American Studies Leipzig

American Studies Leipzig is the English name for the teaching and research facility for American Studies at the University of Leipzig. As a transdisciplinary, literary and cultural studies institute, it is also the largest American Institute of East Germany.

Importance of the Institute

The Department of American Studies at the University of Leipzig is the fastest growing German American Institute outside of Berlin. The rapid growth of the Institute expresses itself mainly in three new professorships. Thus, the U.S. Fulbright Commission in Berlin founded in 2003 after an external evaluation of teaching and research of the Institute by the CHE, the summoned extraordinary quality of the institution, especially for the American Studies Leipzig program a new Distinguished Chair. In September 2005, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD ) awarded from the Institute by creating another with the DAAD Visiting Professor Distinguished Chair for American and International Studies. With her ​​innovative spirit of the Institute rewarded and the special efforts to further develop the American should be promoted as a transatlantic science. In 2006, the Institute 's third guest professor won after a competitive tender in four years. The Picador Chair for Literature is the result of an event launched by the forum of the publishing group Georg von Holtzbrinck and the DAAD initiative, those young English-speaking authors will be invited in the frame, to live in Leipzig, to write and to teach at the Institute. The American Studies Leipzig program is thus the only German American Studies program in which the literary teaching is supplemented by the perspective of cultural professionals.

So all three chairs distinguish the Institute and emphasize in particular its universitydidactical importance.

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

In questions of American culture and politics, the Institute is still a prominent representative about regional German media that are regularly contacted with a request for comments to Institute members.

The Institute is also an important research location within the American Studies. With the Frank Freidel Memorial Library, it houses the largest research library for New Deal within Germany.

History of the Institute of American Studies

The American Studies at the University of Leipzig can look back on a long history: the scientific study of the U.S. in Leipzig can be traced back to the 18th century. Since the early 19th century, it also continuously gave lectures on American literature and culture at the University of Leipzig. A separate department of American Studies as part of the Department of English Language and Literature, however, was not founded until 1955. A year later it became the Department of English and American Studies. Today's Institute for American Studies was founded in 1993. With three new professorships within the last four years, it is the fastest growing American Institute outside of Berlin. By the summer semester of 2006, the enrollment in the degree program American was possible both as main and secondary compartment in the master program and as a supplementary major in some diploma courses. Since the winter semester 2006/2007 matriculation takes place introduced only in accredited BA program American Studies (American Studies). In the winter semester 2007/2008 the introduction of accredited MA also follows American Studies (American Studies). Since the introduction of the new courses, the institute in the English context referred to as the American Studies Leipzig.

Academic priorities

The main areas of training are primarily in the cultural history and literature of the United States. These are complemented by linguistics and practical language training in American English. The curriculum is supplemented by guest lectures (such as the Fulbright Lecture Series ), exchange programs with American universities (including with Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, the University of Miami, Florida and Ohio University in Athens, Ohio ) and study tours to the United States. The research focus of the Institute of American Studies are in the areas ethnicity, gender, immigration and Popular Culture. Since 1997 there is the Frank Freidel Memorial Library, which came about thanks to a generous donation from the U.S.. It houses approximately 15,000 books and journal volumes, much of it to the New Deal.

American Studies Alumni Association

The American Studies Alumni Association ( ASAA ) was founded in 1996. Since 2002, the ASAA held annually a reception following the American model for all American graduates of the year. This was the first official alumni reception at the University of Leipzig.

Swell

• Becker, Anja. "History of the American ."