Oliver Simons

Oliver Simons

Oliver Simons studied German literature, cultural studies, and philosophy at Humboldt-University in Berlin, where he received his Dr. phil. in 2005. His teaching and research interests focus on literature and science, post-colonial studies, the "end" around 1800, and literary theories. 

His first book, a comparative study on spatial concepts in philosophy, empirical psychology, art history, and literature around 1900, appeared in 2007: Raumgeschichten: Topographien der Moderne in Philosophie, Wissenschaft und Literatur (Wilhelm Fink Verlag). His second monograph, a book on literary theories, was published in 2009 (Literaturtheorien zur Einführung. Junius Verlag). He has co-edited volumes on German colonialism (Francke Verlag 2002), Kafkas Institutionen (Transcript 2007), Ingeborg Bachmann and the media (Vorwerk 2008), and The Oxford Handbook of Carl Schmitt. His most recent book, Literary Conclusions: The Poetics of Ending in Lessing, Goethe, and Kleist examines how textual endings around 1800 correspond with theories of causality and conclusion. He is currently completing two monographs, Reading as Method and Understanding Theory. Oliver is also the editor of the peer-reviewed journal The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory.