Research projects

This research project explores the transcultural contexts of the early American bildungsroman (time span: from the American Revolution to the Civil War). While the classical phase of the American bildungsroman has been researched extensively, its beginnings have barely been addressed. While upholding the dogma of exceptionalism, U.S. cultural and literary discourse is deeply embedded in transnational practices—engrained into an imaginary that can be best described as a ‘Multicolored Atlantic,’ with European and African traditions strongly influencing the modes and contents of U.S. American cultural self-fashioning.

The main interest of this project lies in the question of how the post-revolutionary phase in the U.S. established a homogeneous ‘democratic educational ideal.’ The term ‘education’ comprises of a variety of conditions and parameters which have played a role in the early period of the American republic: the fashioning of the self, personal and cultural maturation, and the formation of an urban elite.

To what extent are European ideas contained in this new cultural image of the self?  In what way is America’s much-lauded national image actually transnational? This project locates the process of America’s cultural fashioning of the self in a dynamic area of conflict simultaneously marked by exceptionalism and trans-culturalism, negotiated through the interplay of individual media (literature, painting, photography) and sub-genres (seduction novel, gothic tradition, picaresque novel, historical drama and travel literature).

Publications:

Brandt, Stefan L., Winfried Fluck, and Frank Mehring, eds. Transcultural Spaces: Challenges of Urbanity, Ecology, and the Environment in the New Millennium. Special issue of REAL: Year­book of Research in English and American Literature, Vol. 26. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2010.

Brandt, Stefan L., Winfried Fluck, and Ingrid Thaler, eds. Transnational American Studies. Special issue of REAL: Year­book of Research in English and American Literature, Vol. 23. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2007.

Research: Prof. Dr. Stefan Brandt

“Cartographies of the Liminal” explores the topopoetics of liminal spaces in North America. Which functions do ‘in-between’ spaces assume in the collective American imagination? To what extent is the idea of boundary crossing, closely linked to the nation’s history, also central to literary and cultural representations? The United States of America has emerged out of a deeply cross-cultural experience—that of immigration. Not long after its ‘discovery,’ the New World became the destination of choice (and the chosen destination) for various groups, a ‘New Eden’ across the Atlantic Ocean, constructed in the Old World. To this day, U.S. society is shaped by legal and illegal immigration, largely concentrated in metropolitan centers. A major source of attraction for immigrants to the USA were undoubtedly the nation’s vast open spaces, which, according to the Puritan rhetoric, virtually demanded to be conquered and settled. These spaces, however, were never represented as pure or entirely consistent, but always as hybrid spaces which offered an in-between experience of ‘civilization’ and ‘wilderness’ at the same time. This paradox is, as the project “Cartographies of the Liminal” stresses, key to America, for America is imagined as a liminal body. Being derived from a male explorer’s name, the term ‘America’ already signifies inclusiveness across the limits of gender. This image of inclusiveness was transferred to the fields of race and class in the nation’s literary and cultural imaginary, thus offering—at least symbolically—the promise of an egalitarian community in which all members would be given equal chances of upward mobility. Yet whereas the dominant rhetoric imagines America as a homogenous unity (‘the promised land,’ ‘God’s country,’ etc.), U.S. culture as a whole, in fact, is a complex and hybrid network, consisting of contradictory and multi-faceted discourses and movements, “dynamic associations” (Bruno Latour) linking power structures, ideologies, and environmental factors.   

Tapping into these paradoxes, Stefan L. Brandt’s monograph project Moveable Designs: Liminal Identities and the U.S. Cultural Imaginary traces the fascination with the ‘transgendered body’ back to the early years of American culture when Phillis Wheatley and others reveled in images of a Columbia/America figure that appeared as simultaneously male and female, ethereal and material, civilized and savage. Such parameters of boundary-crossing have permeated central texts of the American cultural imaginary, from Walt Whitman’s democratic visions of cosmic unity and the modernist notion of race as a category of performativity to postmodern conceptions of an “astronautic subjectivity” apparently floating between a variety of identity options. The ‘moveable designs’ the book project’s title alludes to suggest that the American imagination is deeply grounded in a play with affiliations and identity arrangements. Another example is the highlighting of structural ambiguity as a key pattern of reality construction that can be observed in both Henry James’s and Thomas Pynchon’s fictions. Conceived in this manner, the American self is designed as fundamentally liminal, bordering on a number of oppositional sets and discourses and aspiring to unify them all under the guise of homogeneity (›e pluribus unum‹).

