North American Literary and Cultural Studies (NAMLitCult) is a section of the Department of English at Saarland University. 

Dedicated to the study of the literatures and cultures of North America, our research and teaching engages North American literatures and cultures from early colonial encounters to postmodern cultural practices. While we study the literary and visual cultures from the colonial period up to the 21st century, there is a strong focus on border literatures, U.S. Latino/a literature, Indigenous Studies, Early American literatures, feminist literatures, Canadian literature, and the global dimensions of North American literatures and cultures. In general, our research projects take transdisciplinary, transhemispheric, and comparative approaches and include the theories and methods of Cultural Studies, Border Studies, Body Studies, and Gender Studies.

The team of North American Literary and Cultural Studies at Saarland University (NamLitCult) is part of the following research networks and centers:

• UniGR-Center for Border Studies (UniGR-CBS), incl.
  • working group Bordertextures
  • UniGR-CBS Border Glossary
• Center for Canadian and Quebec Studies | Centre d'Études Canadiennes et Québécoises (CCQS | CECQ)
• Kulturwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft e.V. (KWG)
  • Dr. Tobias Schank is currently serving as the treasurer (2025-)
  • NamLitCult @ UdS currently hosts the KWG head office (2025-)

NamLitCult contributes to the teaching offer of the following programs:

• BA “English: Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures”
• MA American Studies | MA American Studies/British Studies/English Linguistics (FAQ: yes, you can focus on American Studies. no, you don't need any German!)
• Teaching Degree English
• Master in Border Studies (joint degree program offered by Saarland University together with Université de Lorraine, Université du Luxembourg, and Rheinland-Pfälzisch Technische Universität. taught in English, French, and German. FAQ: yes, you need all 3 languages!)
• BA Cultural Studies und Management (Saarland University & Hochschule für Musik Saar)
• BA “Digital Humanities” (minor)
• Zertifikat “Gender Studies”
• Zertifikat “Angewandte Pop-Studien”
• Zertifikat “Digitalität. KI. Gesellschaft”
• Erasmus Blended Intensive Program on “Borders” (University of Turin, Italy)

In cooperation with Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Saarland, we organize and host the annual “UdS American Studies Graduate Forum” to offer students and junior researchers of American Studies and related disciplines a dedicated event to present their research, exchange thoughts, and build networks.

Furthermore, we regularly organize / host / contribute to summer schools, workshops - check out our website and social media and stay tuned!

The team of North American Literary and Cultural Studies at Saarland University (NamLitCult) is part of the following current research and collaboration projects:

• DIES International Deans Training Course Latin America (IDCLA, funded by BMZ, DAAD, HRK)
• Saar-Ukraine University Network (SUUN, funded by BMFTR, DAAD)
• Border Chronotopes (DAAD Eastpartnership)

If you want to find out more about past projects such as the DFG-funded IRTG 1864 “Diversity: Mediating Difference in Transcultural Spaces” (2014-2022) that Saarland University conducted with Trier University and Université de Montréal, the BMBF research project "Linking Borderlands: Dynamiken grenzregionaler Peripherien" (lead Prof. Florian Weber), the Erasmus project "Distance Education for Future" (DEFEP; project lead: Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Mykolaiv, Ukraine), etc., our Volkswagen project “Borders in Crisis” or our DataPin project !AI Across Borders," please check out our project archive!

NamLitCult is affiliated with the following institutions, centers, networks,…

…at and around Saarland University:

• UniGR-Center for Border Studies (UniGR-CBS)
• Cluster für Europa-Forschung (CEUS)
• Transform4Europe (T4EU)
• Forum Geschlechterforschung

… in Saarland:

• Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Saarland (DAI)

…scholarly / research associations:

• Association for Borderlands Studies (ABS)
• American Studies Association (ASA)
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Amerikastudien (DGfA)
• Gesellschaft für Kanadastudien (GKS)
• Kulturwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft e.V. (KWG)