Passages: Moving beyond Liminality in the Study of Literature and Culture

An interdisciplinary exploration of the concept of passages.

The study of literature and culture is marked by various distinct understandings of passages—as both phenomena and critical concepts. These include the anthropological notion of rites of passage, the shopping arcades (Passagen) theorized by Walter Benjamin, the Middle Passage of the Atlantic slave trade, present-day forms of migration and resettlement, and understandings of translation and adaptation. This book explores passages as contexts and processes within which liminal experiences and encounters are situated. Based on the premise that concepts travel through times, contexts, and discursive settings, the volume enables a meaningful exchange regarding passages across disciplinary, national, and linguistic boundaries. Contributions from senior scholars and early-career researchers whose work focuses on areas such as cultural memory, performativity, space, media, (cultural) translation, ecocriticism, gender, and race utilize specific understandings of passages and liminality, reflecting on their value and limits for their research.

Elizabeth Kovach is the coordinator of the literary and cultural studies doctoral program and a postdoctoral researcher at the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture at the Justus Liebig University Giessen. 

Jens Kugele is head of research coordination at the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture at the Justus Liebig University Giessen.

Ansgar Nünning is a professor of English and American literary and cultural studies at the Justus Liebig University Giessen.