Dr. Matthias Fechner

Associate Reseacher

Active for the Research Team in Trier:

01/10/2017 - 31/12/2022

Email:

fechner@uni-trier.de

Phone:

+49 651 201 4938

Room:

DM 117

Project Affiliation:

F1 – Transition of genre boundaries
F2 – Transition of language boundaries
F3 – Transition of cultural boundaries
F4 – Transition society boundaries

Research Focus:

Interdisciplinary studies: literature and literary studies in combination with economics, political science, pedagogy/didactics and philosophy/ethics
Teaching/didactics in intercultural contexts
Contemporary English poetry (from 1985)
History of pedagogy and educational policy
Comparative Literature Studies since 1900

Current Research Projects:

Die englischsprachige Dichtung der Gegenwart: A German exposé can be found here.

Publications:

Recently published:

Literaturwissenschaft

Themen- und Sammelbände

Mit Henrieke Stahl (Hrsg.): Subjekt und Liminalität in der Gegenwartsliteratur. Band 2: Schwellenzeit – Gattungstransitionen – Grenzerfahrungen. Berlin Peter Lang, 2020.

Mit Henrieke Stahl (Hrsg.): Wiederkehr des Subjekts? Streifzüge durch Philosophie, Theorie und die Lyrik in der Gegenwart. Berlin Peter Lang. Erscheint: 2022.

Mit Friederike Reents und Kirstin Zeyer (Hrsg.): Trierer Poetikvorlesungen. Berlin Edition Rugerup. Erscheint: 2022.

Aufsätze / Überblicke

Vorsprung durch Lyrik? Kreatives Schreiben als vitales Element einer Lehrkunst zur Freiheit der Gesellschaft. In: Pädagogische Rundschau 5/2021. 567-584

Der Baum, das Gedicht und die Prüfung. Kleine Anthologie der französischsprachigen Gegenwartsdichtung [Über Naturlyrik von Andrée Chedid, William Cliff, Vénus Khoury-Ghata, Abdellatif Lâabi, Claude Vigée, Philippe Jaccottet und Anise Koltz]. In: Braun, M. / Valtolina, A. (Hrsg.), Bäume lesen. Europäische ökologische Lyrik seit den 1970er Jahren. Würzburg Königshausen & Neumann. 2021. 161-180

Liminale Entwicklungen. Ein Blick auf die Darstellung ökonomischer Zusammenhänge in der deutschsprachigen Literatur. Vom Sturm und Drang bis zur Gegenwart. In: Ders. / Stahl, H. (Hrsg.), Subjekt und Liminalität in der Gegenwartsliteratur. Band 2: Schwellenzeit – Gattungstransitionen – Grenzerfahrungen. Berlin 2020. 41-57.

An incomplete history of contemporary German-language poetry. PN Review 255 / 2020. 48-52.

Lyrische Erkenntnisvollzüge am Beispiel schulischer Erfahrungen in der englischsprachigen Gegenwartsdichtung. In: Internationale Zeitschrift für Kulturkomparatistik. 1 (2019). 183-209.

Aufsätze / Fokussiert

Das zuverlässig unzuverlässige Subjekt. Gerhard Falkners „Apollokalypse“ (2016) im literaturgeschichtlichen Kontext des Berlinromans. In: Stahl, H. / Fechner, M. (Hrsg.), Wiederkehr des Subjekts? Streifzüge durch Philosophie, Theorie und die Lyrik in der Gegenwart. Berlin Peter Lang. Erscheint: 2022

Aufsätze / Fokussiert / Zur Veröffentlichung angenommen

Realm of Resistance. Poetry in European regional languages and the limits of machine translation [on machine translations of poems by Gerhard Falkner, Nico Helminger and Claude Vigée]. In: Maria Khotimsky et al.: Contemporary Translation in Transition: Forms of Interaction, English, German, and Russian Poetry. Studies in Comparative Literature and Intellectual History. Boston Academic Studies Press. 2022.

Contemporary nature poetry. A study of four poets: Gerhard Falkner, Edwin Morgan, Robert Hass and Les Murray. In: Kirstin Zeyer und Henrieke Stahl (Hrsg.): Band zum Thema ‚Natur‘ in der Gegenwartslyrik. Erscheint: 2022

The loss of home in contemporary English-language poetry. A study of six poets: Kwame Dawes, Sasha Dugdale, Seamus Heaney, Yusef Komunyakaa, John McAuliffe and Franz Wright. Band zum Thema ‚Existenz‘ in der Gegenwartslyrik. Erscheint 2022

Bildungspolitik

Der Mensch als Ziffer? Pädagogik vor der Digitalisierung. In: Coincidentia. Band 11/1 (2020). 243-282.

Digitalisierung statt Menschenbildung? Eine Weichenstellung für die Zukunft. In: GEW-Zeitung Rheinland-Pfalz. 9/2020. 12-14.

Die Demenz des kulturellen Gedächtnisses. Zur Lage der Gegenwartslyrik in Deutschland. In: FAZ 28. Januar 2019. 13.

Wenn Hochschulen zu Wirtschaftsunternehmen werden. GEW-Zeitung Rheinland-Pfalz. 7-8/2019. 16-18.

Work in progress:

The Unaccompanied – Poetic Expressions of the Working Classes in England, In: Wolfgang Görtschacher and David Malcolm (eds.): Poetries of England, 2000-2040. Anglica special issue 2022

„They think it’s all over!“ – Die Fußball-WM 1966 in England als Katalysator der Kommerzialisierung des Sports. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Sportwissenschaft e. V. 01.-03.07.2022

A complete list can be found here (in German).

