Annual Report 2014-15

ANNUAL REPORT 2014-15 SPECIAL FEATURE Detlef Junker: "Ambassador Jacob Gould Schurman and the University of Heidelberg" ANNUAL REPORT 2014-15 IMPRINT Editor Detlef Junker Editorial Staff Wilfried Mausbach Felix Neuwerck Anja Schüler Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) Curt und Heidemarie Engelhorn Palais Hauptstraße 120 69117 Heidelberg Germany T + 49 6221/ 54 37 10 F + 49 6221/ 54 37 19 hca@uni-heidelberg.de www.hca.uni-hd.de Coverdesign Bernhard Pompey Adapted Design and Layout Barbara Grobe Christian Kempf © Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) 2015. All rights reserved. The HCA Annual Report is published yearly and is available free of charge. ISSN 1862-1201 CONTENTS Rector's Welcome 5 Preface 6 THE HEidELBERG CENTER FOR AMEricaN STUdiES Mission Statement 10 Benefactors 10 Organization 12 Board of Trustees 13 Board of Directors 20 Foundation and Development 24 The Curt und Heidemarie Engelhorn Palais 26 People 2014-2015 28 Cooperation and Support 48 AN INSTITUTE FOR hiGHER EdUcaTION Bachelor of Arts in American Studies (BAS) 52 The BAS Class of 2018 53 BAS Student Trip to Berlin 2015 54 Exchange Opportunities for B.A. Students 55 BAS Students' Committee 55 Master of Arts in American Studies (MAS) 56 MAS Course Outline 57 Winter Semester 2014-15 57 Summer Semester 2015 63 Outlook on the MAS Course Outline 68 The MAS Class of 2015 68 HCA Commencement 2015 71 Valedictorian Speech 73 MAS Class of 2016 76 MAS Class of 2017 78 MAS Social Activities 78 Berlin Report 79 Lecture and MAS Marketing Tour in the United States 80 A CENTER FOR INTErdisciPLINarY RESEarch Ph.D. in American Studies 84 Ph.D. Candidates 88 Awarding of the Rolf Kentner Dissertation Prize 113 HCA Research 115 HCA Spring Academy 2015 125 Workshop "The Challenges of Doing Biography" 132 James W.C. Pennington Award 134 Selected Publications 136 Selected Talks 148 SPEciaL FEATURE Detlef Junker: "Ambassador Jacob Gould Schurman and the University of Heidelberg" 166 A FORUM FOR PUBLic DEBATE The Baden-Württemberg Seminar 188 Fall Seminar 2014 189 Spring Seminar 2015 197 HCA Book Launches 203 Exhibition: "Behind Barbed Wire" 207 HCA trifft ... Norbert Röttgen 208 Rhein Neckar Forum for Transatlantic Economic Issues: "Do We Need TTIP?" 209 Panel Discussion: "The Eagle, the Bull, and the Bear: Are the USA, Europe, and Russia Colliding?" 211 The Performing Arts Club of the HCA: "The Poet Emily Dickenson" 212 Media Coverage 213 HCA ANNOUNCEMENTS 216 RECTOR'S WELCOME PROF. DR. RER. NAT. BERNHARD EITEL Rector of the UniversitY of heideLberg Dear Reader, The Ruperto Carola celebrated another milestone this year: After seven years of construction, we were able to finally present a 6,500 square meters extension of our University Library to its users. This new space offers 1,000 new work stations along with quiet zones, lounges, and seminar rooms. Throughout construction, our University Library managed to keep its top ranking in the prestigious German Library Index. While large parts of the holdings are digitized and can be ac- cessed virtually anywhere, the University Library remains an immensely popular meeting place for our 31,000 students, who frequent it to study, work on presentations, or just relax with a book or a magazine. With construction completed, the Heidelberg Center for American Studies now stands recon- nected with two key spaces of our university – its superb library and its popular Triplex Mensa – through the inner courtyard. Since 2004 the courtyard has also often served as a space for the generous hospitality the HCA has extended to members of the university and the Heidelberg public. With its distinguished lecture series, its festive award ceremonies – be it the annual commencement or the bestowal of the James W. C. Pennington Award – and its public conference keynotes, the HCA has firmly established itself as a facilitator for communication between aca- demia and the general public. We look forward to continue this tradition in the newly designed inner courtyard. Kind regards, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Bernhard Eitel Rector of the University of Heidelberg PREFACE PROF. DR. DR. H.C. DETLEF JUNKER Founding Director of the HCA Dear Friends and Benefactors, Students, and Colleagues, The internationalization of universities is part of today’s encompassing globalization. This has also fundamentally affected the HCA’s research and teaching and is especially evident in our signature Master in American Studies Program (MAS). In the short time this institute has existed, 161 students from 44 countries on 5 continents have completed a Master’s degree at the HCA. Lawmakers in the state of Baden-Württemberg have allowed us to charge € 2,500 tuition per semester for the MAS. For many German students, used to thorough public financing of their studies, this amount might appear as an imposition – in global comparison, it is rather innocuous. At any rate, the MAS, much more so than most comparable programs in Germany, needs to assert itself on a competitive world market