July 4, 2025, 2-6 p.m., P5 & Foyer P2-P5 (Philosophicum)
2-4 p.m. I Keynote Lecture I P5
Speculative Plantations: Reimagining Past, Present, and Futures through Gothic Horror Amy King, PhD Tuskeegee University, AL, USA
What could be possible when we apply a “speculative” framework to texts and contexts that may magnify, combine, bend, and/or even break audiences’ expectations of genre and what, exactly, constitute plantation settings?
4-6 p.m. I Student Project Exhibition I Foyer P2-P5 with Food and Drinks
Posters and presentations by students from Dr. Sonja Georgi’s CS III course.
How can we tell, preserve, and engage with stories of resistance in the U.S. of 2025?
Check out last year’s event in the video and find further information about this year’s event on the poster below or download it here.
Mar 14, 2025 – 10:00-14:00 Philosophicum II – room 02.102
Exhibition
“Young Adult Fiction”
Developed from student projects during the American Studies Graduate Seminar 522 “Young Adult Fiction,” this exhibition shows how creative, diplomatic, and inspiring young adult literature and movies can be in addressing topics that are difficult to grasp or cope with, even for adults.
Everyone welcome!
10:00 Opening | Introduction Prof. Dr. Mita Banerjee (Course Instructor)
followed by Poster Presentations | Food & Drinks
The posters and presentations in this exhibition are the results of students’ projects from the American Studies Graduate Seminar 522 “Young Adult Fiction,” which was taught by Prof. Dr. Mita Banerjee (mita.banerjee@uni-mainz.de) in the winter term of 2024/25.
You can download the poster for the exhibition here.
14:15Madleen Podewski (Berlin/Erfurt): „Die NBI (Neue Berliner Illustrierte) während der ‚Wende‘ oder: Wie erfasst man eine rasant beschleunigte Titeldynamik?“
15:30 Nora Ramtke (Bochum/Freiburg): “From Preprint to Piracy: Heinrich Böll’s Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum as a 1970s Press Affair”
16:45Jörg Requate (Kassel): “How Far Can We Push the Limits? The Satire Magazines Pardon/Titanic and Hara-Kiri/Charlie Hebdo and Their Handling of Social Taboo Topics”
Please join us for our annual Obama Lecture a week after Thanksgiving, where we will highlight outstanding work in Transnational American Studies – with a contribution from our current Obama Fellow Dr. Renae Watchman (Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies, McMaster University, Canada) – and show appreciation for the work of young scholars by awarding the Obama Dissertation Prize as well as the Hans Galinsky Memorial Prize for student and graduate theses.
Everyone is welcome!
Please see the flyer below for details or download it here.
On Nov 6 the Obama Institute will hold an info session on its Direct Exchange programs. Please join us in room P 2 (Philosophicum) for more information about the exciting exchange opportunities!
Nov 6, 18:15-19:45
P 2 (Philosophicum)
Please find all details about the session on the flyer, which is available for download here and on the Exchange page, where you can also browse general information on the programs in order to get a headstart on what your options are and what an application would entail.
Looking forward to talking to you in person on Nov 6, when we will be happy to answer all your questions!
November 5, 2024, 8 p.m., meeting room 02.102, Philosophicum II
Join us in following the live coverage of the U.S. presidential election 2024!
During times of rising concerns about political stability and democratic integrity, not only in the United States but all over the world, observers anxiously await the 2024 U.S. presidential election, and expect a landmark event that will set the tone for the future of global politics and power relations. Let’s discuss the events as they unfold and check out U.S. and international reactions in a variety of news outlets and on social media.
Watch I Play I Discuss I Eat I (Sleep)
We will follow the live election coverage on CNN International and watch video messages (recorded specifically for our event) from colleagues and friends in the U.S. They will share with us their personal election insights and perspectives from their respective locations.
This will be a casual meet and mingle potluck event, including election night bingo and (shared) food and drinks. We will provide some snacks and welcome any and all contributions. Bring your friends and stay as long as you like. Sweatpants and sleeping bags allowed!
