Humanities

In Romance Studies, as represented by French and Spanish, research on the French and Spanish contemporary novel, French contemporary theatre, and urban visions in the French literature of the 18th century is currently in preparation (Prof. Cerstin Bauer-Funke). A book pro­ject entitled "Die Affaire Foucquet oder von den Schattenseiten des Sonnenkönigs Ludwig XIV.", which follows on from previous studies of 17th century France, is scheduled for completion in 2009.
In the field of Spanish linguistics, Prof. Alf Monjour devoted his attention in 2007 and 2008 to describing current trends in contemporary language at the intersection between social developments and mass-media influences. Work also continued in anticipation of a research project dedicated to Spanish discourse markers and their German translations.
Prof. Helmut C. Jacobs’ monograph on Francisco de Goya’s Caprichos and their reception in the arts was published in 2006 and marked the starting point for further work in this field.During the Expo 2008 international exposition in Zaragoza, he contributed to a Spanish-German work, Aragonien. Interkulturalität und Kompromiss, with an essay entitled “Die Aktualität von Francisco de Goyas Capricho 43 – Aspekte seiner Interpretation und internationalen Rezeption in bildenden Künsten, Literatur und Musik”. Prof. Jacobs also collaborated on one of the largest Goya exhibitions of recent years, Goya e Italia (Goya and Italy), which similarly took place during Expo 2008, with a piece entitled “Los monstruos del sueño de la razón: el mundo visionario de Goya” for the two-volume exhibition catalogue. Through his work in this field he is now one of the most highly regarded contemporary Goya scholars. Following on from Duisburg, Bremen, Essen, and Saarbrücken, a multi-media Goya exhibition put together by Prof. Jacobs has been on show in Berlin since February 2009.
After completing work on a volume entitled “Aufklärung” in 2007, Prof. Roland Galle’s current research focuses on existentialism, portraiture and the novel. He is presently working on a comprehensive monograph, for which several individual papers have already been published. This work is part of a DFG-sponsored network, headed by Dr. Kirsten Dickhaut (University of Gießen), under the title of “Liebessemantik” [Semantics of Love].