Blog posts by :

Time to Say Good-Bye
Our first con­tri­bu­tion, “New Kids on the Blog,” was uploaded on Sep­tem­ber 8, 2014. We were excit­ed to try our hands at blog writ­ing, some­thing none … Continue reading Time to Say Good-Bye →

It’s A Wrap: Beginning with Endings
At the end of the semes­ter, I always like to include a wrap-up exer­cise for one final cre­ative writ­ing task: “It’s a Wrap” – which also … Continue reading It’s A Wrap: Beginning with Endings →

Going Green with Gamified Learning: Advancing Sustainability through Interactive Learning
As I com­pose this blog post, a dis­qui­et­ing real­i­ty is emerg­ing: record-break­ing tem­per­a­tures are soar­ing to unprece­dent­ed heights, thrust­ing the world into the clutch­es of dire … Continue reading Going Green with Gamified Learning: Advancing Sustainability through Interactive Learning →

Going to Hell and Back again: Good Omens
Have you ever won­dered what it would be like if the writ­ers of a show gave their fans exact­ly what they wished for – and then … Continue reading Going to Hell and Back again: Good Omens →

Behind the Scenes with Tom Hanks
Do you love going to the movies? Do you enjoy watch­ing ‘Behind the Scenes’ clips and doc­u­men­taries? Do you like a good nov­el? If you can … Continue reading Behind the Scenes with Tom Hanks →

Dear Ocean Vuong, Your Writing Is Gorgeous
Is it okay to dog-ear or write in your books? This ques­tion remains a heat­ed top­ic among read­ers. I always thought it was stu­pid to care … Continue reading Dear Ocean Vuong, Your Writing Is Gorgeous →

AI: Too Smart for Our Own Good?
An essay ‘about’ AI, writ­ten ‘by’ AI. Maybe even ‘for’ AI? As my kids say, “Are we there yet?” It feels less like we’re cross­ing the … Continue reading AI: Too Smart for Our Own Good? →

The Emotional Men of The Flash (2014–2023)
Pow! Smash! Punch! Those are expres­sions that eas­i­ly come to mind when think­ing of a super­hero. This is because heroes like Super­man or Bat­man tra­di­tion­al­ly solve … Continue reading The Emotional Men of The Flash (2014–2023) →

No Story, No Life
Every­thing we do begins with a sto­ry. With­out sto­ry, we would per­ish. We don’t get off that couch and head to the kitchen unless we have … Continue reading No Story, No Life →

Jury Duty’s Ronald Gladden or How to Accidentally Become a Star
Remem­ber “The Tru­man Show,” the icon­ic 90s movie star­ring Jim Car­rey who slow­ly real­izes that his entire life is being filmed against his will and broad­cast … Continue reading Jury Duty’s Ronald Gladden or How to Accidentally Become a Star →

Oktoberfest Beer and Blood Serves Up German Debauchery in Six Episodes
  What would Ger­many be with­out the Okto­ber­fest? Def­i­nite­ly not worse off, I’d say. Under most cir­cum­stances, I couldn’t be tempt­ed to watch a his­tor­i­cal dra­ma … Continue reading Oktoberfest Beer and Blood Serves Up German Debauchery in Six Episodes →

From the Lifeless Pages of History Books to the Big Screen: Chinonye Chukwu’s Till (2022)
“The lynch­ing of my son has shown me that what hap­pens to any of us any­where in the world had bet­ter be the busi­ness of us all.” Mamie … Continue reading From the Lifeless Pages of History Books to the Big Screen: Chinonye Chukwu’s Till (2022) →

The Environmental Impact of Filmmaking
Two things you should know about me that at first glance might have noth­ing in com­mon: First, I love to watch movies and series – to … Continue reading The Environmental Impact of Filmmaking →

An A‑May-zing Month for Animals
I like to think of May as one of the most amaz­ing months – not only because it’s Nation­al Pet Month, but also because May 20 … Continue reading An A‑May-zing Month for Animals →

Recognizing a Freak: An Atheist Reads Flannery O’Connor
The read­er and the writer. Two sides of the same coin. Par­don, the same page. Rela­tion­ship sta­tus: It’s com­pli­cat­ed since only one gets to state what’s … Continue reading Recognizing a Freak: An Atheist Reads Flannery O’Connor →

Found in Translation
Full dis­clo­sure: I’ve writ­ten this blog on my behalf. Or in eigen­er Sache, as I would say in Ger­man. Is there a dif­fer­ence between the two … Continue reading Found in Translation →

Thank You for Your Attention: Of the Unending Struggle with Digital Distractions
How many hours have you already spent look­ing at a screen today? Nowa­days, the uni­ver­sal answer to this ques­tion seems to be “too much.” As the … Continue reading Thank You for Your Attention: Of the Unending Struggle with Digital Distractions →

Historical Dreams and Dreaming History – From Virginia to Lüneburg
When I start­ed study­ing at Leuphana Uni­ver­si­ty Lüneb­urg, I even­tu­al­ly went into the library and couldn’t help notice the quote by Thomas Jef­fer­son on the library … Continue reading Historical Dreams and Dreaming History – From Virginia to Lüneburg →

Public Transportation: Not Just a Berlin Problem
Imag­ine this: You’re wait­ing for the next train to Berlin Alexan­der­platz at the train sta­tion Friedrich­straße. But before the train even stops, you let out an … Continue reading Public Transportation: Not Just a Berlin Problem →

Studying With Limited Freedom of Speech: My Semester in Hong Kong
In 2021, Pres­i­dent Biden offered a safe haven to Hong Kong res­i­dents in the U.S., which allowed them to pro­long their stay for up to 18 … Continue reading Studying With Limited Freedom of Speech: My Semester in Hong Kong →

Winter Sports — At What Cost?
“Hav­ing the World Cup back on U.S. soil is very impor­tant in devel­op­ing the sport of Ski Jump­ing in this coun­try and across the world,” enthus­es … Continue reading Winter Sports — At What Cost? →

German Distance, American Naivety
As an Amer­i­can writer liv­ing in Berlin, I strain to under­stand and express some of the dif­fer­ences between my two homes. So many excep­tions to any … Continue reading German Distance, American Naivety →

Valentine’s Day – A Marketing Scam or a Day Filled with Love?
When­ev­er I talk to peo­ple about Valentine’s Day, I get some sort of hate­ful response. It’s only about mon­ey. You’re forced to buy some­thing for your … Continue reading Valentine’s Day – A Marketing Scam or a Day Filled with Love? →

Feeding Feathered Friends in February – National Bird-Feeding Month
Christ­mas and New Year’s Eve are over. Now it’s already Feb­ru­ary, but Valentine’s Day is not real­ly your thing? Wor­ry not! Nation­al Bird-Feed­ing Month has arrived. … Continue reading Feeding Feathered Friends in February – National Bird-Feeding Month →

Sit, Drink, Eat, Repeat
Did you know that there are now more dan­ger­ous­ly over­weight than mal­nour­ished peo­ple in the world? With over one third of their pop­u­la­tion clas­si­fied as obese, … Continue reading Sit, Drink, Eat, Repeat →

We Own the Majority: Mayans M.C. Brings Drama, Representation, and Larger-Than-Life Grit
FX’s Mayans M.C. is a dra­ma series show­cas­ing a world of guns and drugs around a bik­er gang in SoCal, right at the US-Mex­i­can bor­der. Can … Continue reading We Own the Majority: Mayans M.C. Brings Drama, Representation, and Larger-Than-Life Grit →

Travelogues
What exact­ly is a trav­el­ogue? Or, asked dif­fer­ent­ly, what is it not? A trav­el­ogue is not an adver­tise­ment that tries to sell spe­cif­ic des­ti­na­tions to its … Continue reading Travelogues →

A Nude Dance
New Year’s Eve is prac­ti­cal­ly upon us once again. Do you always feel guilty for being lazy and not ‘hav­ing fun’ on all the ‘impor­tant’ occa­sions? … Continue reading A Nude Dance →

Happy Hanukkah 2022!
If you live in the Unit­ed States or in many oth­er places in the world, it’s impos­si­ble not to know any­thing about Christ­mas. How­ev­er, the same … Continue reading Happy Hanukkah 2022! →

What Does the Fox Say? A Simple Tale with a Plethora of Possibilities
When I first read George Saun­ders’ fable-like tale, Fox 8, I ini­tial­ly felt amused, then sad, and final­ly out­raged. I also felt a blog brew­ing – … Continue reading What Does the Fox Say? A Simple Tale with a Plethora of Possibilities →

Six Tips for Perfect Presents – And They’re Sustainable!
Like every year, Christ­mas always sneaks up and sud­den­ly you’re con­front­ed with one of the most impor­tant tasks of the sea­son: gift shopping. The shop­ping malls … Continue reading Six Tips for Perfect Presents – And They’re Sustainable! →

“My Name” – Vignettes about You
Vignettes are won­der­ful! Some­times described as a slice of life, vignettes can be so short that they take away the fear of end­ing up with a … Continue reading “My Name” – Vignettes about You →

Put On Your Mourning Clothes, it’s Black Friday
Set­ting the scene: Gray Novem­ber skies, sea­son­al blues at full vol­ume. This Fri­day: Black. There’s no escap­ing the loud adver­tise­ments in the shop win­dows, at bus … Continue reading Put On Your Mourning Clothes, it’s Black Friday →

America and the Holocaust
Beyond a severe­ly lim­it­ed immi­gra­tion quo­ta kept to a bare min­i­mum, few­er than a thou­sand Jew­ish refugees from Europe were admit­ted into the U.S. dur­ing World … Continue reading America and the Holocaust →

Native American History Month and Hostile Climates
This arti­cle has been start­ed and scrapped time and time again. An Amer­i­can stud­ies blog should run Native Amer­i­can sto­ries reg­u­lar­ly and most def­i­nite­ly for Native … Continue reading Native American History Month and Hostile Climates →

The Big Bang Blog: The Toxic Relationship Comedy
The Big Bang The­o­ry is pure poi­son in a soci­ety that just got a wake-up call. Just yes­ter­day, I saw anoth­er post reveal­ing its prob­lem­at­ic themes. … Continue reading The Big Bang Blog: The Toxic Relationship Comedy →

Special Events You Won’t Want to Miss
What do pornog­ra­phy, fake Indi­ans, the cli­mate cri­sis, and fire­fight­ers in New York City have in com­mon? Well, these are all top­ics of this season’s lec­ture … Continue reading Special Events You Won’t Want to Miss →

A Story Beyond Words: The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
LGBTQ+ Pride is usu­al­ly a cause for cel­e­bra­tion. It is meant to express the joy of being alive and being seen in a soci­ety where an … Continue reading A Story Beyond Words: The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson →

Nuclear Power and the Road to Ecomodernism
What if a belief you deeply held and one that’s rec­i­p­ro­cat­ed by your entire social cir­cle is actu­al­ly wrong and harm­ful? In the spir­it of my … Continue reading Nuclear Power and the Road to Ecomodernism →

Having Fun with Language on German American Day 2022
In coun­tries, such as Poland and the Nether­lands, learn­ing Ger­man is on the rise. Yet, in the U.S., it’s been declin­ing for the past hun­dred years. … Continue reading Having Fun with Language on German American Day 2022 →

When in Doubt, Ask a Native Author! The Winnetou Debate
After a storm of protests from enraged par­ents con­cern­ing issues of (mis)representation and cul­tur­al appro­pri­a­tion in the new children’s movie, The Young Chief Win­netou (2022), the … Continue reading When in Doubt, Ask a Native Author! The Winnetou Debate →

Going against the Grain: Declaring My Love for Cars 2
Every­body hates Cars 2 – and I just don’t under­stand why. First of all, let me make a con­fes­sion: I’m 25 years old and a Dis­ney … Continue reading Going against the Grain: Declaring My Love for Cars 2 →

Childhood Memories
Mem­o­ries are sto­ries we tell ourselves. “When I was younger, I remem­ber how…” We cher­ry-pick. We have to. Oth­er­wise, we’d remem­ber what we wore and ate … Continue reading Childhood Memories →

Iron Curtain, Please
One man’s trash is another’s treasure. Vladimir the Small, as his­to­ry is sure to remem­ber him, has pulled the iron cur­tain off the trash pile and … Continue reading Iron Curtain, Please →

Teen Nonprofits Find Solutions during Covid-19 Pandemic
In the mid­dle of a Covid-19 lock­down packed with dis­tance learn­ing dif­fi­cul­ties, teach­ers at the Schmal­ka­lden Ele­men­tary School in Thuringia, Ger­many, learned that the dig­i­tal tool … Continue reading Teen Nonprofits Find Solutions during Covid-19 Pandemic →

Like Meat?
It’s cool to be veg­an, but are all those meat sub­sti­tutes real­ly so healthy for the envi­ron­ment and for us? Turkey or tofurkey, veg­an schnitzel or … Continue reading Like Meat? →

