ADLAF Award for Kirsten Behr

Kirsten Behr has been awarded the Doctoral Prize by the German Association for Latin American Studies (ADLAF) (2nd place)!

In her dissertation, Kirsten Behr examined the portrayals and roles of women in contemporary Franco-Caribbean novels about natural disasters. She was the first to apply literary critical methods to this topic in the context of current debates in feminist disaster studies.

In her laudatory address, Prof. Dr. Jenny Haase (University of Potsdam) praised the work’s theoretical and methodological innovation as well as its precise literary analyses. Above all, however, she emphasized the study’s particular social relevance, which—in keeping with the spirit of the ADLAF Prize—extends far beyond the narrow confines of the discipline. The award ceremony took place during the ADLAF conference in Berlin. The laudatory speech can be read here: https://www.adlaf.de/blog/behr-preis

Kirsten Behr received her Ph.D. from the University of Paderborn in October 2024. Her dissertation was reviewed by Prof. Dr. Annegret Thiem (University of Paderborn) and Prof. Dr. Agnieszka Komorowska (University of Kassel). Titled “Female Disasterscapes: Women in Natural Disaster Novels of the French-Speaking Caribbean,” it was published in 2025 by DeGruyter in the Mimesis series: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/doi/10.1515/9783112207307/html#contents