Profil

Dr. Schäfer-Althaus joined the department in 2014. Before coming to Koblenz, she studied literary, cultural, and media studies/language and communication at the University of Siegen (B.A.) as well as English and American literary and cultural studies at the University of Paderborn, where she received her master’s degree (2010) and Ph.D. (2015).

Her publications include the monograph The Gendered Body: Female Sanctity, Gender Hybridity and the Body in Women’s Hagiography (2016) and four edited collections on Transient Bodies in Anglophone Literature and Culture (2020), Medicine and Mobility in Nineteenth-Century British Literature, History, and Culture (2023), Traveling Bodies: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Traveling as an Embodied Practice (2024), and Stand, Beruf(ung), Geschlecht: Umbrüche und Transformationsprozesse im gesellschaftlichen und kulturellen Wandel (2025). She is currently working on several book projects: one on Vulnerable Bodies; another provisionally entitled Passionate Encounters: Desire and Shame(lessness) in Eighteenth-Century British Literature and Culture, 1660–1830; and a third, a monograph on Aquatic Matters in Nineteenth-Century British Literature, History, and Culture. Dr. Schäfer-Althaus’ research interests include medieval and eighteenth/nineteenth-century literature and cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies, body theory, medical and blue humanities, and children’s literature.

She also completed the RLP Certificate for University Didactics, is a certified Writing Coach, Career Development Coach, and Systemic Coach (Practitioner), and is currently completing professional training to become a certified Prüfungs- und Auftrittscoach. She was nominated for the RLP State Teaching Award in 2018, 2022, and 2024. In addition to her role in our department, she is actively involved in our International Day events and coordinates several of our international collaborations with higher education institutions in the United States and Canada.

For a short CV and further info - see her LinkedIn profile

Faculty and Departmental Commitment and Responsibilites

• Module Appointee: M4 (B.Ed. English), M2.3 and M3 (2FBA)
• Academic Advisor: Zwei-Fach Bachelor Englisch (B.A.)
• Committee Member: Fachausschuss Studium und Lehre, Faculty II
• International Coordinator: Fisher College (USA), Winona State University (USA), Victoria Island University (CAN), Summitt Elementary School Texts (USA, paused), GET-Exchange (Scotland, paused)
• Committee Member and Co-Organizer: International Day Uni Koblenz
• Mentor: IFGPZ mentoring programs, ERC-Mentoring Program German Association for the Study of English (Deutscher Anglistikverband e.V.), MentorMe Germany, and Netzwerk Chancen.

Research

Digital Identifiers:

• ORCID: 0000-0003-2581-8389
• Scopus: 58646836300

Research Areas:

• British literary and cultural history from the 17th century to the present with focuses on the 18th and 19th centuries.

• Medieval literature up to 1500.

• Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Body Theories
• Medical Humanities with focuses on literary and cultural constructions of birth, pregnancy, and motherhood (1700-Present) as well as the intersections of medicine and mobility in the 19th century
• Children’s Literature and Young-Adult Fiction
• Amatory Fiction
• Erotica and Pseudo-Erotica (17th-18th century)
• Blue Humanities
• History of Emotions

Research Projects (Ongoing):

• Vulnerable Bodies. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Vulnerability in Nineteenth-Century History, Literature, and Culture (with Miriam Läpple, Phd, 2025-2029)

• Bodies of Water: Aquatic Agency in Nineteenth-Century British Literature, History, and Culture (ongoing)

• Passionate Encounters: Negotiating Desire and Shame/-lessness in Eighteenth-Century British Literature and Culture (ongoing)

Publications (Most Recent/Forthcoming):

• "Traveling Bodies and Transience." Oxford Handbook of Mobility in Literature, ed. by Nicole Dib, Jacqueline Foertsch, and Stéphanie Ponsavady, Oxford UP, (forthcoming).

• (with Michaela Bill-Mrziglod). Stand, Beruf(ung), Geschlecht. Umbrüche und Transformationsprozesse im gesellschaftlichen und kulturellen Wandel. Universitätsverlag Winter, (2025). Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift. Beihefte.

• (with Nicole Maruo-Schröder und Uta Schaffers). Traveling Bodies: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Traveling as an Embodied Practice. Routledge, 2024. Routledge Research in Travel Writing.

• (with Sandra Dinter). Medicine, and Mobility in Nineteenth-Century British Literature, History, and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, 2024. Studies in Mobilities, Literature and Culture.

Teaching

Term Papers (M5-M6):

Students enrolled in my classes who need to fulfill the LN/Prüfungsleistung requirement are expected to produce a critical and innovative paper. This paper should have a strong focus on literature or culture, either centered on one of the texts studied in class or exploring questions and ideas that arose during the semester. Given the diverse range of time periods, genres, and phenomena covered in my courses, students are encouraged to pursue research projects aligned with their individual interests.

To initiate this process, students must submit a brief proposal (minimum 300 words, one page) outlining their chosen research topic for approval by the instructor before proceeding. Additionally, all students undertaking term papers in my courses must schedule at least one in-person meeting with me to discuss their projects.

The term paper itself should adhere to specific guidelines: it must be between 4000-6000 words unless otherwise specified in the respective "Prüfungsordnung" for your degree program. Furthermore, written work must follow the formatting guidelines outlined in the MLA Handbook (9th Edition) for accurate quotation and citation, as well as adhere to the style sheet available on the department's website. Finally, a minimum of eight secondary sources must be included in the Works Cited section of the term paper.

Note: Students have to submit an abstract of 300 words including a working title (electronically, docx.-format), thesis statement, and at least three references before writing their M5, M6, or M8 papers. The submission deadline is always six weeks before the end of the semester’s lectures. This deadline also applies to students from previous M5–M8 seminars who intend to write their paper with me.

Supervision

I welcome discussion about possible bachelor/master thesis projects from students interested to engage with topics in accordance with my research areas (s. Research). If you plan to write your bachelor's or master's thesis with me as your first reader, please schedule an appointment for individual consultation about your topic idea ahead of time. Before I sign any official documents for the HPA, you will have to submit a research proposal about your topic (ca. 2 pages), in which you outline your project idea (preliminary arguments, scientific relevance, research question, primary sources) and, most importantly, your working thesis. Your proposal should be accompanied by a time frame for the project and a list of sources (primary/secondary) you intend to use. Only proposals meeting all of these requirements will be accepted - if I feel that your thesis abstract is too vague, unanswerable or lacks a clear focus/thesis you will have to revise and resubmit.

Please note: I work only part-time for the University of Koblenz. Thus, I only take on 1-2 B.Ed. theses or 1 M.Ed. thesis as first reader per semester. I have currently no more capacities until spring 2026.

Thesis Writing Mastery (OLAT-Course) for my thesis candidates (password needed)

Before any bachelor’s or master’s thesis meeting, please read, complete, and bring the document ‘Thesis Meeting Guide’