University of Duisburg-Essen
American Studies
R12 R04 A05
Universitätsstr. 12
45141 Essen
Germany
Office: R12 R04 A05
E-mail: barbara.buchenau@uni-duisburg-essen.de
Phone: +49 201 183-4961
Bio sketch:
Barbara Buchenau is Professor of North American Studies: Literary and Cultural Studies. Her teaching and research is concerned with the fields of cultural theory, cultural history, multilingual early Americana, historical forms of popular culture, multiculturalism and contemporary literature. She is also interested in Canadian and Caribbean literature. In her teaching she addresses questions of genre, the status of non-fictional literature and the collaboration of literature with the arts and the entertainment industry. She encourages students to explore the ability of literature and cultural products to shape the lives of those involved in its production and consumption. In her current research, she investigates three areas in particular: the so-called “postracial turn” in recent North American writings, the diverse forms of literary and cultural transfers and exchanges informing literary production in North America, and the cultural and political work of stereotypical and typological representations of minority groups in texts, maps and visual art. Before joining the faculty of Duisburg-Essen, she was Assistant Professor (Assistenzprofessorin) of Postcolonial Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Bern in Switzerland.
