Poetics: An Interview With Ulrike Draesner At The Victoria & Albert Museum'. German Life And Letters, 71 (11):111-129 [DOI] [Details]
(2018) 'Doing German Differently: New Research Practices And Partnerships Around The UK'
Braun, Rebecca; Schofield, Benedict (2018) 'Doing German Differently: New Research Practices And Partnerships Around The UK'. German Life And Letters, 71 (33):374-394 [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'The world author in Us All: Embodying Literary Celebrity In Multiple Media'
Braun, Rebecca (2016) 'The world author in Us All: Embodying Literary Celebrity In Multiple Media'. Celebrity Studiescelebrity Studies, 7 (44):457-475 [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'Re-Viewing Literary Celebrity'
Braun, Rebecca; Spiers, Emily (2016) 'Re-Viewing Literary Celebrity'. Celebrity Studiescelebrity Studies, 7 (44):449-594 [DOI] [Details]
(2015) 'World Authorship'
Braun, Rebecca; Piper, Andrew (2015) 'World Authorship'. Seminar: A Journal Of Germanic Studiesseminar: A Journal Of Germanic Studies, 51 (22):81-199 [Details]
(2015) 'Introduction: The Rise of the World Author from the Death of the World Literature'
Braun, Rebecca (2015) 'Introduction: The Rise of the World Author from the Death of the World Literature'. Seminar: A Journal Of Germanic Studiesseminar: A Journal Of Germanic Studies, 51 (22):81-99 [DOI] [Details]
(2014) 'Embodying Achievement: Thomas Bernhard, Elfriede Jelinek, and Authorship as a Competitive Sport'
Braun, Rebecca (2014) 'Embodying Achievement: Thomas Bernhard, Elfriede Jelinek, and Authorship as a Competitive Sport'. Austrian Studies, 22 :121-138 [DOI] [Details]
(2014) 'Prize Germans? Changing Notions of Germanness and the Role of the Award-Winning Author into the Twenty-First Century'
Braun, Rebecca (2014) 'Prize Germans? Changing Notions of Germanness and the Role of the Award-Winning Author into the Twenty-First Century'. Oxford German Studies, 43 (11):37-54 [DOI] [Details]
(2011) 'Fetishizing Intellectual Achievement: The Nobel Prize and European Literary Celebrity'
Braun, Rebecca (2011) 'Fetishizing Intellectual Achievement: The Nobel Prize and European Literary Celebrity'. Celebrity Studiescelebrity Studies, 2 (33):320-334 [DOI] [Details]
(2010) '1967-2007: The Gruppe 47 as a Cultural Heimat'
Braun, Rebecca (2010) '1967-2007: The Gruppe 47 as a Cultural Heimat'. German Quarterly, 83 (22):212-229 [DOI] [Details]
(2008) 'Mich in Variationen erzählen: Günter Grass and the Ethics of Autobiogaphy'
Braun, Rebecca (2008) 'Mich in Variationen erzählen: Günter Grass and the Ethics of Autobiogaphy'. Modern Language Review, 103 (44):1051-1066 [DOI] [Details]
(2004) 'The Art of Self-Construction: Günter Grass's use of Camus and Orwell in Headbirths or The Germans Are Dying Out'
Braun, Rebcca (2004) 'The Art of Self-Construction: Günter Grass's use of Camus and Orwell in Headbirths or The Germans Are Dying Out'. Comparative Critical Studiescomparative Critical Studies, 1 (33):323-336 [DOI] [Details]
(2004) 'Introduction: The Role Of The Translated Text In Britain Today'
Beard, Rebecca; Garvey, Brenda (2004) 'Introduction: The Role Of The Translated Text In Britain Today'. EnterText, 4 (33):1-12 [Details]
(2004) 'Shelving Translation'
Beard, Rebecca; Garvey, Brenda (2004) 'Shelving Translation'. EnterText, 4 (33) [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2022) 'World Author: On Exploding Canons and Writing Towards More Equitable Literary Futures'
Braun, Rebecca (2022) 'World Author: On Exploding Canons and Writing Towards More Equitable Literary Futures' In: Globalization and Literary Studies. :226-244 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [DOI] [Details]
(2021) 'Really Existing Utopias: Co-Creative Authorship in the Literary Works of 20th and 21st-Century German-Language Women Writers'
Braun, Rebecca (2021) 'Really Existing Utopias: Co-Creative Authorship in the Literary Works of 20th and 21st-Century German-Language Women Writers' In: Gegenwartsliteratur: Ein germanistisches Jahrbuch. :343-362 Tübingen: Stauffenburg. [Details]
(2022) 'Literary Futures: What Fiction can tell Policy Makers'
Braun, Rebecca (2022) 'Literary Futures: What Fiction can tell Policy Makers' In: The Routledge Handbook of Social Futures. :189-197 Abingdon: Routledge. [DOI] [Details]
(2020) 'Introduction'
Braun, Rebecca (2020) 'Introduction' In: Twenty-First-Century Approaches to World Authorship. :1-16 Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Details]