Rescue, Marry, Happy Ever After – The Asexual Fantasy Novel Royal Rescue
“I’ve nev­er had a crush, I’ve nev­er want­ed any­one in my bed. I’ve nev­er looked at any­one and won­dered what they looked like naked. I’ve nev­er … Continue reading Rescue, Marry, Happy Ever After – The Asexual Fantasy Novel Royal Rescue →

Breaking New Ground: Liberating Lomie by Saloma Miller Furlong
In 2011, Salo­ma Miller Furlong’s Why I Left the Amish: A Mem­oir appeared dur­ing the mem­oir boom that gave agency to invis­i­ble, mar­gin­al­ized, or mis­rep­re­sent­ed groups. … Continue reading Breaking New Ground: Liberating Lomie by Saloma Miller Furlong →

Accidental New Horizons at the North American University in the Heart of Europe
Last fall, I had the priv­i­lege of spend­ing a semes­ter abroad. What bet­ter place to go for a North Amer­i­can Stud­ies Pro­file grad­u­ate than across the pond? Even … Continue reading Accidental New Horizons at the North American University in the Heart of Europe →

Calm as the Ocean
Dear Read­er, Ready to dive into unchar­tered waters? Then read Lena Hegemann’s graph­ic com­ing-of-age sto­ry, “Calm as the Ocean.” Her beau­ti­ful­ly designed nar­ra­tive takes us on … Continue reading Calm as the Ocean →

Getting Germany Back on Track
The Mar­shall Plan has become syn­ony­mous for mas­sive help, for bring­ing about a her­cu­la­neum task and hav­ing a coun­try rise again from the ash­es. Orig­i­nal­ly designed … Continue reading Getting Germany Back on Track →

An Ode to Berlin – and to my Grandma
“It’s August 13, 1961 – the day East Berlin starts build­ing the wall,” my grand­ma remembers. “On Sun­day night, August 13, Wal­ter Ulbricht, East Ger­man head … Continue reading An Ode to Berlin – and to my Grandma →

50 Minutes That Make a Name
I’m named after my grand­fa­thers: Johann and Juan. My name is Johan­na. Through­out my life, I’ve met many Johan­nas. At my uni­ver­si­ty alone, I know near­ly … Continue reading 50 Minutes That Make a Name →

All the Stories That We (Were) Told
Life writ­ing – which includes a wide spec­trum of sub-gen­res such as (auto)biography, mem­oir, let­ter, diary, (dig­i­tal) life sto­ries, and oral his­to­ries – has a long … Continue reading All the Stories That We (Were) Told →

Homeschooling and the Pandemic
While her neigh­bors rush down the street to catch the school bus, 14-year-old Lilah Had­den starts her school day at home. After spend­ing the morn­ing on … Continue reading Homeschooling and the Pandemic →

How to Break a Bookworm’s Heart
Michael Fass­ben­der, Marisa Tomei, and Alexan­dra Dad­dario: What do these three actors have in common? You may not know all of them, but what you need … Continue reading How to Break a Bookworm’s Heart →

A World Where Science and Indigenous Wisdom Collide: Some Food for Thought on Earth Day
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s pres­ence is mag­net­ic. Step­ping out to the podi­um at the 2014 Bioneers Con­fer­ence – an annu­al forum for top­ics like cli­mate change and … Continue reading A World Where Science and Indigenous Wisdom Collide: Some Food for Thought on Earth Day →

The Mesmerizing and Alienating Experience Called Mulholland Drive
Have you ever felt like not watch­ing movies for a while just because you saw one that’s so damn good you knew watch­ing any­thing else after … Continue reading The Mesmerizing and Alienating Experience Called Mulholland Drive →

Taking Peace for Granted
It’s so easy to take peace for grant­ed, when we have it. In my 2012 book, The Great Game: Berlin-War­saw Express and Oth­er Sto­ries, the char­ac­ter Cal, … Continue reading Taking Peace for Granted →

The ‘Woke’ Cinderella Recipe: A Dash of Queerness, a Pinch of Feminism, and a Sprinkling of Fairy Dust
Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Cin­derel­la (Cami­la Cabel­lo). In the 2021 film, she loves to design dress­es and wants to make … Continue reading The ‘Woke’ Cinderella Recipe: A Dash of Queerness, a Pinch of Feminism, and a Sprinkling of Fairy Dust →

News Deserts and the Challenge to Democracy
What do Glen­nville, Geor­gia, and Youngstown, Ohio, have in com­mon? The small town in the Deep South and the mid-sized Mid­west­ern city both have lost their … Continue reading News Deserts and the Challenge to Democracy →

Teaching Native North America: A Continuing Challenge
Intel­lec­tu­al lega­cies of col­o­niza­tion play a pow­er­ful role in shap­ing how main­stream U.S. and glob­al soci­ety has come to see Native Amer­i­cans. Art­work from the 19th … Continue reading Teaching Native North America: A Continuing Challenge →

The Category Is … Making Golden Globe History
Imag­ine win­ning some­thing as pres­ti­gious as a Gold­en Globe. That alone would be a mind-blow­ing accom­plish­ment, right? Now imag­ine snatch­ing a sec­ond, maybe even more note­wor­thy … Continue reading The Category Is … Making Golden Globe History →

Setting the Stage for Black History Month
It’s that time of year again. Feb­ru­ary 1 marks the begin­ning of Black His­to­ry Month. Before I sug­gest some use­ful resources, let’s briefly look at its … Continue reading Setting the Stage for Black History Month →

Hate Country Music … Why?
Con­fes­sion time: I like coun­try music. And no, I’m not being face­tious. And no, not just the alter­na­tive kind. Gimme a steel gui­tar, a ban­jo, and … Continue reading Hate Country Music … Why? →

Free Verse Poetry or “how to play with unseen rackets”
Any­one can write free verse – or so the say­ing goes. Free verse poems are free from lim­i­ta­tions of meter, rhythm, or rhyme – all aspects … Continue reading Free Verse Poetry or “how to play with unseen rackets” →

Cancel Field Trips, Cancel Forest Rangers: The Every by Dave Eggers (2021)
Dave Eggers’s best­selling tech dystopia, The Cir­cle (2013), has final­ly received a sequel. While The Cir­cle described the rise of a fic­ti­tious tech and social media … Continue reading Cancel Field Trips, Cancel Forest Rangers: The Every by Dave Eggers (2021) →

A Nude Dance
New Year’s Eve is prac­ti­cal­ly upon us once again. Do you always feel guilty for being lazy and not ‘hav­ing fun’ on all the ‘impor­tant’ occa­sions? … Continue reading A Nude Dance →

Divided Country, Divided Family
Let’s just stop for a minute and reflect on a polit­i­cal, philo­soph­i­cal, or moral issue you’re wrong about. It ain’t that easy, right? But why not? … Continue reading Divided Country, Divided Family →

Santa vs. God – The Final Round
Have you ever won­dered, between dec­o­rat­ing your Christ­mas tree and look­ing for presents, what for God’s sake you’re doing? The­o­ret­i­cal­ly, you’re sup­posed to be prepar­ing for … Continue reading Santa vs. God – The Final Round →

Conifer Wood Makes You Feel Good — Christmas Trees in Germany and the U.S.
  O Christ­mas Tree, O Christ­mas Tree, Your boughs can teach a lesson That con­stant faith and hope sublime Lend strength and com­fort through all time. O Christ­mas … Continue reading Conifer Wood Makes You Feel Good — Christmas Trees in Germany and the U.S. →

How to Survive Christmas If You’re a Grinch
Every­one has a friend who hates Christ­mas. Guess what? I’m that friend. The first time I told a friend of mine that I dis­like Christ­mas, I … Continue reading How to Survive Christmas If You’re a Grinch →

If You Hate Christmas, It’s Because You’re Green … or maybe Blue!
We’ve all watched the movie, and we’ve all agreed on the same sto­ry: he’s the buz­zkill, the bad guy try­ing to ruin Christ­mas. But what if … Continue reading If You Hate Christmas, It’s Because You’re Green … or maybe Blue! →

The Ups and Downs of Christmas: How Students Feel about the Season
Writ­ing about Christ­mas is not an easy task. It seems it’s all been said before. And yet, stu­dents in our “Blo­ga­bil­i­ty” sem­i­nar have found diverse ways … Continue reading The Ups and Downs of Christmas: How Students Feel about the Season →

Clicks for the Future: Alternative Search Engines Help Students Surf the Web Sustainably
Look­ing out for fea­si­ble, effec­tive, and easy ways to stop cli­mate change has become an impor­tant goal in our dai­ly lives. As one of the least … Continue reading Clicks for the Future: Alternative Search Engines Help Students Surf the Web Sustainably →

Role Models: Can Quotas Help Get More Women into Leadership?
Women rep­re­sen­ta­tion on cor­po­rate boards remains a prob­lem in many coun­tries around the world. Yet the intro­duc­tion of quo­tas to address this issue has caused debates … Continue reading Role Models: Can Quotas Help Get More Women into Leadership? →

Start Spreading the News: A Cross-Cultural Virtual Newsroom
A vir­tu­al what? asked the per­plexed high-school prin­ci­pal on the oth­er end of the line. I was halfway through my one-minute pitch of the BEST Vir­tu­al … Continue reading Start Spreading the News: A Cross-Cultural Virtual Newsroom →

Thanksgiving or I’d Rather Not Be Invited
For Thanks­giv­ing, let’s do with­out turkeys, these beau­ti­ful birds that Ben­jamin Franklin called “true Amer­i­can orig­i­nals.” Well, a lot of good that did them! More than … Continue reading Thanksgiving or I’d Rather Not Be Invited →

11 Years of “Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes” at Leuphana University Lüneburg
We are pleased to announce that Dar­i­on Akins, the cur­rent U.S. Con­sul Gen­er­al from Ham­burg, will open our lec­ture series with a talk on “Worth the … Continue reading 11 Years of “Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes” at Leuphana University Lüneburg →

Numbers That Make You Think: Public Opinion of the United States is on the Rise
Dear Read­er, What has most sig­nif­i­cant­ly affect­ed your view of the U.S. with­in the last year? Black Lives Mat­ter protests, maybe? Well, they might have changed, … Continue reading Numbers That Make You Think: Public Opinion of the United States is on the Rise →

In Memoriam Bobbie Kirkhart
It is with great sor­row that we announce the pass­ing of Bob­bie Kirkhart. Not only has she been my won­der­ful friend of 35 years, she’s also … Continue reading In Memoriam Bobbie Kirkhart →

A Government of, by, and for the people?
We Amer­i­cans har­bor a huge dichoto­my in our atti­tudes toward our coun­try. We dis­play our patri­o­tism in bor­der­line chau­vin­is­tic man­ner, play­ing the nation­al anthem before every … Continue reading A Government of, by, and for the people? →

Independent Nonprofit, Noncorporate, Noncommercial Global News: Democracy Now! Celebrates 25 Years on the Air
“From New York – this – is Democ­ra­cy Now!” With this icon­ic phrase, Amy Good­man opens each hour-long broadcast. What is an inde­pen­dent, non­prof­it, non­cor­po­rate, non­com­mer­cial … Continue reading Independent Nonprofit, Noncorporate, Noncommercial Global News: Democracy Now! Celebrates 25 Years on the Air →

The Texas Heartbeat Bill: Roe vs. Wade under Attack
This year, more abor­tion restric­tions have been put into place across the U.S. than ever before, and it’s get­ting messy. In 2021 alone, state leg­is­la­tures have … Continue reading The Texas Heartbeat Bill: Roe vs. Wade under Attack →

Two Albums, a 30th Anniversary, and Some 300 Words of Applause
Do you believe in fate? I like to think I don’t, and yet I always find myself look­ing for how the pieces of real­i­ty fit togeth­er to … Continue reading Two Albums, a 30th Anniversary, and Some 300 Words of Applause →

Grammarly Premium Also Works for Advanced EFL Students: Reflections on a Pilot Project at Leuphana
Ok, peo­ple. This is prob­a­bly not going to be the most excit­ing post you’ve ever read, but if you teach at an insti­tute of high­er learn­ing … Continue reading Grammarly Premium Also Works for Advanced EFL Students: Reflections on a Pilot Project at Leuphana →

One of the Darkest Days in American History: 11’09”01 (2002)
Sep­tem­ber 11, 2021, marks the 20th anniver­sary of the most hor­ren­dous ter­ror­ist attack on Amer­i­can soil. In a series of four coor­di­nat­ed attacks on the World … Continue reading One of the Darkest Days in American History: 11’09”01 (2002) →

“Be Free or Die”: Teaching Harriet (2019)
It’s not easy to make a biopic that pleas­es the crit­ics. And, to some extent, Har­ri­et, direct­ed by Kasi Lem­mons, falls into that cat­e­go­ry. Har­ri­et weaves … Continue reading “Be Free or Die”: Teaching Harriet (2019) →

Re-re-recount (and counting)
As the world knows, Don­ald Trump’s 2016 elec­tion to the pres­i­den­cy had healthy assis­tance from Russ­ian bots that, in spite of their non-human cir­cum­stance, knew a … Continue reading Re-re-recount (and counting) →

