iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

#cfp The North American Studies Program will host the three-day workshop "Lines Drawn, Voices Raised: Allotment, Legal Uncertainties, and Indigenous Responses" at the University of Bonn on June 9-11, 2027! Submit your project outlines by October 15th, 2026.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined our final lecture of the semester! Dr. Teo explored how Cultural Studies engages with race, power, and knowledge production in academia and beyond. We'll be back next semester with our "Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies" lecture series. 📚

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined Vanessa Evans' lecture "Constellations of Coresistance: Indigenous Relationalities in Literature" last Thursday! 💫🌏 A packed audience and lively discussion about global Indigenous literary studies!

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

📣Join us next Tuesday (07/07) for a lecture with Dr. Teo (University of Southern Queensland) who will explore the racialization of Asian identities, critical whiteness theory, and the role of higher education in (re-)producing knowledge about race. This event is free and open to the public.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined Prof. Depkat's talk "Emancipatory Gains, Illiberal Potential: The Legacy of the American Revolution" and the engaging discussion following that!

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

The DFG-funded research network The Cultural Politics of Reconciliation is hosting the symposium "Reconciliation, Reclamation, Resurgence" at IMPULSE (Adenauerallee 131) on July 8 and 9. The symposium is free and open to the public. For organizational purposes, we ask you to sign up via email.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

🇺🇸 US Semiquincentennial Lecture: How did the ideals of freedom and equality produce both emancipation and exclusion? Join us for a lecture by Prof. Dr. Volker Depkat next week (30/06) at 6pm. #US250 The event is free and open to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Thank you for joining our discussion on “The Mamdani Moment” and the future of U.S. political leadership! Together with Luzia Geier and Dr. Mike Cowburn, we explored emerging political figures, political communication, and the forces shaping the next generation of leaders in the United States. 🇺🇸📚

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Interested in a Master’s that connects Literature, Culture, Politics & Economics? 🌎📚 Join our Info Event on 16 June at 5:30 pm (Lecture Hall X, University of Bonn) and learn more about our interdisciplinary M.A. in North American Studies!

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

📢 Please note: this event has been moved to a new date. Join us on July 2 at 12pm for a lecture with Prof. Dr. Vanessa K. Evans on "Constellations of Coresistance: Indigenous Relationalities in Literature." The event is free and open to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Thanks to everyone who joined the NAS career forum on 12 May 2026. 3 NAS alumni discussed the value of their degree in their diverse career trajectories and answered students' questions in a Q&A. The event concluded with drinks and the opportunity to chat with our alumni. #alumni #UniBonn #NAS

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Join us next week (19/05) at 6pm for a lecture with Prof. Dr. Kirsten Wandschneider on "A Taxing Journey: Tax Adaptions and Interstate Migration in the Early 20th Century." The event is free and open to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

What does “European independence” really mean today? Our recent panel discussion tackled energy, security, and global power shifts—and what they mean for Europe’s role in the world. Thanks to everyone who joined on 5 May.🌎 #Europe #nas #bonn

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

💡 Whether you’re a current student or considering our program, this event, with a Q&A session and reception with drinks and snacks afterward, is a great chance to hear how the program prepares you for the job market and diverse career paths. #career #alumni The event is free and open to the public.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined Renae Watchman's lecture on 21 April on "When Relations Cannot Be Restored: Fraudulent Indigenous Identity in Literary and Creative Arts.” 🌎📖

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

📣Join us next Tuesday (04/21) for a lecture with Prof. Watchman who will explore phenomena of non-Indigenous people taking on Indigenous identities to advance their own aims. This event is free and open to the public.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Welcome back to the University for the summer term 2026 and to this term's lecture series!📚🌎

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Welcome back to the University for the winter term 2025/26 and to this term's lecture series!

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us on 1 July for Prof. Robert Nichols' thought-provoking talk "Red Power Partisans: Native American Activism and the 'New Indian Wars'." This event was part of our free and open "Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies" lecture series.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Join us on 1 July 2025 for Prof. Robert Nichols’ talk, “Red Power Partisans,” on Native American activism and guerrilla warfare theory in the 60s–70s. Part of our “Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies” series. Free and open to the public.

Flyer for a lecture titled "Red Power Partisans: Native American Activism and the ‘New Indian Wars’" by Prof. Robert Nichols (University of California, Santa Cruz). Scheduled for Tuesday, 1 July 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Rabinstraße 8, Room 7, 53111 Bonn. Part of the "Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies" Lecture Series of the North American Studies Program at the University of Bonn. The flyer includes a historical photo of a 1992 Red Power march in South Dakota.