of science and education dominated by the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and Canada. This is why in recent years we have been promoting our MAS program in various regions around the world: in 2012 in China, at education fairs in Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu and Shanghai; and in 2013 in Chile, at education fairs in Santiago de Chile, Antofagasta, and Concepción. This fall we turned our attention to the American market, where tuition fees have climbed to dizzying heights. These costs prevent many American students from being able to study their own country. Indeed, the average tuition fees in the U.S are now higher than the average family income. Thus, American students risk acquiring massive debts, encumbering their prospects after graduation. Our focus on the American market kicked off in early October 2015, when we participated in the Second German Higher Education Virtual Fair in the U.S. and Canada, initiated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). We presented the HCA, its programs, and its embeddedness in one of Europe’s premier universities in a virtual auditorium. Afterwards, several members of our faculty were available to answer questions in a chatroom. Then, from October 28 to November 6, Katia Rostetter, M.A., Dr. Anne Sommer, and myself vis- ited universities and other institutions in New York, St. Louis, Lincoln, and San Francisco offering answers to the question “Why American Studies at the HCA?” The most important answer is: Students will experience the past and present of the United States anew – through the eyes of foreign peers and with renowned professors imparting inside knowl- edge with an outside perspective. Big contours are only visible from a distance. At some point in one’s life one has to get out of one’s home country and culture, both physically and mentally. I experienced this transformation myself. I spent almost nine years in the United States and some parts of Canada. I toured all states except North Dakota and Alaska, which are still on my travel agenda. By working, travelling, and living in North America, I developed a better understanding of Germany and Europe. After all, comparisons are the very backbone of education. The second answer is more practical, or, you might even say, more existential: In Heidelberg, students get more academic bang for their bucks, to paraphrase President Obama. They will get an excellent education, international experience, and intercultural competence at an affordable price. In fact, most of our students are able to graduate debt-free – and state regulations guar- antee steady tuition fees. In addition to the MAS, we offer a Ph.D. Program in American Studies, which is conducted in English as well. Students of our international M.A. and Ph.D. programs can easily interact with undergraduates in our B.A. in American Studies (BAS) program who largely hail from Germany but are all fluent in English. Of course, Heidelberg University also offers the opportunity to learn German. The third answer to our leitmotiv “Why study at the HCA?” relates to the academic quality of our program. While we offer a classical area studies program, the HCA is notable among American Studies programs for its multidisciplinarity. We offer courses in U.S. history, literature, culture, politics, American religion, and human geography. All our German-born professors and lecturers have spent part of their education and career in the United States, and, from the very beginning, American guest professors have enriched our academic profile. Our publicity tour to the East Coast, West Coast and American heartland was met with great en- thusiasm, and we look forward to welcoming even more American students to the HCA to enjoy Heidelberg’s academic life and hospitality. Sincerely yours, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Detlef Junker Founding Director of the Heidelberg Center for American Studies THE HCA MISSION STATEMENT The Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) is a central academic facility of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. As an intellectual center dedicated to the study of the United States, the HCA serves as an institute for higher education, as a center for interdisciplinary research, and as a forum for public debate. Building on long-standing ties between Heidelberg and the United States, the HCA also fosters interdisciplinary and intercultural exchange across the Atlantic. Officially inaugurated in 2004, the HCA has become one of the leading centers for American Studies in Europe. It provides excellent research and education opportunities for scholars and students from all over the world. In addition, the HCA strengthens the profile of Heidelberg University as one of Germany's finest academic institutions. Heidelberg University's 628-year-old tradition of excellence, its international reputa- tion, and its strong record in the study of the United States combine to create the ideal environment for the HCA.

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