The Reviews Are In: Babylon Berlin Sets the Scene for Unusually Visionary Television, Intercontinentally
Grant­ed, Baby­lon Berlin has at its dis­po­si­tion all the means nec­es­sary to become a true block­buster. But it isn’t every day the view­er gets to expe­ri­ence … Continue reading The Reviews Are In: Babylon Berlin Sets the Scene for Unusually Visionary Television, Intercontinentally →

We Sing America
I think it’s like­ly true that the peo­ple of all nations love their patri­ot­ic songs even when they don’t agree with their message. I love Amer­i­can … Continue reading We Sing America →

Happy Pride Month!
The month of June com­mem­o­rates a turn­ing point in many coun­tries’ LGBTQ+ his­to­ry. In the U.S., the Stonewall Riots mark this turn­ing point. The Stonewall Inn is a … Continue reading Happy Pride Month! →

On Bloomsday, Dublin Comes to Many U.S. Cities or ‘Milly Bloom Also Has a Few Words to Say’
What does the nov­el Ulysses (1922) by James Joyce (1882–1941) have to do with Amer­i­can Stud­ies? The answer is sim­ple: Blooms­day is an annu­al lit­er­ary fes­ti­val … Continue reading On Bloomsday, Dublin Comes to Many U.S. Cities or ‘Milly Bloom Also Has a Few Words to Say’ →

Call Him by His Name: Rapper Lil Nas X Marks the Spot Where Viral Becomes Substantial
In the dig­i­tal infor­ma­tion age, sen­sa­tion­al­ist head­lines are all around us, all around the clock. To stand out from the gen­er­al noise even for a split sec­ond, … Continue reading Call Him by His Name: Rapper Lil Nas X Marks the Spot Where Viral Becomes Substantial →

A Human or Non-Human Companion? The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
Every so often, a book comes around by an author you’ve nev­er heard about – although you pride your­self on always fol­low­ing new, entic­ing, and award-win­ning … Continue reading A Human or Non-Human Companion? The Friend by Sigrid Nunez →

Happy Belated Birthday, Bob Dylan!
Let’s keep it sim­ple. Bob Dylan, the only singer and song­writer who has won the Nobel Prize for Lit­er­a­ture, turned 80 on May 24th. We would … Continue reading Happy Belated Birthday, Bob Dylan! →

Harriet Tubman and the 20-Dollar Bill Controversy
Mere days after Joe Biden was sworn in as Pres­i­dent of the Unit­ed States, the new admin­is­tra­tion announced its inten­tion to put Har­ri­et Tub­man – known … Continue reading Harriet Tubman and the 20-Dollar Bill Controversy →

Collaborative Writing – The Final Frontier
If you want to go where no man has gone before, why not try your hand at col­lab­o­ra­tive writ­ing? The idea is sim­ple: Com­bine var­i­ous types … Continue reading Collaborative Writing – The Final Frontier →

Chicana/o Quiz
  In order to cel­e­brate Cin­co de Mayo, the – unfor­tu­nate­ly not offi­cial – hol­i­day of Mex­i­can Amer­i­cans in the Unit­ed States, I’d like you to … Continue reading Chicana/o Quiz →

Hemingway
I first read Hem­ing­way at col­lege in 1978, an intro course called Mod­ern Exis­ten­tial Lit­er­a­ture. The Old Man and the Sea was like look­ing at an x‑ray … Continue reading Hemingway →

Little Girl
The day start­ed with a cold waft from a freez­ing night in the mid­dle of March, as the warm light from the slow­ly ris­ing sun filled … Continue reading Little Girl →

Loving pro Virginia: A Films’ Powerfully Poignant Depiction of a Family’s Longing for Home
“I wan­na move ’em back to the country. I don’t care what they do to us. I won’t raise my fam­i­ly here.” The 2016 art­house film Lov­ing, direct­ed … Continue reading Loving pro Virginia: A Films’ Powerfully Poignant Depiction of a Family’s Longing for Home →

505 Hours and 45 Minutes of Comfort in Times of Uncertainty
505 hours and 45 min­utes – that’s how long it takes to watch all of my favorite TV shows. Ever since the first nation­wide lock­down began … Continue reading 505 Hours and 45 Minutes of Comfort in Times of Uncertainty →

Meet Doug Emhoff – The First Second Gentleman
Usu­al­ly, the spous­es of vice pres­i­dents of the Unit­ed States don’t attract much pub­lic atten­tion. Many Amer­i­cans prob­a­bly can’t even name more than two or three … Continue reading Meet Doug Emhoff – The First Second Gentleman →

My Girls, Our Girls, and the Women Before Us
“It is my hon­or to be here, to stand on the shoul­ders of those who came before,” Kamala Har­ris, the first female, the first black, the … Continue reading My Girls, Our Girls, and the Women Before Us →

We Were Trumped!
Amer­i­cans do not vote direct­ly for their pres­i­dents. We vote for the peo­ple who will vote for our pres­i­dents. Each state is assigned elec­tors, based part­ly … Continue reading We Were Trumped! →

More than Just a Novel: Nic Stone’s Dear Martin
It’s been near­ly 52 years since Dr. Mar­tin Luther King, Jr. was assas­si­nat­ed on April 4, 1968. With­out a doubt, he con­tin­ues to inspire new gen­er­a­tions … Continue reading More than Just a Novel: Nic Stone’s Dear Martin →

Mundo Overloadus
I am writ­ing this on the first day of a new year that arrived not a nanosec­ond too soon. We need­ed a new year as sore­ly … Continue reading Mundo Overloadus →

The Stick Jar: One Tool – Many Uses
Imag­ine the fol­low­ing sit­u­a­tion: You want your stu­dents to read out their results, but you are run­ning low on time. Your stu­dents are high­ly moti­vat­ed, and … Continue reading The Stick Jar: One Tool – Many Uses →

Storytelling: Of Geniuses and Maps
What makes a piece of fic­tion suc­cess­ful, apart from a good por­tion of luck? Well, some writ­ers deem the craft of ‘plot­ting’ essen­tial for cre­at­ing fic­tion … Continue reading Storytelling: Of Geniuses and Maps →

ISSN for the American Studies Blog
Dear Read­ers and Con­trib­u­tors,  Before the new year rolls around, the edi­tors of the Amer­i­can Stud­ies Blog are hap­py to announce that the ASB now has … Continue reading ISSN for the American Studies Blog →

ASJ Number 70 (2020) is out now!
We’re very hap­py to present this tremen­dous col­lec­tion of arti­cles, edit­ed by Ingrid Gess­ner and Uwe Küch­ler: http://www.asjournal.org/70–2020/  20,277 Total Views,  1 Views Today

A Holiday Survival Guide
The hol­i­day sea­son is a unique time. We go through the full spec­trum of emo­tions with­in a span of two weeks only. We con­stant­ly have to … Continue reading A Holiday Survival Guide →

A Project Seminar in Times of Covid-19
Project sem­i­nars are always chal­leng­ing. Since they involve more work than a tra­di­tion­al sem­i­nar, they often attract those types of stu­dents who enjoy a good chal­lenge … Continue reading A Project Seminar in Times of Covid-19 →

An Homage to Diversity: Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth (1991)
Released in 1991, Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth is clear­ly not an Amer­i­can clas­sic in the sense of belong­ing to the gold­en age of Hol­ly­wood. As … Continue reading An Homage to Diversity: Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth (1991) →

Letters to a Young Writer – Some Practical and Philosophical Advice for Newcomers to the Trade
“Nobody can advise you and help you, nobody.” This is how writ­ing instruc­tor, nov­el­ist, and screen­writer Colum McCann starts his Let­ters to a Young Writer (2017). … Continue reading Letters to a Young Writer – Some Practical and Philosophical Advice for Newcomers to the Trade →

Hiding in Plain Sight: Legacies of Colonization in New England and the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower
Ear­ly in Novem­ber 1620, after a rough Atlantic cross­ing of about two months, an aging ship called Mayflower arrived in the coastal waters of what we … Continue reading Hiding in Plain Sight: Legacies of Colonization in New England and the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower →

Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes
We’re in our tenth year of Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes    21,095 Total Views,  1 Views Today

“My Goal Would Be To Go Out of Business and Go Back to the Classroom”: An Interview with Nancy Dome
At the din­ner table, on the train, or at work, we wit­ness dis­crim­i­na­to­ry lan­guage or racist remarks from time to time. We often know that we … Continue reading “My Goal Would Be To Go Out of Business and Go Back to the Classroom”: An Interview with Nancy Dome →

The Ultimate Election Forecast: More than 5,000 Pollsters Agree – The Next President of the U.S. is ….
The 2020 U.S. elec­tion has peo­ple around the world on the edge of their seats, won­der­ing who will become the next Pres­i­dent of the Unit­ed States. … Continue reading The Ultimate Election Forecast: More than 5,000 Pollsters Agree – The Next President of the U.S. is …. →

ASJ Number 69 (2020) is out now!
We’re very hap­py to present this tremen­dous col­lec­tion of arti­cles, edit­ed by Heike Paul, Mar­ti­na Kohl, & Hans-Jür­gen Grabbe: http://asjournal.org/69–2020/

A New Millennium?
Jan­u­ary 1, 2000. Not just a new cen­tu­ry, but a new mil­len­ni­um. Spot­less, for the briefest moment, though far from emp­ty. Arriv­ing so brim­ful of promise … Continue reading A New Millennium? →

More Than Just a Blurred Ethnic Identity: Teaching German American Day
It is one of the found­ing myths of “Ger­man Amer­i­cana” that the first migrants from Ger­man-speak­ing ter­ri­to­ries arrived on Octo­ber 6, 1683, on North Amer­i­can soil. … Continue reading More Than Just a Blurred Ethnic Identity: Teaching German American Day →

Ira Wagler’s Serial Memoir Broken Roads: Returning to My Amish Father
I know the mon­sters that lurk in the recess­es of the mind and in the dark cor­ners of the heart. I know, because I deal with my … Continue reading Ira Wagler’s Serial Memoir Broken Roads: Returning to My Amish Father →

Politics and Religion in a Secular State
It is iron­ic that, as the world’s first sec­u­lar democ­ra­cy hav­ing scorned all state reli­gion, we soon became and have remained, social­ly and polit­i­cal­ly, pre­oc­cu­pied with … Continue reading Politics and Religion in a Secular State →

In a trying political climate, look not towards what divides, but what unites Germany and the U.S.: Journalistic Excellence
Are Ger­man-Amer­i­can rela­tions in a crit­i­cal state? If pub­lic opin­ion sur­veys are any­thing to go by, per­haps so – at least accord­ing to Ger­mans. While Amer­i­cans … Continue reading In a trying political climate, look not towards what divides, but what unites Germany and the U.S.: Journalistic Excellence →

The Mandalorian
You’ve prob­a­bly already heard that The Man­dalo­ri­an was nom­i­nat­ed for 15 Emmy Awards, includ­ing Out­stand­ing Dra­ma Series and Out­stand­ing Children’s Pro­gram. And even if you weren’t … Continue reading The Mandalorian →

The Long March to Justice
When I was five years old, I announced my new dis­cov­ery: “Negroes (the polite term at the time) are bad.” My par­ents tried to cor­rect me, … Continue reading The Long March to Justice →

“Writing is how I process things”: An Interview with Miriam Toews
We met Miri­am Toews at a read­ing in Ham­burg on March 26, 2019. Toews was on a book tour to pro­mote the Ger­man trans­la­tion of her … Continue reading “Writing is how I process things”: An Interview with Miriam Toews →

How well do you know the United States and Canada? A Quiz
Now that the nation­al hol­i­days of both Cana­da (July 1) and the Unit­ed States (July 4) are upon us, it’s time to check how well you, … Continue reading How well do you know the United States and Canada? A Quiz →

2020 Haiku Contest
Just last month, the U.S. Con­sulate Gen­er­al Leipzig orga­nized a Haiku con­test for both high school and uni­ver­si­ty stu­dents. The mot­to for this cre­ative writ­ing chal­lenge … Continue reading 2020 Haiku Contest →

Digital Age Ruminations: The U.S. Humanities and Employability Concerns
As any­one who has scanned recent U.S. edu­ca­tion head­lines knows, the human­i­ties face a cri­sis of legit­i­ma­tion amidst a tech-dri­ven econ­o­my in which the mantra of … Continue reading Digital Age Ruminations: The U.S. Humanities and Employability Concerns →

A Call for 60s-Style Teach-ins on Anti-Racism
  Let’s start off with a few telling facts: The ori­gin of the word “racism” stems from the French word racisme which appeared dur­ing the last … Continue reading A Call for 60s-Style Teach-ins on Anti-Racism →

So much to stream, so little time? Netflix has a solution.
Whether it’s the mo(u)rning rou­tine of hav­ing to leave your beloved bed, or the devi­ous­ly bril­liant book that won’t let you stop turn­ing pages while the … Continue reading So much to stream, so little time? Netflix has a solution. →

