AnnuAl RepoRt 2011-12 ImpRInt editor Detlef Junker editorial Staff Christian Kempf Wilfried Mausbach Anja Schüler Additional Contributors Bryan Banker Katharina Bedorf Daniel Silliman Simon Wendt 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 [email protected] www.hca.uni-heidelberg.de Coverdesign Berhard Pompey Adapted Design and layout Barbara Grobe Christian Kempf © Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) 2012. 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 oF THE HCA 10 oRGANIzATIoN 12 HCA BoARD oF TRuSTEES 13 HCA BoARD oF DIRECToRS 20 FouNDATIoN AND DEvEloPMENT 24 THE CuRT uND HEIDEMARIE ENGElHoRN PAlAIS 26 PEoPlE 2011-2012 28 CooPERATIoN AND SuPPoRT 45 An InStItute foR higHeR EducatIon THE BACHEloR oF ARTS IN AMERICAN STuDIES (BAS) 48 BAS ouTlINE 49 THE BAS ClASS oF 2015 50 BAS STuDENT TRIP To BERlIN 2012 51 THE MASTER oF ARTS IN AMERICAN STuDIES (MAS) 52 MAS CouRSE ouTlINE 53 WINTER SEMESTER 2011-12 53 SuMMER SEMESTER 2012 58 OuTlooK oN THE MAS CouRSE ouTlINE 64 THE MAS ClASS oF 2012 65 MAS CoMMENCEMENT 2012 68 ValEDICToRIAN SPEECH 71 THE MAS ClASS oF 2013 74 THE MAS ClASS oF 2014 76 MAS SoCIAl ACTIvITIES 77 BERlIN REPoRT 79 MAS TEAM AT EDuCATIoNAl FAIRS IN CHINA 80 A CenteR foR InterdisciplInary ReSearch THE PH.D. IN AMERICAN STuDIES 84 PH.D. CANDIDATES 87 CoMPlETED PH.D.S 109 AWARDING oF THE RolF KENTNER DISSERTATIoN PRIzE 111 HCA RESEARCH PRoJECTS 113 THE HCA SPRING ACADEMy 2012 119 CoNFERENCES 131 MARGINAlIzED MASCulINITIES AND THE NATIoN 131 FRoM THE PENTAGoN PAPERS To WIKIlEAKS 132 NEW AvENuES IN JoNATHAN EDWARDS STuDIES and EIGHTEENTH-CENTuRy RElIGIouS HISToRy 136 MEDIA, MATERIAl, AND vISuAl CoMPoNENTS oF CoNTEMPoRARy AMERICAN RElIGIouS ERlEBNISWElTEN 138 JAMES W.C. PENNINGToN AWARD 141 RESEARCH PRoJECTS SuPERvISED By HCA FACulTy 143 SElECTED PuBlICATIoNS 145 SElECTED TAlKS 152 SoHEyl GHAEMIAN TRAvEl FuND FoR SCHolARS 167 Special feAtuRe lEoNARD SCHMIEDING: "HIP-HoP uNDER HoNECKER: 'THIS IS ouR PARTy!'" 170 foRum THE BADEN-WüRTTEMBERG SEMINAR 182 HCA BooK lAuNCHES 191 ENJoy JAzz AT THE HCA 193 ExHIBITIoN: "ColD WAR PolITICS: MElvIN lASKy: NEW yoRK, BERlIN, loNDoN" 195 u.S. PRESIDENTIAl ElECTIoNS 2012 AT THE HCA 196 MEDIA CovERAGE 201 HCA AnnounCementS 204 ReCtoR'S welCome pRof. DR. ReR. nAt. beRnHARD eItel RectoR oF the University oF heideLberg Dear Reader, For the past couple of years, the Ruperto Carola has been bracing itself for the arrival of two graduating classes bound for higher education at once. Heidelberg university has responded to this challenge by increasing the number of freshmen slots, establishing new programs, creat- ing new professorships, expanding facilities, and broadening academic services. The Heidelberg Center for American Studies has played an important and successful role in these efforts. Thus, supported by a special program of the state of Baden-Württemberg, in 2010 we an- nounced the creation of two new professorships which the HCA is sharing with the Department of Geography and the Faculty of Theology, respectively. The two new professorships laid the groundwork for the creation of a new academic program at Heidelberg – the Bachelor of Arts in American Studies (BAS) – that helped the Ruperto Carola to cope with the increase in students. I am pleased and proud to report that in its target year of 2012 the BAS has exceeded the ex- pected number of newly enrolled students. It is a particular pleasure for me to congratulate the HCA on this stellar achievement! Finally, I am pleased to announce that the title of Honorary Senator of Heidelberg university has recently been conferred on one of the HCA’s most steadfast supporters. Soheyl Ghaemian is the sponsor of the Ghaemian Fellowship-in-Residence at the HCA and of the Ghaemian Travel Fund for Scholars. The Ruperto Carola is thus honoring an exceptional entrepreneur who is known for his courage, vision, and social responsibility. I look forward to working closely with him for the future benefit of the HCA, Heidelberg university, and the arts and sciences in Heidelberg. 