Aims
In many countries around the world, English serves as a principal language of communication. In nations as diverse as India, Canada, Zimbabwe or Jamaica, it has also become a significant language of literary production.
ASNEL represents academics, teachers and students from Germany, Europe and overseas who have engaged in the study of these literatures which, to greater or lesser degrees, stand outside the British and US-American literary canon. These studies concentrate on those countries which were once colonies of Britain. Colonial rule, for some of them, has continued far into the twentieth century. Many of today's political and social issues are closely connected to this historical experience. At the same time, new forms of culture have emerged everywhere in the English-speaking world in the wake of cultural globalisation, based on transnational connections between societies and individuals, migratory movements and diasporic communities.
In contrast to other associations specializing on single countries or regions, ASNEL is interested in wide-ranging and comparative views as well as interdisciplinary approaches. A major aim is thus an all-embracing literary and cultural geography of the English-speaking regions of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Canada, Australia, the Pacific regions and Aotearoa / New Zealand. Another major concern lies in a comparative perspective on the role of English as a – at times contested – medium of communication, cultural interaction and literature. Thus ASNEL also promotes the study of diaspora and transcultural literature, for example in the UK.
Activities
The establishment of the New Literatures in English in research and teaching has been propagated at German universities since the 1970s. ASNEL, founded in 1989, has contributed to the consolidation and continued growth of NLE university programs by creating opportunities for dialogue such as:
· yearly conferences with the participation of numerous academics and writers from Commonwealth Countries; the publication of conference papers in the ASNEL yearbooks.
· the publication of ACOLIT, the ASNEL newsletter. One volume per semester informs members about new publications; contains specific NLE university programs in all German-speaking countries; offers the latest news on conferences and meetings; provides more detailed information concerning the development of NLE programs at German universities through articles and academic essays.
· by supporting dialogue between academics, students and authors at an international level, ASNEL contributes to general intercultural exchange and international interest in the New Literatures in English.
ASNEL's aim is to communicate with colleagues and authors from our field, and not just to talk about them. ASNEL thus regularly invites writers and academics from all over the English-speaking world to its conferences and provides a responsive network for writers and academics interested in lectures and readings in German-speaking countries.
ASNEL also promotes interdisciplinary perspectives relating to history, sociology, ethnology and cultural anthropology, linguistics and media studies.
Supporting Young Academics
ASNEL is serious about supporting young academics and students in their NLE studies: students and doctoral candidates can become full members of ASNEL (at reduced rates); they are welcome at our yearly conferences and represented on the ASNEL presidential board.
Every two years, ASNEL students organize a "Summer School" on the New Literatures in English. This is a conference at which authors and academics give students of English an insight into the cultural and literary variety of their field of study. ASNEL provides organisational and financial support as well as academic specialists for lectures and seminars.
As the New Literatures in English are not yet a regular feature of research and teaching at all universities, the acceptance of theses and dissertations has often been a problem at such institutions. ASNEL endeavours to provide information and support for all interested academics and students about NLE programs at their respective universities.
The recently implemented GNEL-map (see www.gnel.de/map) allows students, post-graduates and other users to find universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland where New Anglophone Literatures and Cultures as well as Varieties of English are regularly taught. It provides direct access to profiles of institutions and individual researchers specializing in these areas.
Contact & Membership
Today, the Association for the Study of the New Literatures in English has more than 230 members. If you are interested in academic exchange on these literatures; if you seek information on academic, cultural, political, and economic contact with countries from which these literatures have emerged; if you are keen on dialogues with authors and scholars - we invite you to become a member of this growing and dynamic association.
Interested? Please write to:
Association for the Study of the New Literatures in English (ASNEL)
Prof. Dr. Mark Stein
Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Johannisstr. 12-20
48143 Münster
Email: M.Stein.GNEL@gmail.com
Currently, the annual membership fee is € 50,- or € 20,- (student rate).
For our work, we depend on private sponsorship. We are thankful for every donation we receive. ASNEL is officially registered as a public-interest association; all donations are tax-free.
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