All subprojects are united in their conviction that cultural identities can be shaped and negotiated through liminal zones. The joint project thus seeks to map the material and symbolic topographies of North America, focusing on the cultural implications originating in border regions and other spaces of the ‘in-between’ grounded in U.S. American and Canadian cultural practice. The theme of liminal experiences is analyzed for its aesthetic and cultural-historical dimensions with the help of eco-critical and socio-anthropological approaches.

Publications:

Brandt, Stefan L. »TransAmerica? Cultural Hybridity and Transgendered Desire from the Colonial Era to Modernity«. In: Trans/American, Trans/Oceanic, Trans/lation: Issues in International American Studies. Hrsg. João Ferreira Duarte, Marta Pacheco Pinto, & Susana Araújo. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010, 247-261.

Brandt, Stefan L. »›Not a puzzle so arbitrarily solved‹: Queer Aesthetics in Alice Munro's Short Fiction«. Zeitschrift für Kanadastudien. 36 (2016): 28-41.

Research: Prof. Dr. Stefan Brandt

Travel is an intimate part of human existence that involves cultural exchange through observation and interaction. It requires us to recognize that, beyond our allegiance to our own nation, we are also bound together by our shared humanity and the global community. To truly understand our own selves, we must adopt an inclusive perspective towards life, where cultures merge and combine to form a constructive relationship. In today’s globalized world, the practice of travel, mobility, and cross-cultural contact challenges the politics of difference and the homogenizing perspectives of the world state. This ‘openness to the world’ (Appiah) enables us to appreciate the diverse cultures around us and discover our own identities in relation to others and their ethnolinguistic backgrounds. By engaging with difference, we can forge cultural connections that transcend time and space, and bring subjectivity into dialogue. 

International travelers have been flocking to the Americas for centuries, drawn by its diverse cultures, natural beauty, and rich history. From the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu to the bustling streets of New York City, the Americas offer a wide range of experiences for travelers to explore. One of the most popular destinations for international travelers is the United States. With its vast size and cultural diversity, the US offers something for everyone, from the beaches of California to the forests of Maine. Visitors can experience the excitement of Times Square in New York City, the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, or the historical significance of Washington, D.C. Another popular destination for international travelers is Canada, a country that boasts some of the most stunning natural landscapes in the world, from the Rocky Mountains to the vast expanses of the Canadian Shield. Central and South America also offer a wealth of experiences for international travelers. In Central America, visitors can explore the ancient ruins of Tikal in Guatemala, relax on the beaches of Costa Rica, or experience the vibrant culture of Mexico City. South America is home to some of the world's most iconic destinations, including the Amazon rainforest, the Galapagos Islands, and the Andes Mountains. The Americas are rich in symbolism appreciated by international travelers. Examples include the bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty, the Mayan pyramids, Niagara Falls, the Hollywood Sign, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Rio Carnival.

Projects are currently in the planning stages to explore the expansive realm of transnational travel writing associated with the Americas. These endeavors will encompass investigations along both transatlantic and transpacific routes of exchange. The overarching goal of these initiatives is to delve into the intricate narratives and cultural intersections that unfold as individuals traverse between the Americas and regions such as Asia, Europe, and Africa. By examining these global pathways as dynamic contact zones, we seek to illuminate the rich tapestry of experiences and exchanges that characterize transcontinental travel writing.  

Source: Kwame Anthony Appiah, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. New York/London: Norton, 2006, 5.

Publications:

Brandt, Stefan L. “Travelling Literature – Lady Bose, Tagore, and the Aesthetics of Transculturality.” Upcoming essay with Routledge.

Brandt, Stefan L., Winfried Fluck, and Frank Mehring, eds. Transcultural Spaces: Challenges of Urbanity, Ecology, and the Environment in the New Millennium. Special issue of REAL: Year­book of Research in English and American Literature, vol. 26. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2010.   

Brandt, Stefan L., Winfried Fluck, and Ingrid Thaler, eds. Transnational American Studies. Special Issue of REAL: Year­book of Research in English and American Literature, vol. 23. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2007.

Research: Prof. Dr. Stefan Brandt

Following phenomenological theory, all existing phenomena of the material world must be accessed through the body. Consequently, the body is our chief instrument in understanding our environment and exploring its appearances. By the same token, the ‘body’ is also used as a metaphor to negotiate and visualize chief discourses within American social practice and even politics. Indeed, crucial periods of American cultural history, such as the Reconstruction Era and the Progressive Era, were—and still are—visualized by means of the body. Thomas Eakins’s portrayals of surgical operations or muscular sportsmen carry the spirit of the time as much as caricatures of Teddy Roosevelt carrying a “big stick” while imposing a new imperialism upon U.S. political practice or the ritual depictions of “Muscular Christianity” since the 1880s. Since the emergence of postmodernity, the body has been figuring as an epitome of pertinent discussions concerning cultural diversity, gender fluidity, and sexual border crossings.