Project-based Achievements:

A list of project-based archivements can be accessed via this link [in German].

Career:

Current Academic Positions

Since 1 July 2019: Postdoctoral Researcher (Research Initiative Rhineland-Palatinate) and Research Associate at German Research Foundation – Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities FOR 2603 “Russian-Language Poetry in Transition” at the University of Trier

January – December 2018: University of Trier – Fellow of the German Research Foundation at Research Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities FOR 2603 “Russian-Language Poetry in Transition” (Research Topics: Contemporary Poetry in English / Teaching [of Poetry] in Societal Contexts)

Januar 2016 – December 2017: Cusanus University College, Bernkastel-Kues – Research and Teaching in General Studies and Economics, Director Public Relations / Head of Student Recruitment and Enrolment

Professional Career

2010 – 2015: Head of Department (‘Politics and Economics‘); Teacher of Politics and Economics, English, German, History; Residential Administrator Boarding School (mentor for an intercultural group with students from China, Russia and Latin America); Archive Administrator; Liaison Teacher; Editor of School Annual: Odenwaldschule, Heppenheim, Germany

2005 – 2011: Acting Principal (2006-2010), Head of Department (‘History and Social Studies’); Teacher of English, German, History and Social Sciences, Teacher Trainer and Guest Lecturer at FH Mannheim (Today: Alanus Hochschule, Campus Mannheim); Provisional State School Examination for Social Studies: FWS Heidelberg, Germany

1999 – 2006: Founder Teacher for the Upper School (Classes 9 – 13). Head of Department (English). Teacher of English, German, History and Social Studies; Provisional State School Examination for English, German and History: FWS Boeblingen/Sindelfingen, Germany

Academic Degrees and Professional Training

1998 – 1999: Postgraduate Degree: Waldorf Education. Subjects: English, German, History, German as a Foreign Language. [Training schools in Trier, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Moscow]: FH Stuttgart

1995 – 1998: PhD: Thesis on ‘Comparative study of 34 extremist novels and plays of the inter-war period against the background of Hannah Arendt’s Theory of Totalitarianism’ (Supervisor: Moray McGowan) – University of Sheffield Bursary; Petrie-Watson-Grant. Related Subjects: German Studies, Comparative Literature, History, Politics: University of Sheffield.

1995 – 1996: Substitute Teacher for German and French: The Brunts School, Mansfield (GB).

1989-1990: DAAD Scholarship: BA 3rd year. Subjects: English Literature, Government, Economics, Geography: University of Manchester / Manchester Business School.

1988-1994/5: M.A.: Thesis on ‘The cyclical development of graphic literature in Germany and the United States’ (Supervisor: Reinhard Doehl). Subjets: Comparative Literature (English, American and German Studies; Political Science; Philosophy): University of Stuttgart

1986-1987: MOS Bremerhaven / 3rd FPGB SQ Flensburg

1986: Königin-Charlotte-Gymnasium, Stuttgart – Abitur

Miscellania

Guest Lectures / Papers held at the Universities of Aalborg (DK), Tver (Russia), Tehran (Iran), Lisbon (Portugal), Waseda/Tokyo, Kobe (both Japan), Bergamo (Italy), Georgetown and Harvard (United States).

Selected as Representative for Germany at the Teachers’ Workshops of the European Council’s Pestalozzi Programme: 2005 Göteborg, Sweden (on inclusion); 2008 Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, 2011 (on the teaching of contemporary history after 1945); 2011 Nicosia, Cyprus (on the teaching of history in divided countries)

Member of the Curriculum Commission for Waldorf Schools in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (2003/4)

Draft and compilation of A-level exams / Zentralabitur (‘Politics and Economics’) in the federal state of Hesse (2013-15)

Policy Advisor to Education and Science Workers’ Union (on Tertiary Education; state and federal level)

Policy Advisor to German Green Party (on Tertiary Education; state level)

Advisor to 40 village schools threatened with closure in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (2016)

Major Teaching Projects

Field Trips

11 self-organised field trips and school exchanges, including history workshops and on-the-job-training involving schools in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Principal destinations are underlined. All field trips to Russia, Poland and Ukraine were financially supported by Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart, Stiftung-Deutsch Russischer Jugendaustausch and/or several Jugendämter.

2000: Petrosavodsk-St Petersburg

2001: Berlin-Moscow-Petrosavodsk-St Petersburg

2003: Przemyśl-Kiev-Odessa

2004: Kiev-Odessa

2006: St Petersburg

2008: Moscow-Tver-St Petersburg

2012: Moscow-Tver

2013: Moscow-Tver-St Petersburg

2014: Berlin-Warsaw-Nałęczów-Lublin

2015: Prague-Krakow-Nałęczów-Lublin-Warsaw-Berlin

Other, mostly self-organised field trips: London (2000, 2001); Norderney: training of ecological dyke construction (2006); Greece: Peloponnese and Athens (2009), Rome and Cinque Terre (2010); Berlin: visits to the Bundestag et al. (2007; 2008; 2013); Weimar-Hugoldsdorf/Mecklenburg-Berlin (2010); Dresden-Görlitz-Terezín (2011); Passau-Vienna-Bratislava (2012); Berlin-Uckermark-Szczecin (2013)