Mrs. Milevski, what are you currently working on?

I have just finished an article on the representation of sexualized violence in 19th century literature, which will soon be published in the "Text/Körper" anthology. This topic has accompanied me since my PhD on narrative modes of gendered violence in German-language novels around the year 2000. I am also giving a seminar on post-Soviet discourses of remembrance in literature, theater, and film, which I really enjoy and which ties in with a current research project with a colleague at the University of Trier, which is about literature of Eastern European influence that portrays memory and identity across borders – transnationally, transgenerationally, but also transgender. Lastly, I am currently finalizing our publication with the "Plausibilization of Literary Interpretations" (ArguLit, University of Göttingen) working group with exciting results on working and arguing in literary studies.

Why did you decide on a career path as a lecturer?

For me, teaching and research go hand in hand, so the job profile of a lecturer suits me very well. I have as much freedom as a professor, I can raise and spend my own money, work independently, and, thanks to the focus on teaching, I'm less obliged to constantly formulate new third-party funding applications, even when creativity doesn't allow it. Furthermore, this position is a real alternative to a professorship, as it gives me the security to plan and pursue teaching projects, program development, and research projects in the longer term.

Would you choose this career path again, and if so, why? 

Yes, I would choose the lecturer position again. The discussions surrounding the German Academic Fixed-Term Contract ActWissZeitVG, #ichbinhanna, and #ichbinreyhan have clearly shown that there is an urgent need for action in the area of mid-level academic staff. Structures and job profiles must be changed in order to create and maintain a functioning academic system. The job profiles in Bremen – (senior) researcher and lecturer – are an important step in this direction. I am of course proud to be part of an initiative that takes the current shortcomings in academia seriously.