Publications:

Brandt, Stefan L. Mehring, Frank and Tatiani G. Rapatzikou, eds. Body Politics in North American Literary Fictions. AmLit - American Literatures, vol. 3, no.2, 2023. https://amerikanistik.uni-graz.at/en/research/research-areas/transnationality-and-space/. DOI: 10.25364/27.3:2023.2.0. gen. eds. S.L. Brandt, B. Buchenau, D. Izzo, P. McGowan, F. Mehring, M. Peprnik, T.G. Rapatzikou, and I. Tskhvediani.

Brandt, Stefan L. The Culture of Corporeality: Aesthetic Experience and the Embodiment of America, 1945-1960. Heidelberg: Winter, 2007.

Brandt, Stefan L. and Astrid M. Fellner, eds. Making National Bodies: Cultural Identity and the Politics of the Body in (Post-)Revolutionary America. Trier: WVT, 2010.

Brandt, Stefan L. »›One of Those Guys in the Movies‹: Juvenile Rebellion and Carnal Subjectivity in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye«. Polish Journal for American Studies 10 (2016): 49-64.

Brandt, Stefan L. »Scale, Media Transfer, and Bodily Space in ›Giant Movies‹ of the Fifties«. Transmediality and Transculturality. Hrsg. Nadja Gernalzick & Gabriele Pisarz-Ramirez. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Verlag, 2013, 349-367.

Research: Prof. Dr. Stefan Brandt

This project conducts a systematic analysis of the literary discourses in U.S. war literature from World War II to the Iraq War and traces dominant structures of “American writings about war” back to the Indian Wars of the early colonial period in the 17th century. The focus is on literary (novels, short stories, poems) and filmic (movies, documentaries) presentations of the war experience in the USA, including gender-specific characteristics of these discourses. Among the authors discussed are John Briley, Willa Cather, John Del Vecchio, William D. Ehrhart, Susan Fromberg-Schaefer, John Hawkes, Joseph Heller, Ernest Hemingway, John Hersey, Norman Mailer, Bobbie Anne Mason, Robin Moore, Tim O‘Brien, Irwin Shaw, and Kurt Vonnegut. Films analyzed include American Sniper, Born on the 4th of July, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Lioness, Miracle at Santa Anna, Poster Girl, First Blood. Part I, The Hurt Locker, and Where Soldiers Come From.

Liliia Makala's dissertation project: "Battles of the Uncanny: Gothic Subtexts in U.S. War Literature and Cinema" - details to follow

Publications:

Brandt, Stefan L. "A Farewell to the Senses? Hemingway, Remarque, and the Aesthetics of World War I." North America, Europe and the Cultural Memory of the First World War. Ed. Martin Löschnigg. Heidelberg: Winter Verlag, 2015. 215-225.

Hölbling, Walter. "Notions of War and Peace in US American Novel Literature." LiTheS (Special Issue "War, Myth and Literature") 10 (2014): 80-99.

Hölbling, Walter. Fictions of war in the recent American novel. Tübingen: Narr, 1987.

Research: Ao.Univ.-Prof.i.R. Mag. Dr.phil. tit.Univ.-Prof. Walter Hölbling; Univ.Prof. Dr. Stefan Brandt; Makala, Liliia, M.A.

Lisa Buchegger's dissertation project "'You Want Me to Be the Bad Guy?' - The Construction of the Villain in American Film and Television" - more details to follow

Research: Buchegger, Lisa, BA. BA. MA.

Philip Steiner's dissertation project "The Dance of the Media: Literary Features in Music, Film, and Video Games, and the Evolution of Intermediality" aims to shed light on the intricate relationship between literature and other media. This thesis will showcase how intermedial references to literary works, and literary features and functions can be employed in music records, films, and video games for a variety of purposes, specifically regarding narrativity, world-building, immersion and the transfer of philosophical ideas. In particular, Philip Steiner investigates these phenomena in the genres of metal music, metacinema, and fantasy and sci-fi videogames with a focus on North American media products.