(2020) 'Networks and World Literature: The Practice of Putting German Authors in their Place'
Braun, Rebecca (2020) 'Networks and World Literature: The Practice of Putting German Authors in their Place' In: Transnational German Studies. :97-113 Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. [DOI] [Details]
(2020) 'Celebrity: On the Different Publics of World Authorship'
Braun, Rebecca (2020) 'Celebrity: On the Different Publics of World Authorship' In: World Authorship. :30-44 Oxford: Oxford University Press. [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'Being Günter Grass: Appropriations of the Tin Drum Author in the British Media'
Braun, Rebecca (2016) 'Being Günter Grass: Appropriations of the Tin Drum Author in the British Media' In: The Echo of Die Blechtrommel in Europe: Studies on the Reception of Günter Grass's The Tin Drum. :97-119 Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers/ Brill Academic. [DOI] [Details]
(2013) 'Famously literary? The Nobel Prize and Herta Müller's Authorial Body'
Braun, Rebecca (2013) 'Famously literary? The Nobel Prize and Herta Müller's Authorial Body' In: Herta Müller. :224-241 Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Details]
(2011) 'Daniel Kehlmann, Die Vermessung der Welt: Measuring Celebrity through the Ages'
Braun, Rebecca (2011) 'Daniel Kehlmann, Die Vermessung der Welt: Measuring Celebrity through the Ages' In: Emerging German-Language Novelists of the Twenty-First Century. :75-88 Rochester, N.Y: Camden House. [Details]
(2011) 'Günter Grass's Ein weites Feld (Too Far Afield)'
Braun, Rebecca (2011) 'Günter Grass's Ein weites Feld (Too Far Afield)' In: The Novel in German since 1990. :35-49 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Details]
(2011) 'Wandelnde Mythen: Zur populären Darstellung Ingeborg Bachmanns und der Gruppe 47'
Braun, Rebecca (2011) 'Wandelnde Mythen: Zur populären Darstellung Ingeborg Bachmanns und der Gruppe 47' In: Mythos Bachmann: Zwischen Inszenierung und Selbstinszenierung. :110-130 Vienna: Zsolnay. [Details]
(2010) 'Mich in Variationen erzählen: Günter Grass and the Ethics of Autobiography'
Braun, Rebecca (2010) 'Mich in Variationen erzählen: Günter Grass and the Ethics of Autobiography' In: German Life-Writing in the Twentieth Century. :121-136 Rochester, NY: Camden House. [Details]
(2010) 'Cultural Impact and the Power of Myth in Popular Public Constructions of Authorship'
Braun, Rebecca (2010) 'Cultural Impact and the Power of Myth in Popular Public Constructions of Authorship' In: Cultural Impact in the German Context. :78-96 Rochester, NY: Camden House. [Details]
(2010) 'Introduction: Cultural Impact in Theory and Practice'
Braun, Rebecca (2010) 'Introduction: Cultural Impact in Theory and Practice' In: Cultural Impact in the German Context. Rochester, N.Y.Rochester, N.Y: Camden HouseCamden House. [Details]
(2009) 'Authorial construction in From the Diary of a Sail and The Meeting at Telgte'
Braun, Rebecca (2009) 'Authorial construction in From the Diary of a Sail and The Meeting at Telgte' In: Cambridge companion to Günter Grass. :96-110 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Details]
(2008) 'Der alte Fuchs und die Medien: Autorschaft und Öffentlichkeit in Grass neueren Werken'
Braun, Rebecca (2008) 'Der alte Fuchs und die Medien: Autorschaft und Öffentlichkeit in Grass neueren Werken' In: Die Medien und Günter Grass. :29-39 Cologne: SH-Verlag. [Details]
(2008) 'Günter Grass as a World Author'
Braun, Rebecca, (2008) 'Günter Grass as a World Author' In: Changing the nation: Günter Grass in International Perspective. :194-209 Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann. [Details]
(2006) 'Sticks and Stones May Break my Bones... The Aesthetic Enactment of Violence in the Work of Elfriede Jelinek'
Braun, Rebecca (2006) 'Sticks and Stones May Break my Bones... The Aesthetic Enactment of Violence in the Work of Elfriede Jelinek' In: Violence, Culture and Identity in Germany and Austria. :343-358 Oxford: Peter Lang. [Details]
(2004) 'Speaking the Language of Culture: Elfriede Jelinek and James Joyce Writing the Homeland'
Braun, Rebecca (2004) 'Speaking the Language of Culture: Elfriede Jelinek and James Joyce Writing the Homeland' In: Beziehungen & Identitäten: Österreich, Irland und die Schweiz. :191-202 Bern: Peter Lang. [Details]