A Changing Mindset: Teaching “A Mown Lawn” by Lydia Davis
Thurs­day, Jan. 23, 2020 (10:47 a.m.) Lydia Davis (1947- ) is a lover of lan­guage and an Amer­i­can writer, prob­a­bly in that order. She’s best known … Continue reading A Changing Mindset: Teaching “A Mown Lawn” by Lydia Davis →

Can Artists Save Us?
How much do celebri­ties, influ­encers, and social media actu­al­ly impact us? The way we con­sume media has changed dra­mat­i­cal­ly over the past decade, and while many … Continue reading Can Artists Save Us? →

Remote Learning with American Studies
With this fifth blog, we are com­ing to the end or our series on dig­i­tal teach­ing tools. We hope that you’ve been inspired by some of … Continue reading Remote Learning with American Studies →

May 8 – Celebrating the End of World War II as a German
75 years ago, the world sighed in relief. After six grue­some years and over 70 mil­lion lost lives, World War II was final­ly over. May 8, … Continue reading May 8 – Celebrating the End of World War II as a German →

Keep calm and follow the news
As Amer­i­can stud­ies and for­eign lan­guage edu­ca­tion schol­ars, we some­times tend to over­look the vast demand for teach­able online resources out­side of acad­e­mia. My work in … Continue reading Keep calm and follow the news →

Unusual Friendships: Interspecies Relationships
One not so com­mon top­ic in the broad field of ani­mal stud­ies is the inter­ac­tion between dif­fer­ent ani­mal species. Until recent­ly, any sug­ges­tion that inter­species rela­tion­ships … Continue reading Unusual Friendships: Interspecies Relationships →

Human-Animal Studies – The ASB Editors’ Favorite Picks (Part II)
When we think about rela­tion­ships between human ani­mals and non-human ani­mals, we often think of the rela­tion­ship between guardians and pets. How­ev­er, there’s so much more … Continue reading Human-Animal Studies – The ASB Editors’ Favorite Picks (Part II) →

Digital American Studies – The ASB Editors’ Favorite Picks (Part I)
Every­one is writ­ing about the shift to dig­i­tal teach­ing in wake of the coro­n­avirus cri­sis. The focus on Twit­ter and diverse blogs seems to be main­ly … Continue reading Digital American Studies – The ASB Editors’ Favorite Picks (Part I) →

“Do they have traffic lights in Ireland?”
“Do they have traf­fic lights in Ire­land?” This was a naive ques­tion posed to my cousin on a vis­it to the Unit­ed States in the 1980s. … Continue reading “Do they have traffic lights in Ireland?” →

“By the Sword We Seek Peace”: The 1620 Massachusetts State Flag and Legacies in 2020
was late in June 2015. I was on a trip through the south­ern Unit­ed States and decid­ed to take a quick detour to explore the area … Continue reading “By the Sword We Seek Peace”: The 1620 Massachusetts State Flag and Legacies in 2020 →

Sacrifice, Suffrage, and the Struggle for ERA: Celebrating International Women’s Day 2020
2020 marks the 100th anniver­sary of the 19th Amend­ment to the U.S. Con­sti­tu­tion that grant­ed Amer­i­can women the right to vote. That is cer­tain­ly rea­son to … Continue reading Sacrifice, Suffrage, and the Struggle for ERA: Celebrating International Women’s Day 2020 →

A Gift that Keeps Giving: The American Memorial Library in Berlin
“Today we are lay­ing the cor­ner­stone of the Amer­i­can Memo­r­i­al Library. It is to be open to all who desire to enter and learn what men … Continue reading A Gift that Keeps Giving: The American Memorial Library in Berlin →

Dreams Have No Borders: The 8th Indianer/Inuit North American Film Festival
Ask any Native Stud­ies schol­ar in Europe, and they will be well aware of the Euro­pean fas­ci­na­tion with Native peo­ples of North Amer­i­ca – a fas­ci­na­tion … Continue reading Dreams Have No Borders: The 8th Indianer/Inuit North American Film Festival →

Star Wars – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
[Author’s note: This review is spoil­er free.] A year has passed since the events of The Last Jedi (2017). Kylo Ren (Adam Dri­ver) is Supreme Leader of the … Continue reading Star Wars – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) →

Teaching Human-Animal Studies: An Interdisciplinary Symposium
Ani­mals are all around us. But what do we actu­al­ly mean when we say “ani­mal”? We are, of course, also ani­mals: human ani­mals.   In recent years, … Continue reading Teaching Human-Animal Studies: An Interdisciplinary Symposium →

Blue Valentine : Endings, Beginnings, and Nothing in Between
Blue Valen­tine: A Love Sto­ry (2011). That’s what it says on the movie poster. But is this what the movie is real­ly about? A roman­tic, sus­tained, … Continue reading Blue Valentine : Endings, Beginnings, and Nothing in Between →

On European Audiences, Workshopping, and His Novel, The Altruists: An Interview with Andrew Ridker
I met author Andrew Rid­ker at the Heine-Haus in Lüneb­urg on Octo­ber 21, 2019. After the inspir­ing evening, he kind­ly agreed to an email inter­view with … Continue reading On European Audiences, Workshopping, and His Novel, The Altruists: An Interview with Andrew Ridker →

The Ultimate Christmas Movie Playlist
Ah, Christ­mas! The hol­i­days are around the cor­ner, and this means a com­bi­na­tion of an incred­i­ble amount of deli­cious food (don’t we all love Grandma’s cook­ing?!) … Continue reading The Ultimate Christmas Movie Playlist →

Forget What the History Books Say: How David Hasselhoff Broke Down the Berlin Wall
“[This] again proves my the­o­ry that Ger­mans love David Has­sel­hoff,” con­cludes Norm Mac­don­ald on his Sat­ur­day Night Live seg­ment “Week­end Update” in the ear­ly 90s. The … Continue reading Forget What the History Books Say: How David Hasselhoff Broke Down the Berlin Wall →

Thanksgiving and the Ambiguity of Memory
It was in the late after­noon on Novem­ber 22, 2018. Even by New Eng­land stan­dards, the weath­er was cold and blus­tery. Out­side of a dor­mi­to­ry at … Continue reading Thanksgiving and the Ambiguity of Memory →

ASB 2019 Contest Winner in the Category “Best Books & Fabulous Films”
On behalf of the Amer­i­can Stud­ies Blog, we would like to extend our sin­cer­est con­grat­u­la­tions to Lau­ren Solomon whose win­ning entry in the cat­e­go­ry “Best Books … Continue reading ASB 2019 Contest Winner in the Category “Best Books & Fabulous Films” →

Personal Recollections: The Fall of the Wall Part Two
This week’s installment concludes our series on the fall of the Berlin Wall. Enjoy!   Bobbie Kirkhart, Los Angeles When I was very young, I imag­ined there … Continue reading Personal Recollections: The Fall of the Wall Part Two →

Personal Recollections: The Fall of the Wall
Marlena Voigts, Hamburg Nov. 9, 1989: I was lying in bed when I thought I heard the phone ring. The next morn­ing, there was in fact a … Continue reading Personal Recollections: The Fall of the Wall →

Remembering the Fall of the Wall
In hon­or of the 30thanniver­sary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Amer­i­can Stud­ies Blog will remem­ber this spec­tac­u­lar event in his­to­ry through the eyes … Continue reading Remembering the Fall of the Wall →

ASB 2019 Contest Winner in the Category “Access America”
  On behalf of the Amer­i­can Stud­ies Blog, we would like to extend our sin­cer­est con­grat­u­la­tions to Pune Kari­mi whose win­ning entry in the 2019 ASB … Continue reading ASB 2019 Contest Winner in the Category “Access America” →

Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes 
We’re in our ninth year of Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes– if this lec­ture series were a child, it would be in third grade by now. … Continue reading Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes  →

It’s Campaign Season – So “Keep the Ball Rolling”!
Have you ever heard the expres­sion “keep the ball rolling” and won­dered about its origins? An antecedent of the phrase stems from the British “keep the … Continue reading It’s Campaign Season – So “Keep the Ball Rolling”! →

German American Day – Celebrate 336 Years of German American History
Although the Unit­ed States has great­ly impact­ed pol­i­tics and pop­u­lar cul­ture around the world, it should not be for­got­ten that Ger­man immi­grants have also influ­enced Amer­i­can … Continue reading German American Day – Celebrate 336 Years of German American History →

The Allied Museum
There are any num­ber of fea­ture films and doc­u­men­taries about the Cold War, some of which have been shown in numer­ous movie the­aters over the decades. … Continue reading The Allied Museum →

Some Things Never Fade
o here I am in famous Mont­martre next to 50 oth­er unknown artists who all do the same thing – draw famous peo­ple. Iron­ic, isn’t it? … Continue reading Some Things Never Fade →

Yay! People love her!
Soc­cer star Megan Rapi­noe has a twin sis­ter, but every­one rec­og­nizes that they are fra­ter­nal twins because Megan cer­tain­ly is one of a kind. She’s unique … Continue reading Yay! People love her! →

The American Dream Reconsidered: The Outsiders (1967)
14-year-old orphan Pony­boy Cur­tis lives with his old­er broth­ers Dar­ry and Sodapop in a city some­where in Amer­i­ca. They are part of a greas­er gang which … Continue reading The American Dream Reconsidered: The Outsiders (1967) →

Apollo 11 – An Alternate Universe
No, this blog post is not about con­spir­a­cy the­o­ries con­nect­ed to the Apol­lo pro­gram, Apol­lo 11, or the moon land­ing. Instead, it is about an alter­nate … Continue reading Apollo 11 – An Alternate Universe →

Banking Amish-Style
When my col­leagues and I start­ed this blog, I would have nev­er in a mil­lion years thought I would be writ­ing about a bank. But near­ly … Continue reading Banking Amish-Style →

“Memories of Government Springs Park”
Gov­ern­ment Springs Park was once the pride of Enid, Okla­homa. Dur­ing my child­hood, gov­ern­ment was con­sid­ered a good thing, so we often used that full name … Continue reading “Memories of Government Springs Park” →

Doom and Decision – The 75th D‑Day Anniversary 2019
    Only a hand­ful of history’s myr­i­ads of dates is uni­ver­sal­ly remem­bered even out­side the domain of aca­d­e­m­ic his­to­ry. June 6, 1944, is one of … Continue reading Doom and Decision – The 75th D‑Day Anniversary 2019 →

Introduction to Literature: Robert Coover’s “A Sudden Story”
Intro­duc­tion to Lit­er­a­ture. Fic­tion. The ses­sion on nar­ra­tive per­spec­tives – some­thing that teach­ers often love, but first year lit­er­a­ture stu­dents just as often dread (close to … Continue reading Introduction to Literature: Robert Coover’s “A Sudden Story” →

American Studies Blog Contest
As we approach the 5th anniver­sary of the Amer­i­can Stud­ies Blog (http://blog.asjournal.org/), we decid­ed to cel­e­brate by ask­ing you – our read­ers – to par­tic­i­pate in … Continue reading American Studies Blog Contest →

The Berlin Blockade
Sev­en­ty years ago, on May 12, 1949, the Berlin Block­ade came to an end. Nowa­days con­sid­ered a cor­ner­stone of the Cold War Era, the block­ade had … Continue reading The Berlin Blockade →

Brevity is the Soul of Wit: Whipping up a Flash Fiction Collection
Flash fic­tion is not only a fun and quick read, but also a fun and not-always-so-quick write. The key is to cre­ate a suc­cinct sto­ry – … Continue reading Brevity is the Soul of Wit: Whipping up a Flash Fiction Collection →

Teaching the Next Generation – A German Saturday School in the U.S.
It’s Sat­ur­day morn­ing ten after nine. After a half hour dri­ve, my two daugh­ters and I pull into the park­ing lot out­side a school that is … Continue reading Teaching the Next Generation – A German Saturday School in the U.S. →

Every Story Tells a Picture or How to Vignette
In the age of social media, it’s the image that rules. Insta­gram is the per­fect exam­ple: It not only feeds some people’s insa­tiable need to doc­u­ment … Continue reading Every Story Tells a Picture or How to Vignette →

We Need a Break or We’ll Break or Why to Vignette
  ”Lose your mind and come to your sens­es.” Fritz Perls   In an age of nev­er-end­ing par­al­lel con­ver­sa­tions, screens and sec­ond screens, and an even more … Continue reading We Need a Break or We’ll Break or Why to Vignette →

Findians: A Journey to Distant Cousins
In their 2016 book, Fin­ti­aanien Mail­la, three Finnish women take read­ers on a jour­ney into unknown ter­ri­to­ry. Meeri Koutanie­mi (pho­to jour­nal­ist), Maria Sep­pälä (jour­nal­ist and doc­u­men­tary … Continue reading Findians: A Journey to Distant Cousins →

An Interview with Award-Winning Author Jayne Anne Phillips
After par­tic­i­pat­ing in an inspir­ing writ­ing work­shop with Jayne Anne Phillips as part of The 15th Inter­na­tion­al Con­fer­ence on the Short Sto­ry in Eng­lish in Lis­bon … Continue reading An Interview with Award-Winning Author Jayne Anne Phillips →

