Mascha Helene Lange
Doctoral Candidate
Room 3311 | Phone:
Office Hours: by appointment
https://americanstudies.uni-leipzig.de/users/mascha-lange
mascha.lange@uni-leipzig.de
Bio
I received both my undergraduate (B.A. American Studies) and graduate (Staatsexamen für höheres Lehramt) degrees from the University of Leipzig. My master thesis – the results of which were published in the 2019 issue of aspeers – focused on “Narratives of Intersex in Contemporary US-American Literature.” Broadly speaking, my research revolves around the idea that (literary) texts work as cultural shorthands affecting people’s perception of reality, and I see my work as a process of translation. Over the course of my studies, I have worked at the institute as a teaching assistant in several different positions, in B.A. courses as well as modules for students in teacher training. Retrospectively, one of the most rewarding experiences during my own studies were two semesters spent abroad at Bangor University (Prifysgol Bangor, Wales) and Rice University in Houston, Texas. The latter in particular inspired me to prolong my graduate studies and pursue a PhD. From March 2019 until February 2020, I was granted a Pre-Doc Award from the Research Academy Leipzig which allowed me to conceptualize a PhD project and apply for further funding. My dissertation, supervised by Prof. Dr. Katja Kanzler, investigates negotiations of sexual(ized) violence in contemporary US-American literature and culture with a focus on the transmediality of current narratives.
Research Interests
Originally trained in literary studies, my primary research interest lies in US-American literature of the 20th and 21st century, especially works from authors who – because of their race, class, and/or gender – have traditionally been more marginalized than others. Over the course of my studies, and owing especially to experiences abroad, I developed an interest in gender, women’s and queer studies. More recently, I started to investigate the concept of transmediality, trying to reconcile research from media studies and narrative theory with the cultural work approach and the “politics” of texts.
Publications
Lange, Mascha Helene. “Of Pregnant Kings and Manly Landladies – Negotiating Intersex in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness.” aspeers: emerging voices in american studies, vol. 12, 2019, pp. 117-138.
Peña, Daniel. Interview by Mascha Helene Lange. “Interview with Daniel Peña.” R2 Rice Review, 2018, pp. 16-24.
Conference Presentations
“An Unprecedented Collaboration, Or: Can a Rapist Be Trusted? The Transmedial Negotiation of Sexual Violence, Trauma, and Regaining Trust in the Elva-Stranger Case” [Working Title]. Authority and Trust: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Conference of the DFG-funded research training group “Authority and Trust in American Culture, Society, History, and Politics,” Heidelberg Center for American Studies. Heidelberg. 25-27 June 2020. Conference Presentation. [upcoming]
“Transmediale Verhandlungen sexueller Gewalt in gegenwärtiger US-amerikanischer Literatur und Kultur.” (Re-)Präsentationen, Positionen und Perspektiven der Geschlechterforschung. Conference of the Gender Studies Graduate School of the University of Vechta. Berlin. 11 Feb. 2020. Conference Presentation.
“Transmedial Negotiations of Gender-Based Violence in Contemporary US-American Literature and Culture.” Posterkonferenz der Philologischen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig. 28 Jan. 2020. Poster Presentation.
“Intersex Narratives.” 5. Dresdner Nachwuchskolloquium zur Geschlechterforschung. Dresden. 11 Dec. 2019. Conference Presentation.
“‘The Story That You Know… Is The Lie’ – Transmedial Negotiations of Sexual Violence in When They See Us.” Postgraduate Forum of the DGFA/GAAS 2019. Passau. 5 Dec. 2019. Conference Presentation.
“Transmedial Negotiations of Sexual Violence in Contemporary US-American Literature and Culture.” Regional Colloquium at the Muhlenberg Center for American Studies. Halle (Saale). 25 Oct. 2019. Conference Presentation.
Grants and Awards
- Erasmus Stipend (2013/14, exchange semester at Bangor University)
- DAAD Promos Stipend (2017, exchange semester at Rice University)
- Pre-Doc Award, Research Academy Leipzig (2019-2020)
Memberships
I am a member of the German Association for American Studies (DGfA/GAAS), the American Studies Leipzig Alumni Association (ASLAA e.V.), and the Zentrum für Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung (FRAGES) of the University of Leipzig.
Community Service
I joined Amnesty International when I came to Leipzig in 2012, and since then have been active in local Amnesty International groups. Most noteworthy, I served as spokesperson of Leipzig University’s Amnesty International student group from 2014-2015, supervised their facebook page between 2014-2017, and recently became spokesperson for the Amnesty International human rights education chapter Leipzig. As a human rights educator, I have visited numerous local schools to conduct workshops on human rights issues under Amnesty International’s patronage. This work is particularly important to me because I regard education as the key to a society’s well-being.