Networking
New visiting professor for Irish Studies at the University of Wuppertal
Dr Loic Wright is currently a visiting professor for Irish Studies at the University of Wuppertal // Photo Friederike von Heyden
"We are delighted to have Dr Loic Wright, a proven expert in Irish literature and culture, as a guest at our school. In the field of Irish Studies, this guest professorship is attracting a great deal of interest worldwide," reports Prof Rennhak. "Our students will certainly benefit from Loic Wright's exciting teaching programme, as will research in Wuppertal Irish Studies."
His public lectures at the BUW and at the universities of Saarland, Tübingen and Würzburg, which are also involved in the project for the visiting professorship "The Travelling Visiting Professor in Irish Studies", are intended to contribute to the networking of Irish Studies in Germany.
Research interests
Wright's research is at the interface of literary and cultural studies and is particularly interested in postcolonial literary theories, gender studies, biopolitics and censorship.
His doctoral thesis, which Loic Wright submitted to University College Dublin in 2023, has just been published by Routledge. It examines how literary texts helped to redesign concepts of masculinity after centuries of colonial oppression and the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922. He has also published on the topic of 'masculinity in Irish culture' in international journals and podcasts. His current research focuses on comparative literature and locates Irish literature in a wider European context.
Dr Wright has worked as a cultural ambassador for the James Joyce Cultural Centre Dublin and as a translator and international media officer for the Irish Tourist Board. He has also taught at the International Learning Academy in Dublin and given seminars on Irish literature and culture to students at the University of Tucson, the University of New Haven and Aarhus University in Denmark.
Together with the visiting professor, the members of Wuppertal Irish Studies led by Prof Rennhak are planning a symposium in cooperation with the Centre for Narrative Research at the university of Wuppertal on the topic of "Narrating Ireland: Social Transformation and Individual Development (1950-2025)": Social Transformation and Individual Development (1950-2025)"). The event is scheduled to take place in June 2026.
