Our goal
The Institute for Writing Studies is an interdisciplinary research institute. Its members bundle and initiate writing research and development projects on writing in the workplace, at SRH University and on creative and literary writing in various contexts.
The aim of the institute is to facilitate and promote research and development projects in writing studies. In this way, it makes the interdisciplinary expertise of actors in writing studies visible both in the theoretical field and in practice and contributes to national and international networking.
As a cultural technique, writing is such a self-evident activity that it was initially overlooked as a subject of research for a long time. Gradually, it came to the attention of various academic disciplines, which look at writing from very different perspectives, with different questions and methodological approaches (e.g. in psychology, linguistics, educational science, German didactics, literary studies, translation studies, cultural studies, neuroscience, technical sciences, etc.). At the same time, a field of practice has emerged in recent decades, particularly at universities, which is dedicated to writing didactics and writing consultancy, i.e. the question of how writing can be taught, supported and used as a learning medium in different subjects. These two developments are currently giving rise to a new discipline in the German-speaking world: writing studies. “This discipline not only examines the contexts, processes and practices of writing itself and the ideas associated with writing and learning to write in specific contexts, but also asks what forms of support for learning to write are commonly used there and how they can be further developed.” (Girgensohn et al. 2021, 31).
The Institute for Writing Studies offers a broad framework for these developments. The research projects of the researchers associated with the Institute use different empirical methods and different theoretical approaches; are linked to discourses from different disciplines; investigate, for example, writing processes, writing products (i.e. written texts), the learning and teaching of writing as well as writing as a medium for learning and reflection; refer to different languages.
On the one hand, the Institute is located in the traditional line of US-American writing research and, on the other hand, has its roots in the interdisciplinary German-language discourses on writing studies, such as those represented by the professional associations and working groups gefsus e.V. (Society for Writing Didactics and Writing Research; Germany), GewissS (Society for Scientific Writing) or Forum wissenschaftliches Schreiben (Switzerland).
Possible topics for research in writing studies can be found here.
The Institute for Writing Studies was founded by
- Prof. Dr. Kirstin Bromberg (Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences),
- Prof. Dr. Sarah Brommer (University Bremen),
- Prof. Dr. Katrin Girgensohn,
- Prof. Dr. Nadja Sennewald und
- Prof. Dr. Kirsten Schindler (Bergische University of Wuppertal).
The other current members of the Institute for Writing Studies are active in writing studies research at various universities and institutions in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Belgium and Switzerland. The ISW now has a second location at the University of Bremen.
Additional members are welcome from all disciplines from the doctoral phase onwards. (Further information and application form here.)
Membership of the Institute for Writing Studies (ISW)
Members of the Institute actively research and publish in the field of writing studies. They are listed on the Institute's homepage, can participate in the general meetings, are invited to develop the Institute together and can use the Institute as an institutional framework for research proposals. Membership is free of charge. The directors decide on membership at regular intervals. Application for membership.
Persons involved
Academic Directors:
More detailed information on the Institute for Writing Studies (in German)
