Conferences

REAF was honored to be part of the intriguing workshop "Unfree Spaces in the Modern World: Resistant Responses, Empowering Acts." For a glimpse into the workshop's program, read the program flyer here. You can read a German article aobut this event on the UR website.

On June 28 and 29, the Regensburg European American Forum celebrated its tenth anniversary with a conference touching on the core issues and interests that have been shaping REAF since its inception in 2008.

After an introduction by Dr. Birgit Bauridl (REAF Managing Director) and official greetings by Prof. Dr. Udo Hebel (President UR, REAF Founding Director) and Prof. Dr. Volker Depkat (Dean of the Faculty, REAF Co-Director), the keynote speaker and Vielberth Fellow Prof. Dr. David Savran (CUNY, REAF Fellow) took the stage to speak on the topic of haunted houses on the American theater stages from a performance studies angle, which was followed by a lively discussion moderated by Florian Weinzierl (REAF Coordinator).

The second day was kicked off by Fulbright Visiting Prof. Dr. Ben Chappell (University of Kansas, REAF Fellow) and a talk on the encroachment of neoliberalism on (digital) landscapes of knowledge production, which was chaired by Regensburg graduate student Luis Groitl. The following presentations by Dr. Jennifer Reimer (University of Graz, Lise-Meitner Fellow), chaired by Carolina Giavedoni (REAF Assistant), by Dr. Leopold Lippert (University of Vienna), chaired by Kate Sherman (REAF Assistant), and Prof. Dr. Heike Paul (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg), chaired by Tamara Heger (UR), engaged the historical and cultural dynamics of Transnational American Studies: Dr. Reimer shed light on the continuous disappearances of Mexican (indigenous) women in the U.S.-Mexican borderlands as well as the political and cultural-activist reactions to them, such as the Ni Una Más-movement; Dr. Lippert investigated the (queer) ‘transatlantic politics of freedom’ between Portugal and the North American colonies in the little-known and even less researched 1775 publication Adventures of Alonso; Prof. Dr. Paul discussed historical stepping stones of the “fictions of a ‘White Atlantic’” in a genealogical effort to trace the Nazi ideology of the Volkskörper transnationally to the United States.

The last event of the conference was a roundtable on “Area Studies: Interdisciplinary Perspectives,” moderated by Prof. Hebel, during which the interdisciplinary participants, Prof. Dr. Ulf Brunnbauer (CITAS), Prof. Depkat, Dr. Gerlinde Groitl (CITAS), and Prof. Dr. Jochen Mecke (CITAS, Speaker) discussed the ‘productive frictions’ between different disciplinary definitions of the concept of ‘the area.’

REAF wishes to thank all the speakers, chairs, behind-the-scenes staff, and of course the many conference participants and guests that have made this anniversary conference an academically productive and lively occasion.

A special thanks also goes to the students of the class “Local or Global? Performance in America” (co-taught by Dr. Bauridl at UR and Dr. Pia Wiegmink at U Mainz), who exhibited their performance studies projects in the form of creative and interactive posters as well as elaborate and crafty installations to the interest and delight of all conference participants.

For the full conference program, please click here.

Venue: 26-28 October 2017, Seminarraum Altes Finanzamt, Landshuter Str. 4, 93047 Regensburg

The conference was organized by Prof. Dr. Volker Depkat (U Regensburg) and Prof. Dr. Susanne Lachenicht (U Bayreuth).

In cooperation with the Regensburg European American Forum - REAF.

Sponsored by: Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies, U Regensburg and Universitätsverein Bayreuth e.V.

The program is available here.

28-30 September 2017, U Regensburg
Altes Finanzamt - Room 319; Landshuter Str. 4, Regensburg

Joint Workshop of the 
DFG Research Network "Environmental Crisis and the Transnational Imagination"
and the DFG Research Network "Cultural Performance in Transnational American Studies"

in cooperation with the Regensburg European American Forum (REAF)

Organization: Prof. Dr. Timo Müller, Dr. Birgit M. Bauridl, Dr. Pia Wiegmink.

The program is available here.

A picture gallery is available here.

From 30 June - 1 July 2017, the American Studies department of the University of Regensburg hosted a biennial conference with the American Studies department of the University of Augsburg on recent research in both departments. The event was organized by Dr. Johanna Hartmann (U Augsburg) and Florian Weinzierl (U Regensburg) and took place in the Altes Finanzamt in Regensburg. The conference provided the opportunity for members of both departments to discuss recent projects and develop new ideas.

The event was organized in cooperation with the Regensburg European American Forum (REAF).

Click here for pictures of the conference.

After its successful launch in Regensburg in 2013, the Augsburg-Regensburg American Studies Symposium continues in Augsburg in 2015. On 27 / 28 June, Augsburg and Regensburg American Studies scholars will introduce and discuss their current research project.

Click on the image for the conference picture gallery

From 11 through 13 June 2015, the Regensburg European American Forum, in cooperation with the KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg / Flossenbuerg Concentration Camp Memorial Site and Museum, hosted an international conference organized by Dr. Birgit M. Bauridl, PD Dr. Ingrid Gessner, and Prof. Dr. Udo Hebel. We enjoyed warm welcome remarks, thought-provoking keynote lectures, and multiple conference papers and intriguing discussions. The conference not only took us to the historic downtown of Regensburg and the former Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut but also to the KZ-Gedenkstaette Flossenbürg. Our heartfelt thanks go to all speakers and chairs, contributors to the conference opening, all conference participants, our sponsors, everybody who helped make this conference possible, the Catering Werkstätte / Heilpädagogisches Zentrum Irchenrieth, and especially to the Flossenbuerg Concentration Camp Memorial Site and Museum staff.

Keynote Lectures: Prof. Dr. Werner Sollors, Harvard U. Prof. Dr. Stephan Bierling, UR. Prof. Dr. Volker Depkat, UR. Prof. Dr. Heike Paul, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg.

Welcome Remarks: Prof. Dr. Udo Hebel, Präsident der Universität Regensburg. Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer, Bürgermeisterin der Stadt Regensburg. Bill E. Moeller, Consul General of the United States, Munich. Dr. Jörg Skriebeleit, Leiter der KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg.

Speakers and Chairs: Julius Scharnetzky, KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg. Dr. Christa Schikorra, KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg. Dr. Roman Smolorz, UR / Stadtarchiv Regensburg. Dr. Birgit M. Bauridl, UR. Dr. Zeno Ackermann, U Frankfurt. Prof. Dr. Frank Mehring, Radboud U Nijmegen. PD Dr. Ingrid Gessner, UR. Dr. Gerlinde Groitl, UR. Dr. Susanne Leikam, UR.

Sponsors: Embassy of the United States of America. Stadt Regensburg. Regensburger Universitätsstiftung Hans Vielberth. Bayerisches Jazzinstitut. Gerresheimer Regensburg GmbH. Privatkelterei Nagler GmbH. Brauerei Bischofshof Regensburg. Brauerei Scheuerer Moosbach.

Conference Staff: Julia Bienek, Petra Bruer, Tina Flemmerer, Nicola Lang, Imani Wadud.