Elizabeth Ramsey

Dr. Elizabeth Ramsey is the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Early-Career Research Fellow at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, affiliated with the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics in the German section. She received her PhD in German Literature from the University of Chicago in 2024 with a dissertation on play concepts in German literary texts from the long nineteenth century.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in German Literature from the University of Chicago (2024)
• MSt in German from the University of Oxford (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council)
• BA in German with Italian Studies from the University of Warwick
• Two years of research in Berlin at Humboldt-Universität and Freie Universität

Dr. Ramsey's research focuses on modern German literature from the Enlightenment to present, specializing in play theories, Goethe Studies, Romanticism, fairytales, and literary modernism. She examines how literary play scenes have structural significance in narratives and explores the connection between play and agency in literature. Her teaching includes German language courses and specialized topics like German monsters and comparative fairy tales.

Her notable recognition includes:

• Publications of the English Goethe Society Essay Prize (2024) for her essay 'Wie ich euch ein Beispiel gebe: Goethe's Egmont, theatricality and myth'

Dr. Ramsey is currently developing a book based on her dissertation while conducting new research on Arthur Schnitzler using the Cambridge Schnitzler Archive, with particular focus on his depiction of female figures and reception of other German writers. She actively contributes to German literary scholarship through her interdisciplinary approach bridging literary analysis, cultural studies, and theoretical frameworks related to play and agency.