We are pleased to announce an online lecture by
Carsten Junker
(TU Dresden)

Field Notes toward American Studies as Relational Diversity Studies

This lecture is going to be the a part
of the 2021/2022 Spring Edition of the
American Studies Colloquium Series.

Thursday, March 3, 2022
at 5:15 p.m.

You can get 2 OZN points for participating in this event.
Check how to collect OZN points online here.

poster by Joanna Bębenek

Where?

This lecture will be streamed online. To attend, click the button below or enter https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89291350296 into your browser, and join the meeting.

What?

The lecture provides reflections on the study of demographic diversity in scenarios of inequality in the broader field of American Studies. Questions to be addressed include: how can “Diversity Studies” be approached? What are the historical conditions for its institutionalization? What are its archives and theoretical frameworks? What role do ethical questions play in this endeavor? The lecture seeks to address from the ground up, as it were, the premises and repercussion of an academic project, of which the object of study—diversity—does not exist per se.

Who?

Prof. Carsten Junker is University Professor of American Studies with a focus on Diversity Studies at TU Dresden, Germany. He is teaching at the ASC during the spring semester 2022, in the framework of the University of Warsaw’s Integrated Development Program (ZIP). His research interests include North American literatures and cultures including Canada and the Caribbean from the seventeenth century to the present, with a special emphasis on the connections between formalizations of cultural patterns and social differentiations, including discursive struggles.

Prof. Junker is staying at the ASC as ZIP Visiting Professor  for two months, from February to April 2022. He is teaching the lecture “Writing against Slavery: Early American Abolitionist Discourses and their Repercussions” as a part of the MA studies program, giving a talk within the American Studies Colloquium Series, and is available for individual consultations, especially for students interested in African American literature and culture.

The Visiting Professorship is offered within the framework of the University’s Integrated Development Programme (ZIP). The University’s Integrated Development Programme (ZIP) is a comprehensive project focused on improving the quality and effectiveness of education in Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programmes, as well as supporting adaptation of the University’s offer to the needs of the economy, labour market and the society. The programme ZIP is co-financed by the European Union within the European Social Fund; its budget is PLN 39 393 989.40. More information available at: https://www.zip.uw.edu.pl/node/192

Year 2024/2025

June 12: Beyond Homeland(s) and Diaspora: Russian-Israeli Literature at Multiple Crossroads

June 6, 2025

We would like to invite you to a special guest lecture by Maria Rubins of University College London who will present a talk titled “Beyond Homeland(s) and Diaspora: Russian-Israeli Literature at Multiple Crossroads”. This lecture will examine the transnational, hybrid and translingual character of contemporary Russian-Israeli writing and its unique position within the evolving landscape of Russophone literature on the one hand, and Israeli culture on the other.

Year 2024/2025

June 5: Scaling Migrant Worker Rights. How Advocates Collaborate and Contest State Power

May 30, 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the second lecture of the Western Hemisphere Lecture series in the 2025 Spring semester! In the United States, immigration policy has undergone substantial changes in recent years. These changes have been particularly evident since the beginning of President Donald Trump’ recently inaugurated second term. In her analysis, Professor Xóchitl Bada will address these changes by focusing on the experience of migrant workers.

American Studies Colloquium Series

May 29: Surveillance and AI in the Military (and Beyond)

May 29, 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the last lecture of the American Studies Colloquium Series in the 2025 Spring semester! This lecture focuses on the revelatory power of media technology, particularly AI and other new media innovations. Beginning with an analysis of contemporary military surveillance projects, the presentation looks at the role of drones and similar technologies in making new enemies visible.

Year 2024/2025

May 27: Intersections of Queer and Class

May 27, 2025

We would like to invite you to a discussion meeting introducing the book “Reading Literature and Theory at the Intersections of Queer and Class” (Routledge 2025). We will talk about various crossovers of queer and class in American and German literary texts to explore, among others, queer precarity, intersections of queerness and class privilege, interclass queer sexuality, and lesbian response to class inequalities.

Year 2024/2025

May 26: Without the US? Europe in the New World Order

May 26, 2025

Together with Gazeta Wyborcza we are delighted to invite you to the whole-day conference “Without the US? Europe in the New World Order” concerning the first months of Donald Trump’s second term and its impact globally and in our part of the world. We will reevaluate past assessments, revise potential scenarios, and parse through options that lay ahead of us regarding European security, civil liberties in the age of globalized political polarization, and media freedom. Invited guests include ASC professors, journalists, and experts from think tanks.