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, After nine years of publishing our Annual Report, we decided it needed a facelift. We hope that you will agree with us that our new design is more reader-friendly, less compressed and overloaded, with more space for pictures and reports. once more, we will distribute 1,200 cop- ies worldwide. As always, I would like to focus your attention on some special initiatives and events at the HCA in the last year. Following an important pattern of the global educational market, we at the HCA decided to pursue a pro-active strategy to promote our non-consecutive Master in American Studies program to attract talented and ambitious students from all over the world who are willing and able to pay 2,500 Euro per term for tuition and fees. Since 2005, 122 students from 37 countries have successfully completed their M.A. in American Studies at the HCA. In line with this new initiative we accepted the invitation of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to take part in the China Education Expo 2012. I was accompanied by Katia Rostetter and Anne lübbers from the HCA and two representatives from Heidelberg university’s International office, ulrike Riedling and Chun-Mei Chan, to present the university and the HCA at four expositions in Beijing, xi’an, Chengu, and Shanghai. In the German pavilion, more than 100 representatives of German universities answered the questions of the Chinese students. Heidelberg was the most famous German university present and captured the interest of a lot of students. Altogether, the expo in Beijing attracted 28,000, in Shanghai 20,000, in Chengu 2,000, and in xi’an 3,000 students. In Beijing I lectured at the Beijing Foreign Studies university and the China Foreign Affairs university (CFAu) as well. The delegation from Heidelberg university engaged in lively debates with students and faculty about the structure of American Studies in China and Germany. We were moved by reuniting with four MAS alumni, with Fei ye (MAS 2009) and Harry zhang (MAS 2011) in Beijing, and with Cassie zhang (MAS 2008) and Cen Jiang (MAS 2011) in Shanghai. our alumni were fabulous hosts and made us feel at home in China. Another dimension of the HCA’s global reach is our Spring Academy. The HCA’s oldest and extraordinarily successful program has attracted students from all over the world. In 2013 the Spring Academy, a one-week interdisciplinary conference for doctoral students, will celebrate its 10th anniversary, thanks to the long-standing commitment of the John Deere Company. Having taken place for the first time in 2004 with 24 students from 10 countries, it has contin- ued as successfully as it started. over the last nine years 188 doctoral students out of a pool of 750 applicants from 59 different countries have been selected to participate in the conference. The Spring Academy does not just bring together young researchers in the field of American Studies, but also offers its participants the opportunity to network with other Ph.D. students, get feedback on their projects, and take part in workshops led by renowned scholars from around the world. Another highlight of 2012 took place on June 14, when the HCA together with the Faculty of Theology celebrated the first recipient of the James W.C. Pennington Award, Professor Albert J. Raboteau, Henry W. Putman Professor of Religion at Princeton university. As outlined in our last Annual Report, in June 2011 our long-time benefactor, Dr.h.c. Manfred lautenschläger, announced the inauguration of this award, accompanied by an official message of greetings and appreciation from u.S. President Barack obama. The prize pays tribute to the African American churchman and former slave James W.C. Pennington, who in 1849 received an hon- orary doctorate from Heidelberg university. This Annual Report gives testimony to the ever increasing importance of the HCA as a forum for public debate. under the leadership of Dr. Anja Schüler our forum has developed into a sophis- ticated and inspiring marketplace of lectures, debates, panel discussions, book launches, and exhibitions. The detailed report about the forum’s activities illustrates the breadth and depth of this truly multidisciplinary enterprise. Finally, I again would like to thank our generous benefactors, the State of Baden-Württemberg and Heidelberg university, for their unwavering and continual support. 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 opportuni- ties for scholars and students from all over the world. In addition, the HCA strength- ens the profile of Heidelberg university as one of germany’s finest academic institu- tions.