Hard Times is an international journal that publishes two annual issues. It offers short articles, discussions, and interviews that critically engage with current cultural and literary discourses or political debates in Great Britain and beyond.

Founded in 1978 in Berlin, Hard Times was initially a newsletter that offered an alternative to other, more conservative German-British institutions and media outlets. The general sense of crisis during the Thatcher-era inspired its title, Hard Times, with a nod to Charles Dickens.

In the mid-1980s, Hard Times became a print journal, with Jürgen Enkemann as chief editor. The journal gained visibility in and outside of university contexts and was awarded the journalism price of the Verband Deutscher Anglisten in 1994.

Hard Times was hosted at various German universities and published its 100th issue in 2016.

In 2017/2018, the journal found a new host institution at the University of Potsdam, with Anke Bartels, Georgia Christinidis, and Dirk Wiemann as the editorial team and is now published in a new format as an Open Access Journal.

 

Hard Times Advisory Board
Aileen Behrendt | Sebastian Berg | Dietmar Böhnke | Stefani Brusberg-Kiermeier | Jessica Fischer | Jana Gohrisch | Frauke Hofmeister | Michael Krause | Irmgard Maassen | Luke Martell | Christian Schmitt-Kilb | Mark Schmitt | Jörg Strehmann | Stephanie Sumner