Robin M. Aust

Dr. Robin M. Aust is a Research Associate at Bielefeld University's Faculty of Linguistics and Literature, where he works with Prof. Dr. Berenike Herrmann on Collaborative Research Center 1288 (CRC 1288) Subproject E06: Practices of Comparison in the Genesis, Perpetuation, and Transformation of 'National Literature.' The Case of German-Speaking Switzerland. His research focuses on comparative literary practices, with particular expertise in German-speaking Swiss literature and its relationship to broader German-language literary traditions.

Aust earned his Bachelor's degree in German Studies (core subject) and Philosophy (minor subject) from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf starting in 2009, followed by a Master's degree in German Studies from the same institution beginning in 2012. He worked as a Research Associate at the Chair of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Herwig in the Department of Modern German Literature from 2016, completing his doctoral thesis in 2021 titled "Basically, everything that is said is quoted." The intertextual and transfictional reception of Thomas Bernhard (summa cum laude). Since 2023, he has been affiliated with Bielefeld University.

His research interests span intertextuality, intermediality, and metafictionality in contemporary literature, with specializations in pop literature, Austrian literature since 1945, Swiss literature and literary history, comics and literature, film and literature, and digital literary studies. Aust's work often examines comparative practices across national literary traditions, particularly focusing on the boundaries and connections between Swiss German-language literature and broader German-language literary production.

Aust's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on comparative literary analysis, with particular attention to Thomas Bernhard's reception, Swiss literary identity, and intermedial transformations. His work combines traditional literary analysis with digital humanities approaches, as evidenced by his research on automated detection of textual comparisons in constructing national literary identities. He frequently collaborates with Berenike Herrmann and other scholars on interdisciplinary projects examining spatial dimensions in literature and comparative methodologies.

• Heinrich Heine University Teaching Award 2020 for the seminar 'Something's happened again.' Crime novels from a literary perspective (awarded in the 'Young Researchers' category with €10,000)
• Nomination for the seminar 'Of Whores, Gangsters, and Losers. Jakob Arjouni's Crime Novels and Stories' (Winter Semester 2023) in the 'eLearning' category
• Carl-Wambach-Preis (SoSe 2015) for the linguistically and content-wise best Master's thesis in German Studies

As a Research Associate on CRC 1288, Aust participates in one of Germany's most prestigious collaborative research initiatives funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). His work contributes to the project's examination of comparative practices across disciplines. He has organized several academic conferences, including 'Der Flohmarkt ruft' (2023) and 'Comparing Landscapes' (2023), and has been involved in digital humanities initiatives examining Swiss literary identity through computational methods. His current research explores the complex relationship between spatial concepts, national identity, and literary production in German-speaking Switzerland.