Publications:

Steiner, Philip. "Modern Hard SF: Simulating Physics in Virtual Reality in Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem". Vol 46, No 3 (2022): Beyond Language: Intermediality and Multimodality in Literature and Literary Studies (Guest Editors: Dominika Bugno-Narecka, Heidrun Führer & Miriam de Paiva Vieira). Lublin: Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Litera-ture. pp. 57-66. https://journals.umcs.pl/lsmll/article/view/13674

Steiner, Philip. "Disability in Science Fiction Literature: A Reflection on Technology and Mental Disabilities". Vol 3 No 2: Disability Studies Special Issue. Washington DC: Museum of Science Fiction, 2019. pp. 20-22. https://publish.lib.umd.edu/? journal=scifi&page=issue&op=view&path%5B%5D=26

Steiner, Philip. “The Price of Virtual Utopia: Ready Player One as American Dream and Dystopian Night-mare". AmLit-American Literatures Journal. (upcoming publication: April 2024)

Research: Steiner, Philip, Mag.phil., BA MA

Depictions of American cities pervade popular culture. Indeed, we tend to conceive of the United States as a vast city recreated from half-remembered fragments of films, television shows, music videos, video games, and advertising images. In short, American cities appear to be all around us, from the flashy opening credits of the various incarnations of CSI and the foreboding geography of Washington, DC, in the title sequence of House of Cards to the desolate urban wastelands of The Last of Us. Accordingly, the project “Cities in the American Cultural and Literary Imaginary” explores representations of urban spaces in literature and popular culture.

Publications:

Brandt, Stefan L. “The City as Liminal Space: Urban Visuality and Aesthetic Experience in Postmodern U.S. Litera­ture and Cinema.” Amerikastudien – American Studies 54.4 (2009): 553-581.

Brandt, Stefan L. “Open Doors, Closed Spaces: The Transatlantic Imaginary in American City Writing from Post-Revolutionary Literature to Modernism.” Cities and the Circulation of Culture in the Atlantic World: From the Early Modern to Modernism, edited by Leonard Van Morzé & Elizabeth Fay, Palgrave, 2017.

Brandt, Stefan L. “Open City, Closed Space: Metropolitan Aesthetics in American Literature from Brown to DeLillo.” Transcultural Spaces: Challenges of Urbanity, Ecology, and the Environment in the New Millennium, edited by Stefan L. Brandt, Winfried Fluck, and Frank Mehring. Narr, 2010, 121–144.

Fuchs, Michael. “‘Is it beautiful? Or is it ugly?’ The Noir Tradition, Urban Affect, and the Monstrosity of Los Angeles in The Wizard of Gore.” Urban Noir: New York and Los Angeles in Shadow and Light, edited by Cynthia J. Miller & James Ward, Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.

Fuchs, Michael. “Of Roaches, Rats, and Man: Pest Species and Naturecultures in New York Horror Movies.” Space Oddities: Difference and Identity in the American City, edited by Stefan L. Brandt & Michael Fuchs, LIT, 2017.

Fuchs, Michael. “Playing Good Cop ... or Bad Cop? Exploring Hyperreal Urban Spaces in L.A. Noire.” A Dark California: Essays on Dystopian Depictions in Popular Culture, edited by Katarzyna Nowak-McNeice & Agata Zarzycka, McFarland, 2017.

While the conquest of the moon was imagined as early as 1827 in the science fiction novel A Voyage to the Moon, it became a reality in the late 1960s. Capitalizing on the fascination with ‘new frontiers’ in outer space, science fiction and fantasy texts accordingly became important vehicles of cultural self-definition in the Kennedy Era. Since the genre’s establishment, science fiction has helped conceptualize alternative worlds that—like the New World of the Age of Explorers—fascinate audiences by means of their transgressive potential and encourage us to cross boundaries and discover previously unknown spheres.

Publications:

Brandt, Stefan L. »Astronautic Subjects: Postmodern Identity and the Embodiment of Space in American Science Fic­tion«. In: Gender Forum 16 (Issue »Gender Roomours II: Gender and Space«) (Winter 2006/07) <http://www.genderforum.org/fileadmin/ archiv/genderforum/space2/article_brandt.html>.

Fuchs, Michael. “Of Roaches, Rats, and Man: Pest Species and Naturecultures in New York Horror Movies.” Space Oddities: Difference and Identity in the American City, edited by Stefan L. Brandt & Michael Fuchs. LIT, 2017.

Rabitsch, Stefan. Star Trek’s Secret British History: Setting Sail in Space with Horatio Hornblower. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017).

Rabitsch, Stefan. “‘And yet, everything we do is usually based on the English’: Sailing the mare incognitum of Star Trek’s Transatlantic Double Consciousness with Horatio Hornblower.” Science Fiction Film and Television 9.3 (2016): 439–472.

Rabitsch, Stefan, Brown John, Martin Gabriel, and Wilfried Elmenreich, eds. Set Phasers to “Teach”! Star Trek at University. Leiden: Springer, 2017.