
Forschungsprofil Research Profile
American Studies research in Dortmund is characterized by its dialogical character – by the interaction between international researchers from different countries and American cultural issues; between dominant and subversive cultural spheres; between German and American literatures and cultures; between ‘culture’ and ‘technology’; between literary texts, visual representations and electronic media; between voices from the 19th and the 21st century; between local or regional places and transnational spaces.
We view American culture as a system of relationships and focus on the investigation of the extensive historical, discursive and global network in which it is embedded. We are deeply convinced that our research needs to give voice to those individuals and groups that are not easily heard and that it is the task of Ameriacn Studies abroad to address the polyphonic diversity of our target culture and to contribute to its understanding in an international context.
Our research areas include:
- 19th Century Literature and Cultural Criticism
- African American Literature and Culture
- Gender, Family and Memory
- Transatlantic and Tansnational American Literature and Culture
- (New) Media and Popular Culture
- Spaces, Places and Regions
- Culture and Technology
For further information on our research activities, please visit the individual staff web pages.
Dissertationen Dissertations
- BERKEMEIER, M.: The American Small Town and American Suburbia in Popular Culture (AT, Gunzenhäuser)
- BRAN, R.: “Cities of the Mind”: Women’s Identities in the Modern Metropolis (AT, Grünzweig)
- DUNKEL, M.: Writing Jazz History: Emergence and Development of a New Genre (AT, Grünzweig)
- ESSMANN, B.: Demokratisierende bzw. anti-demokratisierende Einflüsse von Technologien auf die amerikanische Kultur (AT, Grünzweig)
- FURLANETTO, E.: Narratives of the Ottoman-American Empire. A Postcolonial Reading of Turkish American Writers (AT, Grünzweig)
- FEIER, J.: Imagining Alaska Natives on the Last Frontier (AT, Grünzweig)
- HEINZE, P.: God’s own country, God’s own people, God’s own music – Christliche Rockmusik in den USA (AT, Grünzweig)
- ISOM, M.: Frank Zappa (AT, Grünzweig)
- KLEMM, S.: Edith Anderson. Ostdeutsch-amerikanische Literatur- und Kulturbeziehungen (AT, Grünzweig)
- KOLAT, E.: Turkish-German and Chicano Literature (AT, Grünzweig)
- KROSA, S.: Pacifica Radio: Alternatives Radio und amerikanische Kultur (AT, Grünzweig)
- MAKEYEVA, S.: Coverage of the American Presidential Election 2008 in the Political Blogosphere: The Candidates’ Racial and Gender Tickets to the White House (AT, Grünzweig)
- MÄRTIN, A.: Hair in African American Literature and Culture (AT, Grünzweig)
- NIEHUES, W.: Something to e-mail home about - deutsch-amerikanischer Studierendenaustausch im Zeitalter des Internets (AT, Grünzweig)
- NITZSCHE, S.: Visual Media, Urban Space and The Bronx (AT, Gunzenhäuser)
- OGIHARA, E.: Anime as a Medium of Inter-Religious Dialogue: American, German and Japanese Receptions of Animism through Hayao Miyazaki’s Films (AT, Grünzweig)
- PATTENDEN, F.: A Student-centred Approach to Reading Contemporary American Television Drama (AT, Gunzenhäuser)
- SATTLER, J.: Family Secrets: Roots, memory and the South’s multiracial heritage in contemporary America (AT, Grünzweig)
- SCHLUSEN, K.: Friedrich Schönemann (AT, Grünzweig)
- THEIS, A.: Contemporary American Family Novels (AT, Grünzweig)
Veröffentlichte Dissertationen Published Dissertations (in alphabetical order)
- Cortiel, Jeanne. Passion für das Unmögliche: Befreiung als Narrativ in der amerikanischen feministischen Theologie. Arbeiten aus Amerikanistik. 30. Essen: Blaue Eule, 2001.
- Gerhardt, Christine. Rituale des Scheiterns: Die Reconstruction-Periode im amerikanischen Roman. American Studies: A Monograph Series. 96. Heidelberg: Winter, 2002.
- Greslé-Favier, Claire. Raising Sexually Pure Kids. Sexual Abstinence, Conservative Christians and American Politics. Amsterdam/New York, NY, 2009.
- Küchler, Uwe. Interkulturelle Hochschullehre: Internationalisierung am Beispiel der Amerikanistik. Bildung – Hochschule – Innovation. 6. Münster: Lit Verlag, 2006.
- Lahaye, Birgit. Pirating History: Die Darstellung des haitianischen Unabhängigkeitskampfes in der Erzählliteratur. Münster: Lit Verlag, 2002.
- Manske, Ariane. Poltical Correctness und Normalität: Die amerikanische PC-Kontroverse im kulturgeschichtlichen Kontext. Diskursivitäten: Literatur. Kultur. Medium. 2. Heidelberg: Synchron, 2002.
- Poikane-Daumke, Aija. African Diasporas: Afro-German Literature in the Context of the African American Experience. Transnational and Transatlantic American Studies. 2. Münster: Lit Verlag, 2006.
- Schneider, Barbara. Journeys to the Self and Germany: Study Abroad Narratives in the Context of American Culture. Dortmund: UB Dortmund, 2007.
- Schrettle Gregor. Our Own Private Exodus: Gwen Shamblin’s Dieting Religion and America’s Puritan Legacy. Arbeiten aus Amerikanistik. 39. Essen: Die Blaue Eule, 2006.
- Syrou, Martha Meni. “Who Wants To Be Normal?”: Normalistische Grenzgänge in US-amerikanischen ethnischen Minderheitsliteraturen nach 1960. Transnational and Transatlantic American Studies. 3. Münster: Lit Verlag, 2006.
Konferenzen Conferences
-
BOND!: The annual dissertation colloquium BOND (combining American Studies in BOchum and DortmuND) offers young scholars in American Studies a forum to present current research projects as work in progress. The organizers welcome contributors and guests focusing on the study of American history, culture, media, and literature from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and TU Dortmund. Every year, the presentations are accompanied by a special guest with a comprehensive perspective on American Studies to provide outside commentaries and methodological advice to the PhD students. For further information about BOND, please click here.
-
"HipHop im Revier: Identitäten - Ökonomien - Politken.", 2-3 July 2010.
-
"Carl Djerassi: Science-In-Literature.", 24-25 April 2009.
-
"First International Walt Whitman Symposium." 21-22 June 2008.
Habilitationen Post-Doc Projects
- Cortiel, Jeanne. An Ethnic Moment: Race and Cultural Encounter in Mid-Nineteenth Century American Literature (completed in 2008)
- Gerhardt, Christine. A Place for Humility: Whitman, Dickinson, and the Natural World (completed in 2008)
- Pfeiler, Martina. A Whale of a Book: Moby Dick and Popular Culture (working title)
- Strube, Miriam. Making Sense of the U.S.A.: Pragmatism in American Culture (working title)
Bildnachweis (chronologisch mit Lizenz): flickr.com/suttonhoo (CC by-nc-sa 2.0); flickr.com/Billie Hara (CC by-nc-nd 2.0); flickr.com/Laughing Squid (CC by-nc-nd 2.0); flickr.com/a_sorense (CC by-nc 2.0)