Book Launch: Mediterranean Islands and Coastal Areas – Cultural and Linguistic Diversity through the Ages

The ScienceCampus is pleased to invite you to the launch of the new volume Mediterranean Islands and Coastal Areas: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity through the Ages, published as part of the MS ISLA research network. The editors of the volume, Laura Linzmeier (U Regensburg) und Thorsten Kruse (U Münster), will offer insights into its conceptual framing and key findings. In addition, Jonas Hock (U Regensburg) will provide a retrospective on MS ISLA and present further publications from the network. The event is jointly organised by the ScienceCampus in collaboration with MS ISLA, the Institute for Romance Studies, and DIMAS.

During the book launch, the Co-editors will discuss with other contributors their work in German. The archived website of the MS ISLA Network can be found here.

Speakers

• Laura Linzmeier is Assistant Professor in Romance Linguistics (Italian, French) at the University of Regensburg. Her current project investigates the use of French in maritime transit zones during the 17th and 18th centuries, offering new perspectives on the history of French language standardization. She was co-speaker of the MS ISLA Network.

• Thorsten Kruse is a research associate at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Cyprus Studies at the University of Münster. His research interests include the modern history of Cyprus and Greece, as well as German history from 1945 to 1990. He was a member of the MS ISLA Network.

• Jonas Hock is Assistant Professor in Romance Literature at the University of Regensburg. Currently, he is deputising the Professorship for French Literature in the European Context at Saarland University, as well as at the Institut d’Études Françaises in Saarbrücken. He was co-speaker of the MS ISLA Network.
   

Contributors to the edited volume

• Jan-Christoph Marschelke is Managing Director of the Research Center for Cultural and Collective Studies at the University of Regensburg.

• Jacqueline Nießer is a research associate for the Horizon Europe Twinning project RETLAMI-SEE – Enhancing Capacities for Quality and Impactful Research on Transformations, Labour and Migration in Southeast Europe in the history department of the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) in Regensburg.

• Verena Ebermeier is a research associate in the DFG-funded project Historical Narratology and Spatial Chronistics: Origin and Foundation Narratives in Bavarian Historiography of the 15th Century at the University of Regensburg.
   

About the Network

MS ISLA (Mediterranean Studies on Island Areas) was a CITAS-funded research initiative bringing together scholars from the University of Regensburg and external partners. Running from 2020 to 2023, the network focused on the cultural and linguistic diversity of Mediterranean island and coastal regions, examined through the lens of transregional and comparative Area Studies. Given the complex regional, cultural, and political interdependencies that have shaped the Mediterranean over the centuries, MS ISLA seeked to foster multidirectional and interdisciplinary perspectives. A core aim was to consolidate and expand the University of Regensburg’s regional expertise in Mediterranean Studies in collaboration with (non-)university partners.