معرفی
Thomas Boyken is Professor of Children's and Young Adult Literature at the Institute of German Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. He has held this position since July 1, 2023, following his tenure as Junior Professor for Children's and Young Adult Literature from October 2019 to June 2023. Previously, he served as a Junior Lecturer for Modern German Literature at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen from 2014 to 2019, and held various academic positions at Oldenburg University since 2007.
Boyken completed his doctoral dissertation on masculinity representations in Friedrich Schiller's dramatic works with distinction (summa cum laude) in December 2012. His academic journey includes positions as Special Teaching Staff (Lehrkraft für besondere Aufgaben) at Oldenburg University from 2009-2014, focusing first on Media Studies and later on Modern German Literature, and a brief period as Guest Lecturer at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun in 2013.
His research focuses on Children's and Young Adult Literature from the 18th to 21st century, with particular expertise in Michael Ende studies, drama theory, narratology, and media theory. Boyken's scholarly work explores literary anthropology, gender representations in literature, and the theoretical frameworks of narrative and media studies, with significant contributions to understanding the materiality of texts and oral/written storytelling traditions in children's literature.
His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on philosophical dimensions of children's texts, urban representations in literature (particularly Berlin), and the relationship between contemporary German authors like Cornelia Funke and literary traditions. His work reveals a sophisticated approach to analyzing how historical contexts shape children's narratives across centuries.
- Member of the Lower Saxony Literature Commission (since 2024)
- Co-editor of the Yearbook of the Society for Children's and Young Adult Literature Research (since 2024)
- Member of the German Academy for Children's and Young Adult Literature Volkach (since 2021)
- Jury member of the Friedrich-Hölderlin-Prize (since 2020)
- Director of the Oldenburg Research Center for Children's and Young Adult Literature (OlFoKi) (since 2020)
Boyken has organized numerous international conferences including 'Michael Ende: Poetik und Positionierungen' (2022), 'Philosophische Fragen im Spiegel der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur' (2021), and 'Von Mund- und Handwerk' (2021). His current teaching includes courses on historical perspectives of childhood and youth, youth literature and military masculinity, and supervision of bachelor's and master's theses in literary studies.
