Welcome to the Obama Institute
for Transnational American Studies!
The Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz offers a dynamic and wide-ranging program in both research and teaching for all students interested in topics related to the Americas in a global context.
With a special focus on interculturality, transnationalism, and interdisciplinarity, our expertise lies in the fields of Early American Studies, Indigenous Studies, Life Writing/Life Sciences, Political & Intellectual History, Film & Media Studies, Religion and American Culture, and Materiality.
Contact
Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies
University of Mainz
Jakob-Welder-Weg 20
55128 Mainz
Germany
+49 6131 39-22357
+49 6131 39-29097
Email
June 20-23 – Conference “Cultures of Medicine” & Workshop “Narrative Medicine” 🗓
The Obama Institute and the "Narrative Medicine" program at Columbia University, New York invite everyone to a conference (June 20 & 21) and a workshop (June 22 & 23) on "Cultures of Medicine" and "Narrative Medicine" (co-organized with the Center of...
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May 28 – Border Encounters: Theorizing the US-Mexico Border as Transa 🗓
Jennifer Reimer (University of Graz, Austria) Tuesday, May 28, 2019 10 a.m.-12 noon P 109a (Philosophicum) Transa may originate in Tijuana, but like so many Tijuanese, it is a mobile, border-crossing word. In transa, we hear the echo not only of transaction but also...
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May 28 – Reorienting Atlantic World Financial Capitalism: America and the German States 🗓
David Thomson (Sacred Heart University, CT, USA) Tuesday, May 28, 2019 4-6 p.m. P 207 (Philosophicum) The story of transatlantic finance in the nineteenth century has often been one that fixates largely on a US-British binary. Capital flows between these two nations...
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May 23 – The Harlem Renaissance as Root and Flower: Poets of the Time and Contemporary Poets Sing 🗓
Sasha Pimentel (University of Texas at El Paso) Thursday, May 23, 2019 12 noon - 2 p.m. 003 SR 07 (BKM) Visit sashapimentel.com/about for more info on Sasha Pimentel. You can download the poster for the event here.
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May 14 – Making a Stink: Racial Capitalism and Speculative Atmospherics 🗓
Hsuan L. Hsu (University of California, Davis, USA) May 14, 2019 10 a.m.-12 noon, Philosophicum I, P 109a This talk will consider how racial and geographical disparities inflect dystopian representations of environmental risk. Drawing from literary and performative...
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May 14 – Why Do 45 Million Americans Owe $ 1.5 Trillion in Student Loans? The Origins of America’s Student Loan Crisis 🗓
Elizabeth Tandy Shermer (Loyola University Chicago) May 14, 2019 4 p.m.–6 p.m. (c.t.), Philosophicum I, P207 Why do more than 44 million Americans now owe almost $1.5 trillion in student loans? Many want to blame the banks. But lenders actually fought the Senators,...
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