Faculty Member, Modern Languages
Lecturer in German
German Department
About
My research revolves around explorations of male subjectivity in literature, film and on the Internet. I am particularly interested in the aesthetic representation of extreme experiences such as masochism, love, warfare and related altered states of mind.
The roots of my research are in literary representations of love and masochism which I analysed with the help of psychoanalytical and poststructuralist theory. I am currently finishing a more historical book on war literature and the figure of the sentimental war hero. This will be followed by a research project on 'voluntary self-divestiture' which will include work on corporeal and aesthetic practices aiming at a (temporary) dissolution of the self.
These are some of the authors I have been studying:
18 c: Ewald von Kleist, JWL Gleim, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, JW Goethe.
19c: Heinrich von Kleist, Joseph von Eichendorff, Theodor Fontane, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.
20 c: Ernst Jünger, Bert Brecht, Heiner Müller, Elfriede Jelinek.
21c: Doron Rabonovici. Dietmar Dath.
Swiss authors: Robert Walser, Friedrich Glauser, Christoph Geiser.
Critical theory is another strong interest of mine, for example the works of Foucault & Derrida, queer theory and gender studies in general. Recently, I have been exploring the use of Erving Goffman's theory of performance in the context of contemporary performance theory (Judith Butler, Judith Halberstam, Antke Engel). I have also been co-supervising some work in German Film Studies and would be interested in topics such as the Dr. Mabuse series, submarines on film and Monika Treut's films.
* Please feel free to get in touch if you are looking for postgraduate opportunities and thesis supervision in any of the above research areas. *
Contact Information
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/modlangs/german/staffprofiles/gratzke/
Department of German
The University
St Andrews
KY16 9PH
Scotland
