Off the Road (ERC Project)

Menu

Author: TimoAdminMueller

‘A Venture into the Void of Un-vironmental Thought’, Talk by Natalie Dederichs (University of Cologne), 29th January 2026

  Lecture We warmly invite you to the lecture “A Venture into the Void of Un-vironmental Thought” by Dr. Natalie Dederichs. When: Thursday, January 29, 5:00–6:30 p.m. Where: University of Konstanz, Room H 305 Dr. Natalie Dederichs’s research focuses on the study of literary texts that engage with environmental issues, particularly at the intersection of ecocriticism […]

Timo Müller (University of Konstanz) Presents the Off the Road Project at FISH Online Panel on Automobile Infrastructures, 9th December 2025

Talk The OffRoad Project is represented at an online panel hosted by the Federation of Infrastructure Scholars in the Humanities (FISH). The event, co-organized by Caroline Levine, takes place on December 9 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. (ET) and is held via Zoom. The panel focuses on automobile infrastructures and brings together three leading scholars in […]

The OffRoad Project Hosts “Infrastructure | Time | Aesthetics: An Exploratory Workshop”, 4th–5th December 2025

Workshop We are pleased to announce the exploratory workshop “Infrastructure | Time | Aesthetics“, held on 4–5 December 2025 at the Bischofsvilla. Everyone is warmly invited to attend. The workshop assembles scholars from across the humanities to explore new ways of thinking about sociocultural dimensions infrastructure, with a focus on questions of time and aesthetics. […]

Research Update from Gilberto Mazzoli on the Environmental History of Roadkill

Blog post Gilberto Mazzoli, postdoctoral scholar in North American Environmental History, has recently published a new blog post for the OffRoad project, presenting ongoing research on the environmental history of roadkill. The post, titled “Collisions: Driving Through Digital Humanities in Search of Roadkill,” is available here. Last year, Gilberto was awarded the ESEH–Gale Fellowship in […]

Interdisciplinary Workshop “Environmental Humanities Meets History of Knowledge” at the University of Konstanz, 20th-21st November 2025

Workshop Join us for the interdisciplinary workshop “Environmental Humanities meets History of Knowledge” on 20–21 November 2025 at the University of Konstanz.  The event features two hybrid keynote lectures open to everyone: Prof. Dr. Florian Sprenger on “Virtuelle Environments – Roboter als Umgebungsmaschinen” and Prof. Dr. Stephanie Zehnle on “‘Jungle Bells’: Ecology, Metallurgy and Secrecy […]

The OffRoad Project Welcomes Pascal Ehrlich as a Doctoral Researcher, 1st August 2025

Welcome! We welcome Pascal Ehrlich to the ERC Off the Road research group at Uni Konstanz. His research focuses on citizenship and automobility in American fiction, examining how the car, as a literary motif, shaped concepts of American citizenship. His dissertation, “The Engines of Democracy: How the Car Influenced American Citizenship,” argues that driving was frequently […]

OffRoad Database is Available Online

New on our website The Offroad database is finally available on our website! This database collects American road literature from the early decades of automobilty! To check it out, see the menu item “Database”!

‘1924: Modernism on the Assembly Line’ – OffRoad Research Group Presents at Conference, 17th July 2024

Conference TAlk When: 17th July Where: As part of the conference “Modernism in 1924” which takes place online. Find out more about the conference here. Organiser: Centre for Modernist Cultures, University of Birmingham Jannis Buschky, Gilberto Mazzoli, Otilia Teodorescu-Stadler, and Timo Müller of our research group will collectively present a paper titled “1924: Modernism on the […]

‘Working Bodies in Upton Sinclair’s Oil!’, Conference Talk by Jannis Buschky (University of Konstanz), 15th June 2024

Conference TAlk When: Saturday 15th June Where: As part of the conference “Infrastructures of Representation, Infrastructures of Extraction: Energy, Environment, and Literary Form in World Literatures and Cultures” at the University of Southampton, from June 14-15th. Learn more about the conference here. Organiser: School of Humanities, University of Southampton Jannis Buschky’s conference paper is titled Working Bodies […]

Melanie Frey (University of Konstanz) presents at the “Forum of Global Anglophone Literatures and Cultures“ at Goethe University, 2nd May 2024

Lecture When: 2nd May, 6-8 pm. Where: Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main Organiser: Prof. Nadia Butt, Michelle Stork Speaker: Melanie Frey Melanie Frey presented her paper titled “‘I guess there must be pioneer blood in our veins‘: Pioneering Nostalgia in Early Automobile Travel Writing.“ The talk was part of the “Forum of Global Anglophone Literatures […]

Melanie Frey (University of Konstanz) presents at EAAS Conference 2024, 6th April 2024

Lecture When: 6th April, 11 am-12.30 pm. Where: EAAS Conference 2024: “1924-2024: The American Immigrant Narrative Revisited”, Munich Organiser: European Association for American Studies Speaker: Melanie Frey Melanie Frey presented her paper titled “‘I guess there must be pioneer blood in our veins‘: Pioneering Nostalgia in Early Automobile Travel Writing.“ The talk was part of […]

