Pavan Malreddy

PD Dr. Pavan Malreddy is a Professor (Privatdozent) at the Institute of English and American Studies, Goethe University Frankfurt, specializing in 20th and 21st-century comparative Anglophone literatures and cultures. His research focuses on conflicts, migration, populism, and postcolonial studies with regional expertise in East Asia, Africa, South Asia, and the Arab world. He co-edits Kairos journal and serves on advisory boards for Philosophy, Politics and Critique and The Journal of Alterity Studies and World Literature.

His research explores the intersections of violence, identity, and narrative in global contexts, addressing themes like insurgencies, communal bonds, and postsecular dynamics. Malreddy's work bridges literary analysis with political theory, examining how literature reflects and shapes societal conflicts across the Global South.

Recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on global conflict narratives, postcolonial theory, and cultural representation. Trends include examinations of environmental politics (ecopolitics of waste), religious dissent in visual media, Brexit's colonial legacy, and theoretical frameworks for understanding populism and violence in literature. His scholarship frequently employs interdisciplinary approaches connecting literary studies with political science, anthropology, and film theory.

Awards and Honors:

• Feodor Lynen Senior Fellowship Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2025)
• Nominee, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize, DFG (2018)
• Faculty of Humanities' Best Dissertation Award, Chemnitz University of Technology (2011)

Advising and Grants: Malreddy supervises doctoral candidates working on topics ranging from Nigerian historical films to Arab dissent literature. He secured significant funding including €4.2 million for the DFG Graduiertenkolleg 'Configurations of Film' and €9.7 million for the Excellence Cluster 'ConTrust: Trust in Conflict'. His projects examine political coexistence under uncertainty and aesthetic dimensions of conflict.

Affiliations: He leads the 'Democratic Vistas' research group and has organized major conferences including 'Contested Solidarities' (2022) and 'Towards World Critical Theory' (2023). Malreddy collaborates with international networks like the Global Precarity Network and frequently hosts prominent authors and theorists at Goethe University.