Abstract: This lecture explores how Red Power intellectuals of the 1960s–70s redefined irregular warfare through anti-colonial critique and grassroots historiography. Prof. Nichols argues that Native activism forged a distinct theoretical contribution, portraying U.S. hegemony as imperial counterinsurgency. This reimagining of guerrilla struggle reveals an enduring critique of American militarism and colonial violence.

Prof. Robert Nichols teaches in the History of Consciousness Department at UC Santa Cruz. His work in political thought includes the book Theft Is Property! Dispossession and Critical Theory (Duke University Press, 2019).

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us on 27 May 2025 for Dr. Sine Kontbay Busun’s lecture on NAFTA and USMCA. She analyzed key shifts in North American trade policy and rising tensions under Trump’s second term. This event was part of our North American Studies Lecture Series.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

Join us next week for an input lecture by Prof. Dr. Jill Doerfler who will talk about land allotments on the White Earth Reservation in the early 1900s. This event is free and open to the public.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

Join us for our informal lunch session on 9 July 2025 at 12pm (c.t.) in room 02.025 at Rabinstraße 8, 53111 Bonn. We will discuss issues pertaining to the current state of Native America. Please note: Participants are kindly asked to bring their own lunch. No food or drinks will be provided.

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Reposted by North American Studies Bonn

Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies @dependencybonn.de · 18/06/2025

Thank you to Professor Kinohi Nishikawa for delivering this year's Juneteenth Lecture! His powerful exploration of the "afterlife of slavery" in Toni Morrison’s 'A Mercy' (2008) shed new light on the richness and complexity of the novel. @unibonn.bsky.social @dfg.de @nas-bonn.bsky.social

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us on 29 April 2025 for Prof. Jean Pfaelzer’s lecture “California, a Slave State.” Drawing from her recent book, she explored how California’s history of slavery challenges its mythic image and reveals a legacy of resistance and rebellion.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined us on 3 June, 2025! Dr. Pyke explored how queer sensibilities have shaped some of the most beloved children’s literature of the mid-twentieth century. This event was part of our free and open "Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies" lecture series.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Join us on June 3 for Dr. Sarah Pyke’s talk on queer kinship in mid-20th-century U.S. children’s literature. She explores how figures like Sendak and Brown shaped the genre, offering a counter-history amid current censorship debates. The event is free and open to the public.

Flyer for a lecture titled "Getting It Past the Adults: Children’s Books and Queer Kinship in Mid-Twentieth Century America" by Dr. Sarah Pyke (University of Münster). Scheduled for Tuesday, 3 June 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Rabinstraße 8, Room 7, 53111 Bonn. Part of the "Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies" Lecture Series of the North American Studies Program at the University of Bonn. The flyer includes a double-page image from Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd (1947).

Abstract: This lecture lays out how queer sensibilities have shaped some of the most beloved children’s literature of the mid twentieth century. Dr Pyke’s talk recalls visionary editor Ursula Nordstrom who, as Harper Row children’s books director from 1940 to 1973 nurtured a network of author illustrators. Among them were Margaret Wise Brown, Maurice Sendak, and Arnold Lobel, all now recognised as bisexual, gay, or lesbian. As groups such as Moms for Liberty call for children’s books by and about LGBTQ+ people to be censored and banned, Dr Pyke offers an alternative history of American children’s literature and its queer intimacies.

Dr. Sarah Pyke teaches children’s and Young Adult literature at the University of Münster. She is a co founder of the Banned Books
Network Münster, a former Munby Fellow in Bibliography at Cambridge University Library and currently working on a group biography, entitled “Former Children The Queer Creators of Mid Century American Children’s Books."

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined us on 13 May, 2025! Dr. Fackler explored how Indigenous literatures challenge extractivism through kinship narratives. This event was part of our free and open "Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies" lecture series.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

For the next talk in our summer 2025 series "Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies," we welcome Dr. Sine Kontbay Busun, who will discuss the shift from NAFTA to USMCA and its impact on North American trade. Free and open to the public!

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined the NAS career forum on 6 May 2025. 3 NAS alumni discussed the value of their degree in their diverse career trajectories and answered students' questions in a Q&A. The event concluded with drinks and the opportunity to chat with our alumni. #alumni

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined our panel on 22 April 2025! We discussed Canada’s political landscape, Québec’s role, and the cultural impact of the upcoming election. This event was part of our free and open "Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies" lecture series.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Join us for our next lecture with Dr. Katharina Fackler from the University of Bonn. She will explore how contemporary Indigenous literature contests extractivism and promotes sustainable, kinship-based social-ecological relations. The event is free and open to the public!

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

On 6 May at 6:00 pm, join us at Rabinstraße 8, Room 7, for an exciting panel featuring alumni who completed the North American Studies Program at the University of Bonn.

