The University of Potsdam was a pioneer in this process. For over a decade, postcolonial studies have been a special focus of the local Institute of English and American Studies. The module “Postcolonial Culture and Literature” has been an integral part of the bachelor’s degree program in English and American Studies for just as long, and the master’s program “Anglophone Modernities in Literature and Culture” has enjoyed international popularity for years. “Over 80% of the applications for this master’s program come from the Global South. The perspectives that this contributes to teaching are extremely enriching,” explains Lars Eckstein, Professor of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures outside the UK and the US.
This special focus is about to be recognized and further expanded through an emerging field. “The university provides financial support for research areas that it considers particularly innovative or strong,” explains Nicole Waller, Professor of American Studies. Among other things, a graduate college with the University of Melbourne and a new bachelor’s program are in the planning stages.
Interdisciplinary from the start
One of the stated goals of the Postcolonial Studies Collective is interdisciplinarity. After all, postcolonial topics are not only researched in English and American studies. “So far, the focus has been on global history, Eastern European studies, Slavic studies, Romance studies, and classical philology. But we are principally open to anyone who researches these topics,” Waller assures us. This often results in interesting intersections, as Eckstein explains. “The Caribbean is a good example of the need for interdisciplinary approaches in postcolonial studies. Many of the most exciting philosophical writings of the 20th and 21st centuries emerged from the Caribbean and its diaspora. However, due to the colonial history of the Caribbean, they were published in different languages: in English, but also in Spanish, French, and Dutch. Better networking these traditions in research remains an important necessity.”
But the study collective does not only want to connect the academic world. It also wants to find new ways of making its own research accessible to a broad public. The emerging field was able to recruit Anna von Rath for this task, who is responsible for public relations and is able to draw on both her academic experience and her work as a freelance author and translator. “We want to use social media to show what it actually means to work in academia. That is why we introduce members of the collective every month,” von Rath says. “In addition, we take specific topics from our research and use a short story to show how this research plays a relevant role in all our lives.” One example of such a topic is the passport. How did it actually originate? And how much power does it really have? With some passports – such as the German one – you can enter most countries without a visa, while for those at the bottom of the list, such as Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan, this number is reduced to around 30. Freedom of travel is therefore unevenly distributed.
In addition, larger projects are being planned, “possibly an exhibition or a graphic novel,” von Rath says. In any case, the goal is to break new ground. “We all know how to write academic essays and get them published in established journals. But that mainly allows us to reach our own academic bubble. In the future, we want to better translate our research and bring it to other readerships,” Eckstein says.
Responding constructively to criticism
Recently, postcolonial studies have repeatedly been criticized – the downside of their popularity. Initially mainly from the far right, the field is now also being attacked by the bourgeois center. However, researchers agree that the best way to counter these often highly simplistic and defamatory accusations is through positive ideas and constructive projects that help straighten out the distorted image. One example is the lecture series “What Can Postcolonial Studies Do?”, planned for the 2025/26 winter semester. This is also intended to serve as a networking opportunity to draw attention to the potential of the field and establish new collaborations. In addition, another bachelor’s program is in the planning stages, to be called “Anglophone Postcolonial Studies.” This will not only be the first bachelor’s program at the University of Potsdam that can be studied entirely in English, but also the first of its kind in Germany in terms of content. “On the one hand, we want to build on the success of the master’s program ‘Anglophone Modernities’ and, on the other hand, we want to make sure that it all becomes a well-rounded whole: that you can study with a postcolonial focus in English in both bachelor’s and master’s programs,” says Waller with clear enthusiasm. The researchers also hope that this will attract students who are enrolled in similar programs in the US or the UK and are currently under political and economic pressure.
The researchers are currently working on an application for a graduate college with the University of Melbourne on the topic of “Repair.” Initiated by Potsdam professor Anja Schwarz and her colleagues in Melbourne, the college aims to provide doctoral students with a postcolonial focus at the universities in Potsdam and Melbourne with the opportunity for intensive exchange. Repair refers to a great variety of things, as Eckstein explains. “In the context of the environment, how can we repair the ‘broken planet’ without wanting to turn back time to a supposedly intact past? How can we heal relationships, for example with regard to museums, Black or Indigenous studies? Or in literary and cultural studies: How can we move away from so-called paranoid reading, which seeks to deconstruct and expose, toward constructive reading that strengthens communities, especially marginalized ones?” It’s not only about tearing down statues, as the criticism often goes, but also about visions for a better, collaborative future. “We could well imagine calling it ‘Repairing the Future,’” Prof. Waller says.
Nicole Waller is Professor of American Studies at the University of Potsdam.
Lars Eckstein is Professor of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures outside Great Britain and the USA.
Anna von Rath is a research assistant at the University of Potsdam and is in charge of public relations and communication for the emerging field.
The emerging field “Potsdam Postcolonial Studies Collective” is an interdisciplinary network of scholars at the University of Potsdam who critically examine colonialism, neocolonialism, and their consequences.
More information can be found here: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/postcolonialstudies
This text was published in the university magazine Portal - Zwei 2025 „Demokratie“. (in German)
Here You can find all articles in English at a glance: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/explore-the-up/up-to-date/university-magazine/portal-two-2025-democracy