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Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesDepartment of English I

B.A. and M.A. Theses

Available thesis advisors for B.A. and M.A. theses at the Department of English I (ES I) include:

  • Prof. Dr. Heinz Antor (Postcolonial Literature, British Literature)

  • Prof. Dr. Susanne Gruß (British Literature and Culture)

  • Prof. Dr. Andrea Gutenberg (British and American Literature and Culture)

  • Jun.-Prof. Dr. Judith Rauscher (North American literature and culture)

  • Dr. habil. Johanna Pitetti-Heil (Senior Lecturer (Akademische Rätin) in Gender and Diversity Studies)

If you want to write your final thesis with Jun.-Prof. Dr. Judith Rauscher, send her an email that includes the following information:

  • your full name and student ID

  • the topic(s) you are interested in / your (preliminary) topic idea (f. ex. 'Topic X & Y in the primary material A).

  • the authors/ artists and/or the primary works you would like to write about

  • when you want to start writing your thesis and when you want to hand it in

Please get in contact via email as early in the process as possible to ask whether JProf. Rauscher is available for supervision. 

If you are unsure about whether your chosen topic is suitable, or if you want additional feedback on a topic before proposing it, consider discussing your ideas and questions with our research assistant Melisa Köroğlu before booking a slot in Prof. Rauscher's office hours. You can reach Melisa Köroğlu via email at mkoerog1[at]uni-koeln.de.

Please note that JProf. Rauscher can only supervise final theses that focus on topics/ primary sources related to the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean (in certain cases). Once JProf. Rauscher has agreed to supervise your thesis, you can book a slot in her office hours via the scheduler to discuss your topic. You should discuss your topic during her office hours at least once before registering for your final thesis.

Before beginning research on your final thesis, please check out the handouts in the 'writing a term paper' section of this page. While you of course need to adapt the number of pages mentioned in the "5-Part-Essay" handout to the length of your final thesis, I recommend that you employ a 5-part structure in your final thesis as well. It can sometimes make sense to switch part 2 (framing/context) and part 3 (theory/ concepts). What matters is that your thesis provides both framing/ context and theory/concepts before you move on to your analysis. Context and concepts set the stage for your analysis and define the terms of the argument presented in part 4 of your paper. The choice of framing and theory should thus make sense in relation to your analysis and help your reader to understand your argument.

You can find a list of final theses (B.A. and M.A.) that other students have written with Jun.-Prof. Dr. Judith Rauscher here.