Susanne Gruß

Prof. Dr. Susanne Gruß is Chair of English Literature at the Department of English and American Studies, Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg since April 2024. Previously, she was Professor of English Literature and Culture with a focus on Gender and Queer Studies at the University of Cologne (2022-2024) and held visiting professorships at the universities of Bonn, Passau, and Frankfurt/Main. She serves as Head of Examination Board for MA English and American Studies and as representative of internationalisation at Bamberg University.

Her academic background includes:

• M.A. in English literature, German literature, and Contemporary History from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (2001)
• Ph.D. in English literature with summa cum laude (2007), published as "The Pleasure of the Feminist Text: Reading Michèle Roberts and Angela Carter" (Rodopi/Brill 2009)
• Habilitation (2020) on "The Laws of Excess: Law, Literature, and the Laws of Genre in Early Modern Drama"

Prof. Gruß's research spans two primary temporal domains: contemporary British literature and early modern English literature. Her specializations include gender studies and feminist theory, neo-Victorianism, Black British writing, film adaptation, and the cultural implications of the fungal world. In early modern studies, she focuses on revenge tragedy, tragicomedy, collaboration in theatre, early modern piracy, and law and literature. Across both fields, she examines popular culture, canonization, and genre formation with an interdisciplinary approach that often bridges legal studies and literary analysis.

Her recent publications reveal a growing interest in fungal studies and posthumanism within literary contexts, alongside continued engagement with neo-Victorianism and early modern drama. There's a clear interdisciplinary trajectory connecting her work on law and literature with explorations of collaborative authorship across historical periods. Her scholarship demonstrates consistent attention to questions of gender, queerness, and marginalized perspectives within both contemporary and historical frameworks.

Her scientific awards include:

• FAU-Lehrpreis für Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen und Nachwuchswissenschaftler (2020)
• Travel grant from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (2019)
• DAAD travel grant (2017)
• DAAD scholarship for academic year at Trinity College Dublin (1997-98)
• Stipendium nach dem Bayerischen Begabtenförderungsgesetz (1995-2001)

Prof. Gruß actively mentors students and supervises final theses, with specific guidelines available on her Padlet page. She has served on numerous editorial boards including Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik and Journal for the Study of British Cultures. Her academic service extends to peer reviewing for multiple journals and participation in professional organizations such as the German Association for the Study of English and the European Society for the Study of English.

At Bamberg University, she leads the Chair of English Literature, which participates in various extracurricular activities including the Book Club and the University English Drama Group. The department hosts events such as the Winter Workshop and Shakespeare productions, fostering a vibrant literary community beyond the classroom.