North American Narratives of Crisis and Repair

14th International BAA Summer Academy

In Kooperation mit der Bavarian American Academy BAA

Leitung: Michael Mayer / Katja Sarkowsky / Heike Paul / Christoph Straub

Sekretariat: Viktoria Aratsch, Tel.: 08158 / 256-47

* Fester Teilnehmerkreis. Zusätzliche Anmeldungen sind daher leider nicht möglich.

To state that we are living in times of a continuous polycrisis with interdependent and overlapping crisis figurations has become a truism. This condition is reflected in much of contemporary cultural production and various forms of symbolization – be it in the genre of the dystopian, of horror, or, more generally, in end-of-the-world narratives, and it often plays off against states of disavowal and denial, at times implying a reparative or recuperative dimension. Some of these cultural expressions/representations also hark back to pertinent scenarios of the past and illustrate their ongoing relevance. Reflecting on constellations of crisis and repair, this year’s BAA Summer Academy seeks to examine both concepts in a diachronic as well as synchronic perspective with regard to different groups/actors in American history and culture. Topics to be addressed range from social and political inequalities and other effects of hegemonic hierarchical structures to discourses of recognition and demands for reparation for historical exploitation and injustice. The summer school aims at an interdisciplinary discussion of these problems within the field of North American Studies and in its disciplinary breadth.