Report

  Year Publication
(2020) Three Creative Futures Methods for Imagining Life in a Post-Antibiotic World.
Braun, Rebecca; Curry, Andrew; Gatherer, Derek; Kyne, Karena; Spiers, Emily (2020) Three Creative Futures Methods for Imagining Life in a Post-Antibiotic World. Lancaster: Institute for Social Futures, Lancaster University Report [Details]

Translation

  Year Publication
(2011) Daring to Play: A Brecht Companion.
Wekwerth, Manfred; transl. Braun, Rebecca (2011) Daring to Play: A Brecht Companion. London: Routledge Translation [Details]
(2008) Re-Berth: 'Everyone has a Skeleton in the Cupboard'.
Becker, Artur; transl. Braun, Rebecca (2008) Re-Berth: 'Everyone has a Skeleton in the Cupboard'. Manchester: Comma Press Translation [Details]
(2008) Re-Berth: 'Midday Mania'.
Parmann, Claudia; transl. Braun, Rebecca; (2008) Re-Berth: 'Midday Mania'. Manchester: Comma Press Translation [Details]
(2002) Shannon.
Damaris Kofmehl; transl. Braun, Rebecca (2002) Shannon. London: Hodder and Stoughton Translation [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2011 Max Kade Prize for Best Article American Association of University Teachers of German
2001 Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Higher Education Academy, UK Fellow 01-JAN-12 /

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
Research Excellence Framework 2021 - UoA 26: Modern Languages & Linguistics Interdisciplinary Research Advisor 01-JAN-18 / 31-DEC-20
Universities of Excellence - German Excellence Strategy, Federal Republic of Germany Assessor for Arts & Humanities 01-JAN-18 / 31-DEC-18
Gegenwartsliteratur International Advisory Board Advisor 01-JAN-17 / 31-DEC-21
'Creative Multilingualism' OWRI Project Advisory Board Board Member 01-JAN-16 / 31-DEC-20
German Life & Letters Editorial Board Editor 01-JAN-15 /

Consultancy

  Client Description
US Department of Defense
'Harnessing Futures & Foresighting Techniques": Service learning module designed and delivered to Joint Intermediate Public Affairs Course
US Department of Defense
'Harnessing Futures & Foresighting Techniques": Service learning module designed and delivered to Joint Intermediate Public Affairs Course
Defence Science & Technology Laboratory [DSTL], UK
Named technical lead on scoping project, '#SharedStories: Giving Defence and Society a Way to See Their Shared Futures'

Teaching Interests

Rebecca welcomes all enquiries for PhD supervision broadly in the areas of literary / creative futures, (world) authorship, the sociological contexts in which literature is created and sustained, and 20th and 21st-century German-language literature.

Recent Postgraduate Students

  Graduation Name Degree Primary Supervisor
2018 Cornelia Wech PhD