Improving Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
f course the title is face­tious: I cer­tain­ly don’t want to – even if I could, which I can’t – improve one of the best and … Continue reading Improving Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” →

Thoughts of a Digital Alternative
Since tomor­row is the Nation­al Day of Unplug­ging, we thought it only made sense to relaunch the “Thoughts of a Dig­i­tal Alternative.” Here’s our advice: Use … Continue reading Thoughts of a Digital Alternative →

Beyoncé and Jay‑Z at the Louvre: A Timely Reminder of Art Museums’ Racist Past
The Lou­vre is the most famous and most vis­it­ed muse­um in the world. Arguably, it is also the most pres­ti­gious one. So what does it mean … Continue reading Beyoncé and Jay‑Z at the Louvre: A Timely Reminder of Art Museums’ Racist Past →

“My only sin is in my skin. What did I do to be so black and blue?”
The dizzy­ing drum beats, bright, float­ing tones of a trum­pet or sax; the thump­ing under­cur­rent of rhyth­mic bass; the live­ly bounc­ing piano – all ener­gized by … Continue reading “My only sin is in my skin. What did I do to be so black and blue?” →

Adventure Time – Not Just for Children
It was long after mid­night. I was sit­ting in a fan­cy bar, killing time while wait­ing for my train home. I’d been at Com­ic Con in … Continue reading Adventure Time – Not Just for Children →

Arnold Krupat, Changed Forever: American Indian Boarding-School Literature 
The book’s cov­er says it all: It shows Apache stu­dents on their arrival at Carlisle Indi­an School in Penn­syl­va­nia, an off-reser­va­tion school thou­sands of miles away … Continue reading Arnold Krupat, Changed Forever: American Indian Boarding-School Literature  →

So, You Wanna Be a Writer?!? Beginnings, Endings, and Everything in Between – An Interview with Drew Hayden Taylor
Per­haps you’ve toyed with the idea of becom­ing a pro­fes­sion­al writer, or you sim­ply want to indulge in flights of fan­cy that you lat­er com­mit to … Continue reading So, You Wanna Be a Writer?!? Beginnings, Endings, and Everything in Between – An Interview with Drew Hayden Taylor →

Elsewhere: From Interview to Podcast
It’s nev­er too ear­ly to think about the next semes­ter. Per­haps you and your stu­dents would like to try your hand at pod­cast­ing. I have to … Continue reading Elsewhere: From Interview to Podcast →

Christmas Traditions in the U.S.
This year, the team of the Amer­i­can Stud­ies Blog would like to wish you all a very Mer­ry Christ­mas by test­ing your knowl­edge of Christ­mas triv­ia. … Continue reading Christmas Traditions in the U.S. →

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
As some­one who reg­u­lar­ly teach­es cre­ative non-fic­tion to uni­ver­si­ty stu­dents, I’m always look­ing for new mate­r­i­al. Ear­li­er this year, I came across a high­ly acclaimed mem­oir … Continue reading Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover →

Music to Last a Lifetime: The Reissue of The White Album
It was East­er Sun­day 1969 and I was a boy. My par­ents had staged an East­er egg hunt in our gar­den, and I was search­ing beneath … Continue reading Music to Last a Lifetime: The Reissue of The White Album →

Two Sides to Every Story – The Affair (2014–19)
Have you ever talked about a past event with some­one who was involved in it and came to a point where you and that some­one didn’t … Continue reading Two Sides to Every Story – The Affair (2014–19) →

Democracy American Style
Although the midterm elec­tions are already over, my Ger­man friends are still ask­ing me what they are all about. They say that most Euro­peans don’t under­stand … Continue reading Democracy American Style →

Drew Hayden Taylor at Leuphana
From Novem­ber 3 to 5, Cana­di­an Anish­nawbe author and play­wright, Drew Hay­den Tay­lor, will be giv­ing talks in var­i­ous sem­i­nars at Leuphana. Top­ics range from tools … Continue reading Drew Hayden Taylor at Leuphana →

In a World Created by an Indigenous God: A Native Writer’s Take on Karl May’s Winnetou
It goes with­out say­ing that the Ger­mans’ unri­valled fas­ci­na­tion with the Native peo­ple of North Amer­i­ca is not exact­ly a well-kept secret. Case in point: the … Continue reading In a World Created by an Indigenous God: A Native Writer’s Take on Karl May’s Winnetou →

Aretha Franklin: Freedom, Respect, and the Moral Universe
Pow­er­ful and proud, Aretha Franklin’s music cham­pi­oned the ideas of free­dom and dig­ni­ty, mak­ing her voice an inte­gral part of the Civ­il Rights Move­ment in the … Continue reading Aretha Franklin: Freedom, Respect, and the Moral Universe →

BlacKkKlansman: A Much Too American Story
It is an inter­est­ing sit­u­a­tion: a black cop infil­trates the Ku Klux Klan, the most sto­ried white suprema­cist group in the Unit­ed States. How could this … Continue reading BlacKkKlansman: A Much Too American Story →

What’s your story? In two sentences or less…
Peo­ple love sto­ries. And appar­ent­ly, they always have. Neu­ro­sci­en­tists sug­gest our yearn­ing for sto­ries is root­ed deeply in the human brain; sup­pos­ed­ly sto­ries even help us … Continue reading What’s your story? In two sentences or less… →

National Comedy Center – It’s on THE Map!
When I start­ed out as a teach­ing assis­tant at Syra­cuse Uni­ver­si­ty at the ripe old age of twen­ty, I instinc­tive­ly knew I should get to know … Continue reading National Comedy Center – It’s on THE Map! →

Outhouse Races, Chocolate-Covered Deep Fried Cheesecake, and the Butter What? Nothing Compares to the Iowa State Fair
When tourists from all over the world plan their vaca­tions to the Unit­ed States, they often stick to tried and true places to vis­it: Nation­al parks, … Continue reading Outhouse Races, Chocolate-Covered Deep Fried Cheesecake, and the Butter What? Nothing Compares to the Iowa State Fair →

“When you spot your flower, you can’t let anything get in your way”: Adaptation (2002)
Adap­ta­tion is an oldie but good­ie with an excel­lent cast of char­ac­ters. Screen­writer Char­lie Kauf­man (Nico­las Cage) is sup­posed to write a movie adap­ta­tion of Susan … Continue reading “When you spot your flower, you can’t let anything get in your way”: Adaptation (2002) →

Connect-the-Cards: Making Academia Exciting while Fostering Critical Thinking Skills and Meaningful Conversation
Ques­tion and answer. Ques­tion and answer. Ques­tion and answer. And then silence. Last­ing silence. It hap­pens to the best of us. The rou­tine of work­ing with … Continue reading Connect-the-Cards: Making Academia Exciting while Fostering Critical Thinking Skills and Meaningful Conversation →

1550 San Remo Drive
This almost Bauhaus-style vil­la, over­look­ing the Pacif­ic Ocean, is locat­ed in beau­ti­ful Pacif­ic Pal­isades, just off Sun­set Blvd. In 2016, it went up for sale – … Continue reading 1550 San Remo Drive →

“No, It’s Not Sissy Ball” – In Defense of Soccer
As most of you have prob­a­bly noticed, the Unit­ed States is not among the coun­tries play­ing in the World Cup for the first time in 32 … Continue reading “No, It’s Not Sissy Ball” – In Defense of Soccer →

Improv Workshop with Kieron Freigang: The Storytelling Circle
Cat got your tongue? Excus­es, excus­es. In the impro­vi­sa­tion game, “The Sto­ry­telling Cir­cle,” you’ve got to talk—right away and on the spot—whether you want to or … Continue reading Improv Workshop with Kieron Freigang: The Storytelling Circle →

Living by the Watch: Stranger Than Fiction
Yes, ok. So the film is twelve years old? It’s fun­ny and clever, and it fea­tures some of the best actors and actress­es Hol­ly­wood has to … Continue reading Living by the Watch: Stranger Than Fiction →

“How many years can a mountain exist?” Bob Dylan and the Civil Rights Movement
On the steps of the Lin­coln Memo­r­i­al, Mar­tin Luther King Jr. touched thou­sands of peo­ple with his unfor­get­table “I have a Dream” speech on August 28, … Continue reading “How many years can a mountain exist?” Bob Dylan and the Civil Rights Movement →

The “Deep Story” of the White American South, or Strangers in Their Own Land (2016) by Arlie Russell Hochschild (Part II)
After the gen­er­al intro­duc­tion to Hochschild’s trea­tise last week, let us now pur­sue a deep­er analy­sis. The “deep sto­ry” of the Tea Par­ty move­ment in red … Continue reading The “Deep Story” of the White American South, or Strangers in Their Own Land (2016) by Arlie Russell Hochschild (Part II) →

The ‘Deep Story’ of the White American South, or Strangers in Their Own Land (2016) by Arlie Russell Hochschild (Part I)
In Jan­u­ary 2017, I lis­tened to an inter­view with UC Berke­ley soci­ol­o­gist Arlie Rus­sell Hochschild on Nation­al Pub­lic Radio about her New York Times best­seller. But … Continue reading The ‘Deep Story’ of the White American South, or Strangers in Their Own Land (2016) by Arlie Russell Hochschild (Part I) →

The Many Worlds of Rick and Morty
Imag­ine you get home and see a bunch of your friends, let’s say friends whose taste in films and shows you usu­al­ly trust, watch­ing a show. … Continue reading The Many Worlds of Rick and Morty →

Why You Should Read Gerald Vizenor’s Upcoming Novel Native Tributes
  “I write emo­tive sto­ries about Natives who have been absent in history.” (Ger­ald Vizenor, per­son­al interview)   Ger­ald Vizenor’s his­tor­i­cal nov­el, Native Trib­utes, will be … Continue reading Why You Should Read Gerald Vizenor’s Upcoming Novel Native Tributes →

Erich Mühsam and the Berlin Idea Factory
Erich Müh­sam (1878–1934) was a Ger­man-Jew­ish anti­mil­i­tarist anar­chist essay­ist, poet, and play­wright. I can check most of those box­es. I tried anar­chy in my 20s; it … Continue reading Erich Mühsam and the Berlin Idea Factory →

When the News Was True: The Post
News­pa­pers always make good movies: the dare-dev­il reporter, the over­achiev­ing assis­tant, and the crusty edi­tor up against the pow­er of a dis­hon­est gov­ern­ment. There is won­der­ful … Continue reading When the News Was True: The Post →

An Earth-Day-and-World-Book-Day Bloem
Nature doesn’t real­ly care whether there are human beings or not. I’m sor­ry to break this to you. - Mar­garet Atwood I’m not sure what I need to … Continue reading An Earth-Day-and-World-Book-Day Bloem →

“Who’s Afraid of a Shower Curtain?” How Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho Changed the Movie Industry and our Bathroom Habits
“Give them plea­sure. The same plea­sure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.” Alfred Hitch­cock                             A beau­ti­ful blonde woman takes a relax­ing show­er, some­body … Continue reading “Who’s Afraid of a Shower Curtain?” How Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho Changed the Movie Industry and our Bathroom Habits →

Cozy Horror – Stranger Things
The title font, rem­i­nis­cent of 1980s hor­ror-thriller nov­els, buzzes over the flat screen TV or lap­top mon­i­tor to the eeri­ly pul­sat­ing beat of elec­tron­ic music. We … Continue reading Cozy Horror – Stranger Things →

If You’re a Star…
 “If you’re a star, they’ll let you do it,” Don­ald Trump explained in his boast­ful account of casu­al assault on women. This rant, known as the … Continue reading If You’re a Star… →

Hidden Figures: A Highly Entertaining Film that Means Well but Doesn’t Quite Add Up
As many of you might know, Hid­den Fig­ures (2016) is a biopic direct­ed by Theodore Melfi based on Mar­got Lee Shetterly’s pop­u­lar his­to­ry book and New … Continue reading Hidden Figures: A Highly Entertaining Film that Means Well but Doesn’t Quite Add Up →

How the “Ping” Was Heard Round the World
Dur­ing the spring of 1971, 19-year-old Amer­i­can table ten­nis play­er, Glenn Cow­an, wrapped up his train­ing ses­sion in Nagoya (Japan) in order to pre­pare for the … Continue reading How the “Ping” Was Heard Round the World →

English Lesson 2.0
For most stu­dents, expo­sure to the Eng­lish lan­guage is large­ly restrict­ed to the chalky class­room and – out­side the class­room – to watch­ing movies or series … Continue reading English Lesson 2.0 →

Archie Reloaded – Riverdale
“Our sto­ry is about a town. A small town. And the peo­ple who live in that town” are the first words we hear on Riverdale (2017 … Continue reading Archie Reloaded – Riverdale →

Under Dark Skies: A Review Essay
On Fri­day, Octo­ber 16, our group of five – two mas­ter stu­dents, three bach­e­lor stu­dents, and I – set out from the Insti­tute of Eng­lish and … Continue reading Under Dark Skies: A Review Essay →

