At the University of Giessen, I wish to facilitate work on the nexus between political and artistic practices and academic analysis, and am interested in mentoring projects concerning cultural approaches to law/Law and Humanities, the politics of form, critical media studies, American Studies, and feminism and sexuality studies. The Center for Diversity, Media, and Law promotes anti-discrimination measures and critical media literacy, and investigates how legal norms interact with diversity and media. The Center participates in The Global Law and the Humanities Mentorship Program.
News
Two Doctoral Research Positions (60%, TV-H E13) for four years in Visual Media, Migration, and Human Rights — Applications open until 15 October 2026
The Center for Media, Diversity, and Law (DiML) at the University of Giessen invites applications for two fixed-term Research Associate positions (m/f/d), starting on 1 January 2027. The positions are embedded in the externally funded research project “Images of Migration as Sites of Contested Humanrightization in Germany, Italy, and the United States.” The project is part of the DFG funded research unit “Human Rights Discourse in Migration Societies (MeDiMi)” (FOR 5321). Candidates must be qualified to complete a PhD in American or English Studies and have experience dealing with media texts.
The positions offer the opportunity to complete a doctoral degree while contributing to the ongoing comparative analysis of legacy and social media visualizations of migration. The project seeks to understand the entanglements of these representations with human rights discourse and attitudes towards migration. The project is situated at the nexus of cultural, media, and legal studies, and is part of a larger effort to theorize the advance of human rights discourse in migration societies.
Position 1: Visual Representations of Migration in Germany and the U.S.A.
Focus on differences in legacy and social media visual representations of migration intended for U.S. American and German audiences.
Position 2: Visual Representations of Migration in Italy and the U.S.A.
Focus on differences in legacy and social media representations of migration intended for U.S. American and Italian audiences.
Applications, including a CV, a cover letter describing your motivations, and relevant documents should be submitted via the JLU careers website by 15 October 2026. For inquiries, please contact Maureen Schwarz, B.A. (maureen.schwarz@anglistik.uni-giessen.de) or Felix van Groningen, M.A. (felix.van-groningen@anglistik.uni-giessen.de).
The essay collection Law, Narrative, Narratology – Interdisciplinary Essays (NYU Press, 2026), edited by Greta Olson and Simon Stern has been published and is available here.
From Law and Literature to Legality and Affect (OUP, 2022) by Prof. Greta Olson is now available as an open-access publication. Access the book here.
“Law and Critique / Recht und Kritik” (2025): Available now open access.
- Now available as open access: Olson, Greta (2022). “Metaphor” / “Metaphoric Fictionality in Poems about Migration and in Anti-Immigration Discourse.” Fictionality and Literature: Core Concepts Revisited. Ed. Lasse Raaby Gammelgaard, Stefan Iversen, Louise Brix Jacobsen, James Phelan, Richard Walsh, Henrik Zetterberg-Nielsen, and Simona Zetterberg-Nielsen. Ohio State UP. 182-211.
- Interview (only available in German): “Minneapolis: Sprengkraft für den gesellschaftlichen Frieden in den USA“, Interview for hrINFO (26 January 2026).
- Out now: Bung, Jochen, Franziska Martinsen, Hanna Meißner, Greta Olson, Christian Schmidt and Benno Zabel, eds. (2025). Ökonomie als Gesellschaftstheorie. Kontrovers. Neue Diskurse zur Gesellschaft. Baden-Baden: Verlag Karl Alber.
Contact
Professor Greta Olson
Institut für Anglistik
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Otto-Behagel-Straße 10 B
35394 Giessen, Germany
Tel: +49 641 – 99 30091 or – 99 3031 (Administrative Assistant)
Fax: +49 641 – 99 30099
Email: Greta.Olson@anglistik.uni-giessen.de
Office hours during the semester: Please register online through Stud.IP.
The photograph above was taken in 2016 by Salar Baygan for a project on celebrating white hair initiated by Andrea Leicher, Oliver Metzler, and Nicolai Tilov.