Tim Hartmann (Volkswagen), Sarah Arfeen (ICLEI Europe), and Monique Mauel (Amerikahaus NRW) will share how their M.A. in North American Studies shaped their careers.

Whether you’re a current student or considering the program, this event is a great chance to hear how the program prepares you for the job market and diverse career paths. The panel will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Sabine N. Meyer and Dr. Katharina Fackler.

After the discussion, there will be a Q&A session and a reception with drinks and snacks, offering a perfect opportunity to connect with alumni and ask questions.

We're looking forward to seeing you there!

The event is free and open to the public.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Join us for a lecture with Prof. Pfaelzer who will explore how California's origins and its prosperity are deeply tied to the history of slavery, a history long hidden by the state's utopian myth. This event is free and open to the public.

Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies | Lecture Series of the North American Studies Program

Prof. Jean Pfaelzer from University of Delaware California, a Slave State on Tuesday 29 April 2025 from 6:00 c.t. to 8:00 pm at 53111 Bonn, Rabinstraße 8 in Room 7.

California was conceived in slavery, as Prof.
Jean Pfaelzer argues in her book California, A Slave State (2023). Marked and marketed with "California dreamin', the state nurtured slavery in regimes that for 250 years sunder its true history from its utopian myth - that its people and land were there for the taking. Dr. Pfaelzer's lecture turns to those who were enslaved to explore how California owes its origins and sunny prosperity, and its long tradition of resistance, rebellion, and revolt to those who were held in human bondage.

Prof. Jean Pfaelzer is the author of California, A Slave State (Yale UP, 2023) and Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans (2007) which was listed on the New York Times's "100 Best Books" that year. She is a commentator on labor and immigration for NPR and PBS, a former Executive Director of the National Labor Law Center, and the 2024 United Chinese Americans' "Humanitarian of the Year."

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Join us for the first installment in our summer lecture series with Prof. Dr. Christoph Vatter. Explore Canada’s shifting politics, cultural identity, and its evolving ties to the US. Free and open to all! April 22, 6–8 pm, Rabinstraße 8, Room 7, Bonn.

Join us for the „Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies,“ a Lecture Series of the North American Studies Program.

Panel Discussion „We Will Never be the 51st State": Canadian Elections Amidst Growing US Hostility with Prof. Dr. Christoph Vatter from Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dr. Matt Sheedy & Apl. Prof. Dr. Jasper Trautsch from North American Studies Program on
Tuesday, 22 April 2025 from 6:00 c.t.-8:00 pm at 53111 Bonn, Rabinstraße 8 in Room 7.

This panel takes a close look at the political and cultural framework of the upcoming Canadian federal election. Our guest Prof. Dr. Christoph Vatter will draw particular attention to Québec and its unique history and discuss how the federal Bloc Québécois Party is navigating its place amidst these unusual times. As an entry into our debate, Prof. Dr. Trautsch engages in a short 101 on Canada's electoral system. He then lays out how the race between Liberals and Conservatives has been radically altered by the resignation of Trudeau, Trump's vision of Canada as "51st US state," and Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement that the Canadian election will be held on 28 April 2025. Dr. Sheedy addresses cultural politics in Canada, including the changing identities of different political parties and social media branding of party leaders.

Our guest Christoph Vatter is Professor of Intercultural Business Communication at the University Jena. Focusing his research on cultural theory and communication, he (co-) authored and co-edited publications on e. g. intercultural competence, film and memory cultures, and migration. He serves as co-editor for the Interculture Journal and as President of the Gesellschaft für Kanada-
Studien e.V.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Join us for our informal lunch session on 23 April 2025 at 12pm (c.t.) in room 02.025 at Rabinstraße 8, 53111 Bonn. We will reflect and discuss recent developments in U.S. politics. Please note: Participants are kindly asked to bring their own lunch. No food or drinks will be provided.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Welcome back to the University for the summer term 2025 and to this term's lecture series!

"Current Issues in North American and Cultural Studies" | Lecture Series | Summer Term 2025

Tuesday, 22 April 2025 | 6:00 c.t.-8:00 pm | Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 Bonn | Room 7 Prof. Dr. Christoph Vatter | Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Dr. Matt Sheedy and Apl. Prof. Dr. Jasper Trautsch | North American Studies Program “We Will Never be the 51st State”: Canadian Elections Amidst Growing US Hostility

Tuesday, 29 April 2025 | 6:00 c.t.-8:00 pm | Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 Bonn | Room 7 Prof. Jean Pfaelzer | University of Delaware California, a Slave State

Tuesday, 13 May 2025 | 6:00 c.t.-8:00 pm | Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 Bonn | Room 7 Dr. Katharina Fackler | North American Studies Program
Making Kin: Contesting Extractivism in Contemporary Indigenous Literature

