Dr. Thomas Claviez

Biography

Thomas Claviez is a Professor of Literary Theory at the University of Bern, where he has been a faculty member since 2009. Prior to this, he taught American Studies at the University of Stavanger in Norway. He completed his Ph.D. at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies, focusing on the concept of the 'frontier myth' in American Studies. His scholarly work includes a Habilitation on the relationship between ethics and aesthetics in American literature, with a specific focus on figures such as Aristotle and Levinas. Claviez has held research fellowships at institutions including Humboldt University in Berlin and the University of California, Irvine. His publications span various topics within American Studies, including environmentalism, aesthetics, and the complexities of otherness in literature. He has supervised numerous Ph.D. and MA theses and has been actively engaged in organizing conferences and workshops related to literary theory and cultural studies. His research interests include community theory, ethics, and 20th-century American literature, making significant contributions to contemporary debates in literary studies.

Research Interests

Experience