TRANSATLANTIC APPROACHES TO CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE IN THE ERA OF TRUMP

ended

This Action addresses one of the societal challenges addressed by the EU’s H2020 strategy, “Europe in a changing world—inclusive, innovative and reflective societies,” by focusing attention on the breakdown of the postwar liberal consensus between Europe and the United States—visible in the resurgence of right-wing populisms and hegemonic nationalisms in the last decade—by means of interdisciplinary research in in the fields of literature, cultural studies, and politics. By applying a transatlantic approach to the analysis of contemporary American and European literary texts, the research component of the Action aims to renew and actualize the modes of interpretation in the field of transatlantic literary studies, to produce critically-informed readings of contemporary fiction that is responding to the crisis of transatlanticism (understood as a shared belief system), and thus to offer insight into systems of representation, the articulation of structures of power and knowledge, and how these can be re-imagined through literary fiction. The Action will be undertaken by Dr. Resano at Dartmouth College (United States) and UCD (Ireland) under the supervision of Prof. Donald Pease and Prof. Liam Kennedy, two leading experts in the fields of American Studies, literary theory, and cultural studies. It is designed to contribute to the Fellow’s career development and employability through the acquisition of core research and transferable skills, to strengthen the existing collaboration between two leading research centers in Europe and the US—thus contributing to the H2020 strategy of spreading excellence and strengthening Europe’s competitiveness—and to inform public opinion and wield influence in the debates around the rise of populisms in Europe and the US in the last decade, offering a renewed and innovative perspective on some of the priorities identified in the EU’s H2020 framework, thus contributing to Europe's ability to address societal challenges in the future.