Star Wars – The Last Jedi: No Light without Darkness?
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” The bright blue let­ters appear on the big black screen. Rev­er­ent silence fills the movie the­ater. Maybe … Continue reading Star Wars – The Last Jedi: No Light without Darkness? →

A New Public Hanging? Sam Durant’s Scaffold
In 2017, just five years after a Min­neso­ta art exhi­bi­tion marked the 150th anniver­sary of the 1862 hang­ing of 38 Dako­ta Sioux men at Manka­to, that … Continue reading A New Public Hanging? Sam Durant’s Scaffold →

The Most Romantic Night of the Year?
On Octo­ber 28, the Hall­mark Chan­nel launched its annu­al “Count­down to Christ­mas.” Dur­ing the eight weeks before Christ­mas, the chan­nel will broad­cast 21 orig­i­nal movies that … Continue reading The Most Romantic Night of the Year? →

The Pursuit of (Un)happiness
BoJack Horse­man (voice by Will Arnett) is a long-faced, washed-up Hol­ly­wood star whose career end­ed two decades ago, along with his Nineties sit­com, Horsin’ Around. Since … Continue reading The Pursuit of (Un)happiness →

Tweet Me a Story:
Twiction – The Perfect Stocking Stuffer
One week before Christ­mas and no gift in sight? Allow me to assist you out of your plight For who real­ly wants one more thought­less gift? Doomed to … Continue reading Tweet Me a Story:
Twiction – The Perfect Stocking Stuffer →

From Comma-kazi to Comma-Sutra: Or You Too Can Learn to Love Commas
Gram­mar doesn’t tend to be a top­ic that stu­dents are enthused about. When­ev­er I men­tion it, many of my stu­dents roll their eyes. To real­ly get … Continue reading From Comma-kazi to Comma-Sutra: Or You Too Can Learn to Love Commas →

Topping off Thanksgiving Traditions: Turkey with Cranberry Sauce
Thanks­giv­ing is a day for spend­ing time with fam­i­ly and friends as well as shar­ing culi­nary delights, such as turkey, dress­ing (a Mid-West­ern word for stuff­ing), … Continue reading Topping off Thanksgiving Traditions: Turkey with Cranberry Sauce →

American Hustle
“As far as I could see, peo­ple were always con­ning each oth­er to get what they want­ed. We even con our­selves. We talk our­selves into things. … Continue reading American Hustle →

Love no more? Catalonia and Spain
CADAQUÉS, Cat­alo­nia, Spain – Dis­patch from Spain’s Cold Civ­il War. Speak­er of the U.S. House Tip O’Neill once said, “All pol­i­tics are local.” In today’s world, no … Continue reading Love no more? Catalonia and Spain →

Sexual Harassment in the 21st Century – Really?
If it wasn’t enough that Amer­i­can TV icon and edu­ca­tor Bill Cos­by was accused of sex­u­al assault, rape, and bat­tery – to name a few of … Continue reading Sexual Harassment in the 21st Century – Really? →

Escaping Fundamentalism: An Interview with Charlene L. Edge (Part II)
After last week’s intro­duc­tion to the seduc­tive pow­er of the fun­da­men­tal­ist cult “The Way Inter­na­tion­al” and the prac­tice of speak­ing in tongues, in this install­ment, read­ers … Continue reading Escaping Fundamentalism: An Interview with Charlene L. Edge (Part II) →

Escaping Fundamentalism: An Interview with Charlene L. Edge (Part I)
In her award-win­ning book Under­tow, Char­lene Edge dis­sects her past as a long-time mem­ber of one of the largest fun­da­men­tal­ist cults in the Unit­ed States, “The … Continue reading Escaping Fundamentalism: An Interview with Charlene L. Edge (Part I) →

Beatriz at Dinner: Comedy, Tragedy, Portrait?
We first see Beat­riz (Salma Hayek) going through morn­ing chores, feed­ing her dogs, and light­ing a can­dle for deceased loved ones, includ­ing her dead goat. She’s … Continue reading Beatriz at Dinner: Comedy, Tragedy, Portrait? →

Teaching Feminism
All teach­ers remem­ber moments when they were caught off guard in front of a group of stu­dents. I remem­ber a few years ago, in a class … Continue reading Teaching Feminism →

9/11 – The Only Plane in the Sky
The attacks on the World Trade Cen­ter as well as the Pen­ta­gon in Sep­tem­ber 2001, dubbed 9/11, were a major news event. As is the case … Continue reading 9/11 – The Only Plane in the Sky →

Look Homeward, Amish Son: Ira Wagler’s Journey between Amish and “English” Worlds
What is it like to grow up in an Old Order Amish com­mu­ni­ty? Can the allure of tra­di­tion and a sense of belong­ing to such a … Continue reading Look Homeward, Amish Son: Ira Wagler’s Journey between Amish and “English” Worlds →

Safety First!
Many of you might remem­ber Kate Winslet and Leonar­do DiCaprio togeth­er on the big screen, sur­round­ed by water and ice. While “Rose” whis­pers last words of … Continue reading Safety First! →

Mary Kay and Johnny – America’s First TV Sitcom
For the past decades, sit­coms have been omnipresent in our every­day lives. On TV, in mag­a­zines, or on the Inter­net – it’s hard to escape the … Continue reading Mary Kay and Johnny – America’s First TV Sitcom →

Winnetou Rides Again
After a dozen trips or more to Deutsch­land, I can offi­cial­ly say I con­sid­er Ger­many to be my home away from home. Each vis­it reunites me … Continue reading Winnetou Rides Again →

Watch and Write! Writing the TV Drama Series
  “To cre­ate a tele­vi­sion show out of thin air, with­out any­body pay­ing you, requires a cer­tain amount of delu­sion, and that’s tak­en me very far.” Matt Wein­er, … Continue reading Watch and Write! Writing the TV Drama Series →

Lessons not Learned
There is a won­der­ful spot west of the city of Frank­furt in Ger­many. It’s in an area well known for its excel­lent white wine, its charm­ing … Continue reading Lessons not Learned →

Transgenerational Transmission of Holocaust Memories and Survival: An Interview with Documentary Filmmaker Ethan Bensinger (Part II)
The fol­low­ing is the sec­ond part of an inter­view with film direc­tor Ethan Bensinger in which he answers ques­tions about the chal­lenges of mak­ing his prize-win­ning … Continue reading Transgenerational Transmission of Holocaust Memories and Survival: An Interview with Documentary Filmmaker Ethan Bensinger (Part II) →

Transgenerational Transmission of Holocaust Memories and Survival: An Interview with Documentary Filmmaker Ethan Bensinger (Part I)
When I first invit­ed film direc­tor Ethan Bensinger to come to Leuphana Uni­ver­si­ty Lüneb­urg, I knew that 2015 would be a spe­cial year for Holo­caust com­mem­o­ra­tion. … Continue reading Transgenerational Transmission of Holocaust Memories and Survival: An Interview with Documentary Filmmaker Ethan Bensinger (Part I) →

Clap & Freeze: A Recipe for Instant Drama
ook­ing for a quick-paced impromp­tu improv game? How about a round of “Clap & Freeze” – a fun-filled game for hon­ing your ver­bal and non-ver­bal act­ing … Continue reading Clap & Freeze: A Recipe for Instant Drama →

AWP: In Love with Words, at a Loss for Words
Writ­ers are a spe­cial breed. Con­stant­ly shift­ing through their per­cep­tion of the envi­ron­ment with detailed atten­tion, they store and ana­lyze any piece of infor­ma­tion on the … Continue reading AWP: In Love with Words, at a Loss for Words →

Hiking in the Anthropocene
This past fall, my trav­els and work oblig­a­tions had me fly into Cal­gary. I took the oppor­tu­ni­ty to spend five addi­tion­al days in spots I con­sid­er … Continue reading Hiking in the Anthropocene →

Literature Circles Rock!
As we all know, more and more adults are read­ing less and less in their free time. That’s not a judg­ment, just a fact. Bud­ding book­worms … Continue reading Literature Circles Rock! →

A New National Holiday – A Riddle
By all rights, I should be a nation­al hol­i­day in the Unit­ed States. I am not as polit­i­cal­ly incor­rect as Colum­bus Day which Native Amer­i­cans are … Continue reading A New National Holiday – A Riddle →

School Ties
It’s 1955. David Greene (Bren­dan Fras­er), a Jew­ish boy from a work­ing class fam­i­ly, leaves his home, the indus­tri­al city of Scran­ton, Penn­syl­va­nia, to go to … Continue reading School Ties →

Writing Life: From Theory to Practice
Story­telling is as old as human civ­i­liza­tion itself and ful­fills a human need. In soci­eties, in which edu­ca­tion is becom­ing more com­mod­i­fied, stu­dents do not only … Continue reading Writing Life: From Theory to Practice →

White Robes, Silver Screens: An Interview with Tom Rice (Part 2)
In this sec­tion of the inter­view, Tom Rice talks more about his book, the sym­bol­ism sur­round­ing the Klan, and the rumors about the Klan’s alleged con­nec­tion … Continue reading White Robes, Silver Screens: An Interview with Tom Rice (Part 2) →

White Robes, Silver Screens: An Interview with Tom Rice
Tom Rice is Senior Lec­tur­er in Film Stud­ies at the Uni­ver­si­ty of St Andrews and the author of White Robes, Sil­ver Screens: Movies and the Mak­ing … Continue reading White Robes, Silver Screens: An Interview with Tom Rice →

Do you really want to live Forever?
Dr. Hen­ry Mor­gan (Ioan Gruffudd) is British, works as a med­ical exam­in­er for the New York Police Depart­ment, and likes scarves and clas­si­cal music. Oh, he … Continue reading Do you really want to live Forever? →

The Arrival of the Aliens
The lim­its of my language mean the limits of my world. - Lud­wig Wittgenstein   Does time only flow in a con­tin­u­um? Does a sen­tence have to … Continue reading The Arrival of the Aliens →

Don Don’t Take No Mess: Don Cornelius and His Very Own Soul Train Mission
  Brown:        Broth­er, who’s backin’ you                       on this? Cor­nelius:   James, it’s just me. Brown:        Broth­er, who’re you with … Continue reading Don Don’t Take No Mess: Don Cornelius and His Very Own Soul Train Mission →

Voting Rights: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
After yet anoth­er elec­tion sea­son with a num­ber of glitch­es, the prob­lems with America’s vot­ing sys­tem have been all over the news once again. Will the … Continue reading Voting Rights: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow →

From Ronald to Donald: The Inaugural Speeches of Reagan and Trump
“Make Amer­i­ca Great Again.” Again. Despite what the media cov­er­age lead us to fear, the world did not end with the elec­tion of Don­ald Trump as … Continue reading From Ronald to Donald: The Inaugural Speeches of Reagan and Trump →

Eye of the Storm
His­to­ry nev­er crawls or walks. It runs. Some­times silent­ly as if on the soft­er sands of time. Some­times we can hear its foot­steps loud­er as they … Continue reading Eye of the Storm →

Salvage
Tommy’s par­ents wave from the porch as our mini­van pulls up. His dad smiles, and that’s when I see he’s miss­ing about half of his teeth. Before … Continue reading Salvage →

The ‘D’ Word
Recent­ly, I read a high­ly acclaimed nov­el writ­ten by Lisa Gen­o­va, a Ph.D. in neu­ro­science. Her first book, Still Alice (2009), chron­i­cles the descent into Alzheimer’s … Continue reading The ‘D’ Word →

Reconciliation with the Dakota Sioux in Mankato
Every­one read­ing this blog has seen mon­u­ments to his­tor­i­cal events or nation­al heroes. But how many of you have seen a memo­r­i­al to a mass hang­ing? … Continue reading Reconciliation with the Dakota Sioux in Mankato →

Reindeer Games (2000): A Review
If the film Rein­deer Games doesn’t ring a bell – a Christ­mas bell – it’s not sur­pris­ing. This isn’t the kind of film that would inspire … Continue reading Reindeer Games (2000): A Review →

How to Haiku Part Two
A long jour­ney ends when farm­ers grab their rifles wolves in Germany   Remem­ber the Haiku rules from last week? If not, check here. As opposed to … Continue reading How to Haiku Part Two →

How to Haiku
I final­ly know why stu­dents don’t like Haikus too many syllables Ooops, some­thing went wrong – right: the last line. It has 6 syl­la­bles but should con­sist … Continue reading How to Haiku →

Getting to Know You
y uni­ver­si­ty school days – at least on the stu­dent side of the desk – are two decades past now, but I dare­say this sto­ry is … Continue reading Getting to Know You →

The Road
Sev­er­al years after a cat­a­stroph­ic event has destroyed all of America’s – and maybe the whole world’s – flo­ra and fau­na, a father (Vig­go Mortensen) and … Continue reading The Road →

Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir: A Review
The 1990s rang in an – if not the – era of mem­oir writ­ing. Since then, mem­oir pub­li­ca­tions have surged and with them their read­er­ship as … Continue reading Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir: A Review →