Tuesday, 27 May 2025 | 6:00 c.t.-8:00 pm | Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 Bonn | Room 7 | Dr. Sine Kontbay Busun | North American Studies Program
From NAFTA to USMCA: Economic Integration in North America

Tuesday, 3 June 2025 | 6:00 c.t.-8:00 pm | Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 Bonn | Room 7 | Dr. Sarah Pyke | University of Münster Getting it Past the Adults: Children’s Books and Queer Kinship in Mid-Twentieth Century America

Tuesday, 1 July 2025 | 6:00 c.t.-8:00 pm | Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 Bonn | Room 7 | Prof. Robert Nichols | University of California, Santa Cruz
Red Power Partisans: Native American Activism and the “New Indian Wars”

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Just out: The Handbook of American Poetry, edited by Sabine Sielke and published by De Gruyter in January 2025! 📖 The editor's introduction is now available on our website! www.nas.uni-bonn.de/en/news-1-1/...

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our annual Martin Luther King Lecture on January 20, 2025. This year, we were honored to welcome Nadja Klopprogge for her talk on "Intimate Constellations as Sites of Multidirectional Memory: Relating African American and German History."

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Join us at the "Swimming Studies: Waters, Winds, and Waves of Knowing" student conference on January 30 & 31!

This is the poster for the student conference in the context of Prof. Sielke‘s seminar “Swimming Studies”: Waters, Winds, and Waves of Knowing that takes place on Thursday, 30 January 2025 and Friday, 31 January 2025 at Rabinstraße 8, 53111 Bonn in Room 2.025. All talks last 30 minutes each. The conference starts on Thursday at 4:15 pm.

4:15 pm – 4:45 pm
Ruiyu Wang: "Floating to Freedom? The Mississippi River in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

4:45 pm – 5:15 pm
Hannes Hoppe: "Becoming a Being – Flowing and Stagnant Waters in Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King"

5:15 pm – 5:45 pm
Sabrina Debrard: "Fish Out of Water: The Transformation of Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate"

6:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Jessica Jijon Vaca: "Drowning and Rising in Leslie Marmon Silko's Almanac of the Dead and Kim Thúy's Ru"

6:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Shiqi Chen: "Images of Liquidity in Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water"

7:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Jinglei Chen: "Reclaiming Nature and Acts of Liberation: Eco-Feminist Perspectives on Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Friday | 31 January 2025

4:15 pm – 4:45 pm
Ruben Hockemeyer: ""Whalecore": Remediations of Water in Mastodon's Progressive Metal Album Leviathan"

4:45 pm – 5:15 pm
Jana Maria Volkmer: "‘I’ll build a boat for when the river gets high’: Shapes of Water in Noah Kahan's Music"

5:15 pm – 5:45 pm
Lilian Zwanzig: "Redefining Heroism in Young Woman and the Sea"

5:45 pm – 6:15 pm
Rachel Ejsmont: "Pride and Peril: Taking on the World’s Most Challenging Swims"

The conference ends at 6:15 pm on Friday.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Join us for this semester's last installment of our Lecture Series! We are welcoming @maditaoeming.bsky.social on "America’s War on Porn: Anti-Pornography on 28 January 2025 at 6 pm (c.t). The event is free and open to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined last week's lecture with Dr. Imke Lichterfeld on "‘My consciousness flowing’: Outdoor Swimming and the Immediacy of Water in Roger Deakin’s Waterlog and Victoria Whiteworth’s Swimming with Seals" and participated in an engaging discussion! 🌊🏊‍♀️

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Join us tonight at 6 pm (c.t) for our MLK Lecture with Jun.-Prof. Dr. Klopprogge's lecture on "Intimate Constellations as Sites of Multidirectional Memory: Relating African American and German History". The event is free and open to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Join us tonight at 6 pm (c.t) for Dr. Imke Lichterfeld's lecture on "‘My consciousness flowing’: Outdoor Swimming and the Immediacy of Water in Roger Deakin’s Waterlog and Victoria Whiteworth’s Swimming with Seals" The event is free and open to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined our last lecture in 2024 with James Mendelsohn on "An Archive of Postcards: The Intersection of Cultural and Personal Memory."

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Join us tomorrow at 6 pm (c.t) for Sarah Becker’s lecture on "Water Corpses in US-American Visual Culture." The event is free and open to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you.

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined our lecture with Dr. Simon Schleusener on "Images of Degradation: Social Photography and the Politics of Visibility"

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Thank you to everyone who joined our lecture with Alexei Kazakov on "Nostalgia and Constructions of National Identities."

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North American Studies Bonn @nas-bonn.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Join us tomorrow at 6 (c.t) pm for James Mendelsohn‘s lecture on "An Archive of Postcards: The Intersection of Cultural and Personal Memory." The event is free and open to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you.

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