On January 26th, 2015, Florian Bast defended his doctoral thesis on “Agency in Works by Octavia E. Butler” in front of a committe of professors from other philological institutes at the university and an audience of about 40.
In May, American Studies Leipzig celebrated its 20th anniversary with a two-day symposium that brought together practitioners of American studies from the entire region. On Friday, 23 May, scholars from Erfurt, Dresden, Jena, Magdeburg, and Halle met in Leipzig to discuss the current situation of American studies in Mitteldeutschland, recent developments, and challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. On Saturday, the group launched a new academic network for American studies in the region.
Several members of American Studies Leipzig contributed to the 60th Anniversary Conference of the German Association for American Studies (DGfA / GAAS) in Marburg from November 1st to November 3rd. The conference, entitled “Usable Pasts, Possible Futures: The DGfA/GAAS at 60,” consisted of three days of lively and often controversial discussions among Americanists from all over Germany.
American Studies Leipzig doctoral student Claudia Müller was interviewed about the cultural dimension of fatness in the Kreuzer magazine. In the interview, Müller speaks about the cultural studies perspective on fatness, on differences between fat discourses in Germany and the US, and about the stereotype of the Fat Poor.
The latest issue of the journal Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies (COPAS) features work by three ASL doctoral students: Claudia Müller, Eleonora Ravizza, and Stefan Schubert. COPAS presents current research from American studies doctoral and postdoctoral students and is closely connected to the Postgraduate Forum of the DGfA/GAAS, which last year took place in Marburg.