Laughing about Melissa McCarthy – Thoughts of a Conflicted Fan
Ever since I saw her as Sook­ie St. James in Gilmore Girls (2000–2007), I’ve been a fan of the actress Melis­sa McCarthy. She was one of … Continue reading Laughing about Melissa McCarthy – Thoughts of a Conflicted Fan →

To Boldly Go
Okay, I am going to have to out myself here see­ing that it’s the 50th anniver­sary. I am a trekkie! I grew up with Cap­tain Kirk, … Continue reading To Boldly Go →

Walking on Cape Cod
Cape Cod has been on my list of trav­el des­ti­na­tions for quite some time. What con­nects me to the Cape’s out­er­most beach­es of Mass­a­chu­setts are Hen­ry … Continue reading Walking on Cape Cod →

Adding Color to White Marble: The National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Nation­al Muse­um of African Amer­i­can His­to­ry and Cul­ture (NMAAHC), estab­lished by an Act of Con­gress in 2003, opened its doors to the pub­lic on Sept. … Continue reading Adding Color to White Marble: The National Museum of African American History and Culture →

Following Convention (or Political Mathematics)
The polit­i­cal par­ties spend count­less hours plan­ning their con­ven­tions. This is, after all, four nights of free adver­tis­ing and their first chance to intro­duce their can­di­dates … Continue reading Following Convention (or Political Mathematics) →

Eyes Open – Eyes Closed
Even if I am not able to remem­ber the pit­ter-pat­ter of my lit­tle feet on the rug-cov­ered hard­wood floor any­more, I still recall this com­fort­able feel­ing … Continue reading Eyes Open – Eyes Closed →

The Last Tycoon: The Golden Age of Hitler’s Hollywood
olly­wood, 1936: Mon­roe Stahr (Matt Bomer), co-founder of the Brady Amer­i­can film stu­dio, has just begun shoot­ing a film about – and ded­i­cat­ed to – his … Continue reading The Last Tycoon: The Golden Age of Hitler’s Hollywood →

Memorial Service
Recent­ly, I attend­ed a memo­r­i­al ser­vice for an old friend. Peg had led a long and accom­plished life before her final years of excru­ci­at­ing pain and … Continue reading Memorial Service →

This is a (M)ad Men’s World
1960: Don­ald Drap­er (Jon Hamm) holds a high posi­tion in a renowned New York adver­tis­ing agency, has an ex-mod­el wife he calls “Betts” (Jan­u­ary Jones), two … Continue reading This is a (M)ad Men’s World →

New World vs. Old World Flipped
As an Amer­i­can writer liv­ing in Ger­many, I care deeply for both coun­tries. It is a strange time to do so, as pow­ers-that-be in Ger­many and … Continue reading New World vs. Old World Flipped →

Art meets Life: An Interview with Ex-Amish Author Saloma Miller Furlong – Part II
In the sec­ond half of the inter­view, we turn our atten­tion to Salo­ma Miller Furlong’s Bon­net Strings: An Amish Woman’s Ties to Two World (2014), the … Continue reading Art meets Life: An Interview with Ex-Amish Author Saloma Miller Furlong – Part II →

Art meets Life: An Interview with Ex-Amish Author Saloma Miller Furlong
Salo­ma Miller Fur­long is author of the ex-Amish ser­i­al mem­oirs, Why I Left the Amish (2011) and Bon­net Strings: An Amish Woman’s Ties to Two Worlds … Continue reading Art meets Life: An Interview with Ex-Amish Author Saloma Miller Furlong →

Dust
Dust. The first thing he noticed was the hot, dry air and the dust creep­ing through the tiny slit between his mask and pali scarf. He … Continue reading Dust →

“In the Hands of Babes”
At fam­i­ly gath­er­ings, my sis­ter likes to tell the sto­ry of a time when the men and boys in her fam­i­ly were going out tar­get shoot­ing. … Continue reading “In the Hands of Babes” →

Grave New World: The Man in the High Castle
It’s no sur­prise that the adver­tise­ment cam­paign done in late 2015 for a then upcom­ing Ama­zon Stu­dios’ series was con­sid­ered a provo­ca­tion and had to be … Continue reading Grave New World: The Man in the High Castle →

Live Long and Make Bannock
A mil­lion years ago when I was a child, I was always fas­ci­nat­ed by what could be. I think this was pri­mar­i­ly because I was sur­round­ed … Continue reading Live Long and Make Bannock →

Nothing New on the Western Frontier
Even though in folk­lore the term revenant stands for a being that has returned from the dead, the recent award-win­ning movie The Revenant (2015), direct­ed by … Continue reading Nothing New on the Western Frontier →

Many are Called …
We’re in the mid­dle of the pres­i­den­tial pri­maries, elec­tions that deter­mine the del­e­gates to the par­ty con­ven­tions as well as the plat­form and the even­tu­al nom­i­nee … Continue reading Many are Called … →

Inquisitive Minds Want to Know: A Mixed Bag of Questions for Ira Wagler – Part II
If you missed the pre­vi­ous blog, then click here. Last week, we left off with Ira Wagler talk­ing about the dif­fi­cul­ty of writ­ing Grow­ing Up Amish. … Continue reading Inquisitive Minds Want to Know: A Mixed Bag of Questions for Ira Wagler – Part II →

Inquisitive Minds Want to Know: A Mixed Bag of Questions for Ira Wagler – Part I
Ques­tions. Ques­tions. There are always ques­tions, espe­cial­ly when deal­ing with the Old Order Amish. And ques­tions there were – plen­ty of ques­tions – fol­low­ing The New … Continue reading Inquisitive Minds Want to Know: A Mixed Bag of Questions for Ira Wagler – Part I →

Welche language habla twój voisin?
hen I walk through my home­town, what do I hear? Traf­fic nois­es, the sounds of nature, ani­mals hum­ming, bark­ing, and chirp­ing. And of course, I hear … Continue reading Welche language habla twój voisin? →

Damsels Causing Distress
Yes, you read cor­rect­ly. I got the title right. You were prob­a­bly expect­ing ‘Damsels in Dis­tress’ so let’s look at that clas­sic theme in lit­er­a­ture first. … Continue reading Damsels Causing Distress →

Gone Girl
“What are you think­ing? How are you feel­ing? Who are you? What have we done to each oth­er? What will we do?” Boy los­es girl — what … Continue reading Gone Girl →

Celebrating African American History Month with Claytee White
Clay­tee White, Inau­gur­al Direc­tor of the Oral His­to­ry Research Cen­ter for the Uni­ver­si­ty of Neva­da, Las Vegas Libraries, spon­ta­neous­ly grant­ed us an inter­view about the col­lec­tion … Continue reading Celebrating African American History Month with Claytee White →

The Oscars – Not in Color This Year
There’s always sus­pense at the Oscars, but this year edge-of-the-seat ten­sion will be greater than it has ever been. There is inter­est, of course, in who … Continue reading The Oscars – Not in Color This Year →

Midnight in Paris: Somewhen, Somewhere, Someway
Gil Pen­der (Owen Wil­son) is a suc­cess­ful Hol­ly­wood screen­writer, lives in Bev­er­ly Hills, and has a beau­ti­ful fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams). And yet, life feels a … Continue reading Midnight in Paris: Somewhen, Somewhere, Someway →

The U.S.A. – A Country You Think You Know But Just Might Not
In his first speech as Pres­i­dent-elect of the Unit­ed States, Sen­a­tor Barack Oba­ma uttered the famous words which became the sound­bite echoed across the world: “Change has … Continue reading The U.S.A. – A Country You Think You Know But Just Might Not →

“Art comes out of desire in the face of indifference”: An Interview with lê thi diem thúy
By Maryann Henck, Maria Moss, and Sab­ri­na Völz When lê thi diem thúy (pro­nounced “twee”) vis­it­ed Leuphana Uni­ver­si­ty this past May, not only did our stu­dents have … Continue reading “Art comes out of desire in the face of indifference”: An Interview with lê thi diem thúy →

What German Students Taught an American Author
If it were up to me, Amer­i­can high school and col­lege stu­dents would spend a manda­to­ry year liv­ing abroad before a degree of any kind is … Continue reading What German Students Taught an American Author →

Reversing the Gaze
– Injun Joe Meets Esperanza
I wrote this piece for a sem­i­nar called “Revers­ing the Gaze.” The idea was to write about dif­fer­ence and the chal­leng­ing of stereo­types, so I tried … Continue reading Reversing the Gaze
– Injun Joe Meets Esperanza →

“Music is the axe for the
frozen sea within us”
The Amer­i­can jazz queen, Melody Gar­dot, is still eager to explore the world around her, but her focus has changed and been nar­rowed down to her … Continue reading “Music is the axe for the
frozen sea within us” →

Opting Out of a Test and into a Movement
Imag­ine a child that does not show up on exam day or shows up and refus­es to take the exam. The child is not rep­ri­mand­ed by … Continue reading Opting Out of a Test and into a Movement →

We’ve Got Steampunk
You’ve nev­er heard of it? Seri­ous­ly? This sub­cul­ture – which has every­thing from music, fash­ion, and lit­er­a­ture to LARPs (live action role plays), con­ven­tions and even … Continue reading We’ve Got Steampunk →

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Must Not Fail
On the occa­sion of the Stop TTIP demon­stra­tion with 250,000 pro­tes­tors in Berlin on Octo­ber 10, 2015, Pres­i­dent Mario Ohoven of the Asso­ci­a­tion of Small and … Continue reading Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Must Not Fail →

Nature’s Craft: The Aesthetics and Design of The Great Camps of the Adirondacks
“An Adiron­dack camp does not mean a can­vas tent or a bark wig­wam, but a per­ma­nent sum­mer home where the for­tu­nate own­ers assem­ble for sev­er­al weeks … Continue reading Nature’s Craft: The Aesthetics and Design of The Great Camps of the Adirondacks →

Linking Teacher Training and New Media: The Teaching America Project Revisited
A year and a half has passed since the Teach­ing Amer­i­ca project at Leipzig University’s Amer­i­can Stud­ies Depart­ment has entered the prac­ti­cal phase, and a lot … Continue reading Linking Teacher Training and New Media: The Teaching America Project Revisited →

An Encounter at Canyon de Chelly
It was a clear and sun­ny day in ear­ly April when we arrived with a stu­dent group at Canyon de Chelly (pro­nounced dəˈʃeɪ/ or də·shā′). We had … Continue reading An Encounter at Canyon de Chelly →

If it’s Tuesday, it Must be Cold War Again
“May you live in inter­est­ing times.” Many Amer­i­cans com­ing to Europe are lured by the romance: foun­tains in Rome, cafés in Paris, Span­ish gui­tars, the cool vibes … Continue reading If it’s Tuesday, it Must be Cold War Again →

The Son-in-Law
A flut­ter of anx­i­ety shook Mina as she heard her hus­band Majid and their son-in-law Don­ald in the back­yard, talk­ing in not quite agree­able tones. “Stop, … Continue reading The Son-in-Law →

Like Father, Like Son
Rand Paul emu­lates his father in almost every way. Almost. :: Ron Paul is a physi­cian; Rand Paul is a physician. :: Dad was in the … Continue reading Like Father, Like Son →

The Confederate Flag Controversy
Amer­i­can Stud­ies Blog: Pro­fes­sor Gold­field, in 2013 you pub­lished a wide­ly acclaimed book, Still Fight­ing the Civ­il War: The Amer­i­can South and South­ern His­to­ry. Even the … Continue reading The Confederate Flag Controversy →

The “It’s Not What You Might Think” Blog—Part II
For those of you who missed Part I, click here. Last week, we left off with Cheryl Strayed’s long descrip­tion of her­self.… It all seems to … Continue reading The “It’s Not What You Might Think” Blog—Part II →

The “It’s Not What You Might Think” Blog—Part I
After hear­ing that the trav­el­ogue Wild by Cheryl Strayed was made into a movie, I thought about pick­ing up a copy of the book and inves­ti­gat­ing … Continue reading The “It’s Not What You Might Think” Blog—Part I →

The Chameleon: W. C. Williams’ “The Red Wheelbarrow”
Study­ing poet­ry at school or at uni­ver­si­ty often seemed bor­ing at best and sense­less at worst. Until last fall semes­ter, it had nev­er occurred to me … Continue reading The Chameleon: W. C. Williams’ “The Red Wheelbarrow” →

GOP Candidates Go Double Digits – A Problem or a Blessing in Disguise?
Before we get to our top­ic at hand, let’s get out that Karaoke mic and get ready to sing a song to the tune of “Ten … Continue reading GOP Candidates Go Double Digits – A Problem or a Blessing in Disguise? →

The Woman in the Pants Suit
Hillary Clin­ton is a strong, prag­mat­ic politi­cian. Mod­er­ate­ly hawk­ish, she cast a mean­ing­less vote to sup­port the Iraq War, which she now regrets—though she still pro­claims … Continue reading The Woman in the Pants Suit →

