Claudia Müller

Claudia Müller

Doctoral Candidate

In my doctoral thesis—The Cultural Image of the Fat Poor in Contemporary American Literature and Culture—I explore 'fat poor', a stereotypical image emerging at the intersection of the discourses on poverty and poorness and on fatness. My supervisors for that project are Prof. Dr. Katja Kanzler (Professor for American Literature) and Prof. Dr. Gabriele Pisarz-Ramírez (Professor for American Studies and Minority Studies) at American Studies Leipzig. I was granted a scholarship by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (2013-2016).

I majored in American Studies at Leipzig University in 2008, studying Journalism and Political Sciences as my minors. In my Magister thesis—Fistfighting in Film—I looked at US-American boxing movies as an ideological spectacle and analyzed more recent boxing movies and their deconstruction of gender, ethnicity and class identities typical of the genre.

  • coordination, administration, networking, public relations, research for project SHRIMP at Leipzig University (since 2021)

  • project manager for copy editing at le-tex publishing services GmbH (2021-2022)

  • part of the administrative staff for teaching planning at the Institute of Sociology at Leipzig University (2019-2020)

  • secretary to the Institute for American Studies and its Chair for American Literature at Leipzig University (2017-2018)

  • research assistant at the Institute of English and American Studies in Dresden and at the Institute for American Studies in Leipzig (2011-2013)

  • editor and webmaster for several university homepages at Leipzig University (2009-2010)

  • “The Cultural Image of the Fat Poor in German News Media.” The Routledge Companion to Media and Poverty, edited by Sandra L. Borden, Routledge, 2021, pp. 234-43.

  • “Fat Poor Moms: Die Figur der dicken, armen Mutter in der US-amerikanischen Populärkultur.” Armut: Gender-Perspektiven Ihrer Bewältigung in Geschichte Und Gegenwart, edited by Häusl, Maria, et al., Leipziger Universitätsverlag, 2016, pp. 353-78

  • “The Welfare Mother and the Fat Poor: Stereotypical Images and the Success Narrative in Sapphire’s Push.” COPAS–Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies, vol. 14, no. 1, May 2013.

  • “MOBELITE” (Poem). aspeers–emerging voices in american studies, vol. 2, March 2009, pp. 128-29.

  • “Das stereotype Bild Fat Poor und Dynamiken der Kulturalisierung, Individualisierung und Biologisierung von Armut.” May 17, 2015. Presentation at the Promovierendenforum 2015 by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Berlin.

  • “Fat Poor White Trash in Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” January 30, 2015. 4th Regional Colloquium (Doc & Post-Doc in American Studies). Erfurt.

  • “The Gaze on the Poor.” June 20, 2014. 3rd Regional Colloquium (Doc & Post-Doc in American Studies). Leipzig.

  • “Das stereotype Bild Fat Poor: Armsein und Dicksein im diskursiv hergestellten Zusammenhang.” May 18, 2014. Presentation at the Promovierendenforum 2014 by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Berlin.

  • “The Image of the Fat Poor in Contemporary American Literature and Culture.” May 17, 2014. Poster presentation at the Promovierendenforum 2014 by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Berlin.

  • “Das Stereotyp Fat Poor - Armut und Fettleibigkeit im diskursiv hergestellten Zusammenhang.” November 29, 2013. Conference: Armut - Gender-Perspektiven ihrer Bewältigung in Geschichte und Gegenwart at TU Dresden.

  • “Give Me The Food - Dicksein (und Armsein) in der Leistungsgesellschaft.” October 24, 2013. Presentation as part of Body Buildings - Verortete Körperpolitik by weiterdenken (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Sachsen). Leipzig.

  • “The Image of the Fat Poor in Push (1996) and in Precious (2009).” October 11, 2013. 2nd Regional Colloquium: Postdoktoranden- und Doktorandenkolloquium. Jena.

  • “Rural Monsters: Fat Poor White Trash in Contemporary Film and Television.” May 31, 2013. Conference: 60th Annual Convention of the German Association for American Studies “Rural America” at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.

  • “The Image of the Fat Poor in Contemporary American Literature and Culture.” February 8, 2013. 1st Regional Colloquium: Joint Colloquium American Studies. Dresden.

  • “Fat and Poor: The Discursive Intersection of Poverty and Obesity and the Image of the Fat Poor in Sapphire’s Push.” November 2, 2012. Conference: Postgraduate Forum (PGF) of the German Association for American Studies (DGfA/GAAS) 2012 at Philipps-Universität Marburg.

  • “Intersectionality, Bodies, Push.” Response to “Applying Intersectionality Theory to Fiction on Incest: Bastard Out of Carolina and Push” by Christine Vogt-William. July 13, 2012. Conference: Too Big to Ignore: Narratives of Inequality at the Department of English / North American Studies at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.

  • “‘Ugly black grease to be wipe away’: The Image of the ‘Fat Poor’ in Push and Precious.” July 23, 2011. Conference: Arm nicht sexy: Repräsentationen von Armut in der amerikanischen Gegenwartskultur at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS).

  • “The ‘Fat Poor,’ the Work Ethic, and the Workout.” March 13, 2009. International conference: Representing Poverty: American and European Perspectives at the German Historical Institute (GHI) in Washington D.C.