American Studies Leipzig

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American Studies Leipzig is the English term for the teaching and research institution for American Studies of the University of Leipzig . As a transdisciplinary, literary and cultural studies institute, it is also the largest American studies institute in East Germany.

Importance of the institute

The Institute for American Studies at the University of Leipzig is the fastest growing German American Institute outside of Berlin . The rapid growth of the institute is primarily expressed in three new professorships. For example, the US Fulbright Commission in Berlin donated a new Distinguished Chair especially for the American Studies Leipzig program in 2003, following an external evaluation of the institute's teaching and research by the CHE , which gave the institute exceptional quality . In September 2005, the German Academic Exchange Service ( DAAD ) also recognized the institute by creating another visiting professorship with the DAAD Distinguished Chair for American and International Studies . It was intended to reward the institute's enthusiasm for innovation and to promote special efforts to further develop American studies as a transatlantic science. In 2006 the institute won its third visiting professorship in four years after a competitive tender. The Picador Guest Professorship for Literature is the result of an initiative launched by the event forum of the Georg von Holtzbrinck publishing group and the DAAD, as part of which young English-speaking authors are invited to live, write and teach at the institute in Leipzig. The American Studies Leipzig program is therefore the only German American studies program in which literary studies are supplemented by the perspective of cultural workers.

All three chairs distinguish the institute and underline its importance in terms of university didactics.

In addition, the institute is an important factor in the cultural life of the city of Leipzig. With regular public readings by American authors, public events such as the HipHop Awareness Week and training courses and workshops for high school teachers, the institute is an important part of the urban public and the educational landscape of Leipzig and the surrounding area.

In matters of American culture and politics, the institute is also an important point of contact for national German media, which regularly turn to institute members with requests for comments.

The institute is also an important research location within American Studies. With the Frank Freidel Memorial Library , named after the Roosevelt biographer Frank Freidel , it houses the largest research library on the New Deal in Germany.

History of the American Studies Institute

American Studies at the University of Leipzig can look back on a long history: The academic study of the USA in Leipzig can be traced back to the 18th century. Since the early 19th century, there have been continuous courses on American literature and culture at Leipzig University. A separate department for American studies as part of the department for English language and literature was not established until 1955. A year later it became the Institute for English and American Studies. Today's Institute for American Studies was founded in 1993. With three new professorships in the last four years, it is the fastest growing American studies institute outside of Berlin. Up until the summer semester of 2006, it was possible to enroll in the American Studies course as a major and minor in the Master’s program and as a supplementary major in some diploma programs. Since the 2006/2007 winter semester, enrollment has only been introduced in the accredited BA course in American Studies. In the 2007/2008 winter semester, the also accredited MA American Studies will be introduced. Since the introduction of the new courses, the institute has been calling itself American Studies Leipzig in the English-speaking context.

Academic focus

The main focus of the training is on US cultural history and literature. These are supplemented by linguistics and practical language training in American English. The range of courses is supplemented by guest lectures (e.g. the Fulbright Lecture Series), exchange programs with American universities (including Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, the University of Miami, Florida and Ohio University in Athens, Ohio) and Study trips to the USA. The research focus of the Institute for American Studies is in the areas of ethnicity , gender , immigration and popular culture . The Frank Freidel Memorial Library has existed since 1997, thanks to a generous donation from the USA. It contains around 15,000 books and magazine volumes, most of them on the New Deal .

American Studies Alumni Association

The American Studies Alumni Association (ASAA) was founded in 1996 . Since 2002, the ASAA has held an American-style reception every year for all American studies graduates of the year. This was the first official graduate reception at the University of Leipzig.

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.uni-protocol.de/nachrichten/id/26785/
  2. ↑ http://americanstudies.uni-leipzig.de/faculty/guest_scholars/

Web links