Gilberto Mazzoli (University of Konstanz) presents at EAAS Conference 2024, 6th April 2024

Lecture When: 6th April, 11 am-12.30 pm. Where: EAAS Conference 2024: “1924-2024: The American Immigrant Narrative Revisited”, Munich Organiser: European Association for American Studies Speaker: Gilberto Mazzoli Gilberto Mazzoli presented his paper titled “Italianness in the United States between Migrants’ Informal Gardening Practices and Agricultural Diplomacy (1880–1912)“. The talk was part of the panel “Intersections of […]

Gilberto Mazzoli (University of Konstanz) Presents at Conference of American Society for Environmental History, 25th March 2024

conference talk When: Monday 25th March, 5-6.30 pm. Where: Conference of American Society for Environmental History 2024 Organiser: American Society for Environmental History Speaker:  Dr. Gilberto Mazzoli  Gilberto Mazzoli presented his paper titled “Italianness in the United States between migrants’ informal gardening practices and agricultural diplomacy (1880–1912)”. The talk was part of the panel “Sowing […]

‘Urban Traffic and the Question of Sustainability in the Early Automobile Novel’, Talk by Timo Müller (University of Konstanz), 21st November 2023

Lecture When: Tuesday 21st November, 5:30 pm Where: University of Stuttgart, as part of the lecture series “Neuigkeiten aus dem Imaginationslabor: Nachhaltige Metropolen und Fiktionen des Klimawandels – Diverse Perspektiven”. Join the hybrid event online by registering here. Organiser: University of Stuttgart, Department of American Literature and Culture with the IZKT and the Green Office Speaker: Prof. Dr. Timo Müller  […]

‘The Time and Subject of Oil in Edwin Lanham’s Thunder in the Earth’, Conference Talk by Jannis Buschky (University of Konstanz), 17th November 2023

Conference TAlk When: Friday 17th November Where: As part of the online “Environmental Humanities Conference” centering around new modes of thinking about the encounters between humans and the more-than-human world. Learn more about the conference here. Organiser: Journal of Ecohumanism Jannis Buschky’s conference paper “The Time and Subject of Oil in Edwin Lanham’s Thunder in the Earth” […]

Research Trip to Archives at UMass Boston: Jannis Buschky Examines Early Bicycling Collections, 24th September-1st October 2023

Research trip From 24th September to 1st October our doctoral researcher Jannis Buschky went on a research trip to the University of Massachusetts Boston. In the archives at UMass Boston, Buschky examined the collections “League of American Bicyclists records, 1880-2012” and “Phyllis Harmon: League of American Wheelmen (LAW) collection, 1880-2006”.  The largest collections on the […]

‘Political Ecology: Workshop on Environmental Humanities’ at the University of Konstanz, Co-organized with the History Department and the OffRoad Project, 14th-15th September 2023

workshop When: Thursday, 14th to Friday, 15th September Where: Bischofsvilla Konstanz, participation online only Organisers: Irmtraud Huber, Sebastian Koos, Timo Müller, MarieMuschalek and Sven Reichardt, in collaboration with the OfftheRoad project. More information and contact details on participation here.    

‘What Long-Term Negative Impacts Do Colonial Infrastructures Still Have Today?’, Interview with Timo Müller (University of Konstanz), 18th July 2023

© Tororo, Urganda, 2010, U.S. Army Foto von John Hanson. No changes made.  INTERVIEW The Association for Anglophone Postcolonial Studies (GAPS) recently elected Timo Müller as president. GAPS takes a critical look at European Colonialism and its effects. The complete interview with Timo Müller about postcolonial infrastructure can be accessed here.

The OffRoad Project Welcomes Gilberto Mazzoli as a Postdoctoral Researcher, 24th April 2023

Welcome! Gilberto Mazzoli is a PhD candidate at the Department of History and Civilization at the European Institute in Florence where he is finishing his dissertation on “Portable Natures: Environmental Visions, Urban Practices, Migratory Flows. Agriculture and the Italian Experience in North American Cities. 1880-1940”. He started his employment with the OffRoad project in April 2023.

Timo Müller and Joel Duncan at ‘Infrastructures of Racism and the Contours of Black Vitality Resistance’ Conference, 23rd-25th March 2023

Conference Timo Müller and Joel Duncan will be presenting at the ‘Infrastructure of Racism and the Contours of Black Vitality Resistance’ Conference, hosted by the Università di Torino from 23rd-25th March.   When: 23rd-25th March Where: Università di Torino, Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature Straniere e Culture Moderne Organiser: Università di Torino This conference explores the continuing and systemic infrastructures […]

ZKF Public Talk: Off the Road: The Environmental Aesthetics of Early Automobility (ERC Project Presentation) Wednesday, 26th October 2022 17:00 – 18:30

LIVE TALK with Q&A When: Wednesday, 26. October 2022, 17:00 – 18:30 Where: Bischofsvilla / hybrid Organiser: Centre for Cultural Inquiry (ZKF) Speaker: Prof. Dr. Timo Müller Moderation: Prof. Dr. Christina Wald In times of climate crisis, there is wide agreement that we need a more environmental approach to automobility. The ERC-funded Research Project “Off the Road” […]