Where are they going? Where have they been? – The Plain People
The scene is July 4, 2012. 8:56 p.m. Ira Wagler sends an e‑mail halfway across the world, answer­ing an inquiry from a uni­ver­si­ty instruc­tor in Ger­many … Continue reading Where are they going? Where have they been? – The Plain People →

Wandering Home:
Folk, Americana, and Inside Llewyn Davis
The Coen Broth­ers have made it their mis­sion to tell us an Amer­i­can sto­ry. Not the Amer­i­can sto­ry but rather a sin­gu­lar and some­times beau­ti­ful story. In … Continue reading Wandering Home:
Folk, Americana, and Inside Llewyn Davis →

Cheerleading – More Than Pom-Poms and a Big Smile?
If images of blonde girls shak­ing their pom-poms and yelling at foot­ball games pop into your mind when you hear the word “cheer­lead­ing,” then you might … Continue reading Cheerleading – More Than Pom-Poms and a Big Smile? →

Hi, my name is Wolfram and I am a Dropbox user.
Drop­box is awe­some. It is not only a great tool for stu­dents to orga­nize the flood of doc­u­ments that pile up while doing group work, but it is also great for teach­ers. If you are not a … Continue reading Hi, my name is Wolfram and I am a Dropbox user. →

From Spring Fever Ad Nauseam to Columbus Day
I might be preach­ing to the choir here, but every­one knows that teach­ers are pressed for time. And I am sure you are, too. Recent­ly, I … Continue reading From Spring Fever Ad Nauseam to Columbus Day →

Refuge: Stories of the Selfhelp Home
Direc­tor Ethan Bensinger’s Refuge: Sto­ries of the Self­help Home appeared in 2012. The next three years saw this 60-minute doc­u­men­tary on Holo­caust sur­vivors amass­ing one award … Continue reading Refuge: Stories of the Selfhelp Home →

Mother Love
Bijan woke to the voice of the muezzin call­ing peo­ple to prayers, fell asleep again, and then woke to his mother’s qui­et voice in the liv­ing … Continue reading Mother Love →

The Window as Mirror
Look through a win­dow and we see the world out­side. Change of focus, and we can see our­selves reflect­ed in that same window. As an Amer­i­can … Continue reading The Window as Mirror →

Going Green in the U.S.? Yes!
Gen­er­al per­cep­tion has it that Amer­i­cans do not care about the envi­ron­ment. But did you know that accord­ing to the Gallup Poll in March 2014, 80% … Continue reading Going Green in the U.S.? Yes! →

God at the Bank
We were the only two wait­ing in the New Accounts sec­tion in the bank. For us gre­gar­i­ous Amer­i­cans, this is a slight­ly awk­ward sit­u­a­tion. In most … Continue reading God at the Bank →

“My feets is tired, but my soul is rested” — A Meditation on International Women’s Day
“Mom­my, mom­my. The oth­er moth­ers are all unem­ployed,” were the first words out of my son’s mouth as he dart­ed toward our car. Not exact­ly the … Continue reading “My feets is tired, but my soul is rested” — A Meditation on International Women’s Day →

Wild
Walk­ing 1,100 miles in one con­sec­u­tive hike with a heavy back­pack – real­ly heavy, so heavy that you can hard­ly stand, let alone walk – might not … Continue reading Wild →

A Reading with Teju Cole
Amer­i­can writer Teju Cole reads from his nov­el, Open City (2011) at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. In this award-win­ning first-per­son nar­ra­tive, Cole recounts the sto­ry of … Continue reading A Reading with Teju Cole →

The Butler
It’s Feb­ru­ary, African Amer­i­can His­to­ry Month in the U.S. So let’s look at a fab­u­lous film that depicts a young black man and his pow­er­ful, but … Continue reading The Butler →

RAGBRAI: Take the Ride of Your Life
For those of you who missed it, the 2013 con­fer­ence theme of the Amer­i­can Stud­ies Asso­ci­a­tion of Ger­many held in Erlan­gen was “Rur­al Amer­i­ca.” As some­one … Continue reading RAGBRAI: Take the Ride of Your Life →

Couch Conversations with William H. New — An Impromptu Interview
CHARACTERS WILLIAM H. NEW   renowned Cana­di­an lit crit and author (as himself) INTERVIEWER 1      Sab­ri­na Völz INTERVIEWER 2      Maria Moss INTERVIEWER 3      Maryann Henck   UNIVERSITY LOBBY—SUMMER—DAY … Continue reading Couch Conversations with William H. New — An Impromptu Interview →

Is Serial Over? A New Phenomenon on Public Radio
If you read beyond news sto­ries about the after­math of Fer­gu­son, the killing of two NYPD police offi­cers, and con­jec­tures about the 2016 pres­i­den­tial race, some­thing … Continue reading Is Serial Over? A New Phenomenon on Public Radio →

A Supporting Role for Tom Hanks and Community Colleges
Pres­i­dent Oba­ma has pro­posed to make the first two years of com­mu­ni­ty col­leges (CC) free, and Tom Han­ks thinks it’s a good idea. His New York … Continue reading A Supporting Role for Tom Hanks and Community Colleges →

Apples Having a Ball
Last Sat­ur­day, I stood in a long line to buy apples. Bored as I was, I looked at the apples on dis­play: Graven­stein, Elstar, Brae­burn, Pink … Continue reading Apples Having a Ball →

Marketing and Performing History
As far as I can tell, his­to­ry has a bit of an image prob­lem among future Eng­lish teach­ers. It does not seem to be one of … Continue reading Marketing and Performing History →

Don Quixote Saving America
You know what tribe I belong to? Put your hand on a table. Now hit it with a rock. If it hurts, then you and I … Continue reading Don Quixote Saving America →

Expatriate Life through the Lens of a Third Culture Kid: Home Leave by Brittani Sonnenberg
Allow TCK, jour­nal­ist, and fic­tion writer Brit­tani Son­nen­berg take you on a transna­tion­al adven­ture in her debut nov­el, Home Leave. Lis­ten to the read­ing that took place … Continue reading Expatriate Life through the Lens of a Third Culture Kid: Home Leave by Brittani Sonnenberg →

Various Varieties: How to Teach English Accents
I recent­ly noticed that when­ev­er I read a book there is a voice inside my head. It’s my own voice. Me talk­ing – or rather think­ing … Continue reading Various Varieties: How to Teach English Accents →

The Chat(ter) Box Interview with Drew Hayden Taylor
Drew Hay­den Tay­lor is an award-win­ning Cana­di­an Ojib­way author of plays, short sto­ries, nov­els, and crit­i­cal essays. He has lec­tured world­wide on a vari­ety of Native issues … Continue reading The Chat(ter) Box Interview with Drew Hayden Taylor →

12 Years a Slave
When Salomon Northup (Chi­we­tel Ejio­for) accepts a two-week job offer as a musi­cian from two white men with whom he trav­els from Upstate New York to … Continue reading 12 Years a Slave →

Marijuana in America: Election Night at the Pot Shop
Ear­li­er this week, a state appeals court in Michi­gan ruled that a pros­e­cu­tor’s “per­son­al dia­tribe” in court against that state’s med­ical mar­i­jua­na law spoiled a con­vic­tion … Continue reading Marijuana in America: Election Night at the Pot Shop →

Lonely
I wrote the short sto­ry “Lone­ly” in one of my uni­ver­si­ty sem­i­nars. It was meant to be an assign­ment. Just an assign­ment. But my pro­fes­sor con­vinced … Continue reading Lonely →

Of Conceptual Haunts and Tacit Assumptions:
A Current Take on Multiculturalism
On Jan­u­ary 9, 2014, Berndt Osten­dorf, Pro­fes­sor Emer­i­tus of North Amer­i­can Cul­tur­al His­to­ry at the Ameri­ka-Insti­tut, Lud­wig-Max­i­m­il­ians-Uni­ver­sität München, gave a talk on “The Rise and Fall … Continue reading Of Conceptual Haunts and Tacit Assumptions:
A Current Take on Multiculturalism →

Canyon de Chelly, Navajo Nation, Arizona
I first came across White House Ruin in Canyon de Chelly (pro­nounced dəˈʃeɪ or də·shā′) in N. Scott Momaday’s Pulitzer Prize win­ning nov­el, House Made of … Continue reading Canyon de Chelly, Navajo Nation, Arizona →

U.S. Election Day Results
As you may have heard, the results from this year’s mid-term elec­tions are quite clear: con­trol of both the Sen­ate and the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives will … Continue reading U.S. Election Day Results →

B.Y.O.B. – Bring Your Own Bag
Amer­i­cans have nev­er paid for gro­cery bags – paper or plas­tic. Mar­kets would even dou­ble-bag on request. No charge. Hence, we were slow to observe that … Continue reading B.Y.O.B. – Bring Your Own Bag →

An Early Halloween Treat — Patricia Briggs at Leuphana
Hal­loween arrived ear­ly at Leuphana this year – to be pre­cise around the end of May. That is when best-sell­ing Urban Fan­ta­sy writer Patri­cia Brig­gs con­duct­ed … Continue reading An Early Halloween Treat — Patricia Briggs at Leuphana →

Tricks or Treats – Halloween Goes German
It’s the time of the year for the undead to become alive again and for the liv­ing to be giv­en the creeps. It’s a time of … Continue reading Tricks or Treats – Halloween Goes German →

The Fault in Our Stars 
Hazel Grace Lances­ter will nev­er be a nor­mal teenag­er. She doesn’t know that peo­ple don’t do pot but smoke it, or what it feels like to … Continue reading The Fault in Our Stars  →

The U.S. Election Project
Let’s face it: Gen­er­a­tion Y – affec­tion­ate­ly known as Gen ‘Why’ – is not exact­ly polit­i­cal­ly mind­ed. This was all the more due cause to devel­op … Continue reading The U.S. Election Project →

A Study Trip to Las Vegas?
Yes, a Study Trip!
The two-semes­ter project, “Eth­nic Stud­ies and Eco-Crit­i­cism Meet Inter­cul­tur­al Exchange: A Study Trip to Las Vegas,” brought togeth­er stu­dents and fac­ul­ty from Leuphana Uni­ver­si­ty in Lüneb­urg … Continue reading A Study Trip to Las Vegas?
Yes, a Study Trip! →

A Night in Berlin with Michael Lederer
The U.S. Embassy Lit­er­a­ture Series at the Eng­lish The­atre Berlin in coop­er­a­tion with Pal­mArt­Press pre­sent­ed Michael Led­er­er on Feb­ru­ary 11, 2014. In the fol­low­ing video, Led­er­er … Continue reading A Night in Berlin with Michael Lederer →

A Game of Thrones: Heroes Wanted
We all know him—the tall, strong, brave man. The hero. The prince. The knight in shin­ing armor whose deci­sions are infal­li­ble, his visions wide-rang­ing, and his … Continue reading A Game of Thrones: Heroes Wanted →

Number 13: Unbraiding the Short Story
Regard­less of the field, con­fer­ences come in all shapes and sizes. Some are for­got­ten quick­ly while oth­ers become engraved in one’s mem­o­ry. The lat­ter expe­ri­ences are … Continue reading Number 13: Unbraiding the Short Story →

Shooting for the Stars: Creativity and Competition in the English Classroom
It has been my expe­ri­ence that com­pe­ti­tion, apart from the kind found in tele­vi­sion quiz shows, is often frowned upon in Ger­many. For Amer­i­cans, how­ev­er, com­pe­ti­tion … Continue reading Shooting for the Stars: Creativity and Competition in the English Classroom →

Creative Writing Contest for Non-Native Speakers
When I entered a cre­ative writ­ing con­test for non-native speak­ers of Eng­lish, the 2014 Dani­il Pashkoff Prize, I nev­er imag­ined I would win 3rd prize in … Continue reading Creative Writing Contest for Non-Native Speakers →

Only Lovers Left Alive – A Stroll Down Eternal Lovers’ Lane
After a three-year respite, icon­ic inde­pen­dent film­mak­er Jim Jar­musch is back with a qui­et­ly intrigu­ing new film: Only Lovers Left Alive – a tale of two lovers and … Continue reading Only Lovers Left Alive – A Stroll Down Eternal Lovers’ Lane →

Obama’s Clean Air Act
The Ger­man dai­ly news­pa­per, Der Tagesspiegel, recent­ly fea­tured an arti­cle on Pres­i­dent Obama’s pol­i­cy for lim­it­ing green­house gas emis­sions. Pres­i­dent Obama’s envi­ron­men­tal stance was a con­tribut­ing … Continue reading Obama’s Clean Air Act →

How Do Americans Really Talk?
We know that not all Amer­i­can Eng­lish is the same: South­ern­ers love to talk about sip­ping ‘coke’ while drink­ing a sprite; New York­ers talk about their … Continue reading How Do Americans Really Talk? →

New Kids on the Blog
As the lat­est edi­tion to the ‘ASJ fam­i­ly,’ we would like to take this oppor­tu­ni­ty to intro­duce our­selves to cur­rent as well as new fol­low­ers of … Continue reading New Kids on the Blog →