Lehrveranstaltungen

Sommersemester 2026

Prof. Dr. Mischa Honeck

Children in North America: From the Progressive Era to the Present 

Vorlesung, dienstags, 10 bis 12 Uhr ab 14.04.2026. Hörsaal 2, Raum 0509

This is the second instalment of a two-part lecture series that traces the evolution of childhood in North American societies since the seventeenth century. Childhood encompasses both a regulative ideal and the lived experiences of actual children. Until recently, scholars have generally treated children as little more than victims or passive observers of historical development. But as this lecture will demonstrate, nothing could be further from the truth. Young people have made their presence felt in revolutions, wars, reform movements, and processes of nation-making and state formation. How children and adults have defined what it means to be a child – as well as who gets to have a childhood – has changed dramatically across time and space, with different implications for people divided by gender, race, class, and age. Our investigation will focus primarily on key periods in US history, although there will be occasional side glances to Canada and Europe. The goal of this lecture is to 1) familiarize students with major trends in the history and historiography of children and 2) to provide an overview of US history through the lens of childhood.

Literatur:

Bernstein, Robin. Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights. New York 2011.  

Eckelmann-Berghel, Susan, et. al., eds. Growing Up America: Youth and Politics since 1945. Athens, GA, 2019.  

Fass, Paula and Mary Ann Mason, eds. Childhood in America: An Anthology. New York 2000. 

British North America before 1776

Seminar, montags, 14 bis 16 Uhr ab 20.04.2026. NP 6, Raum 0212

This seminar will examine the period of British colonial rule in North America, which lasted from the arrival of the first settlers in Virginia and Massachusetts in the early seventeenth century to the Empire’s defeat in the American War of Independence. Contrary to popular wisdom, understanding “early America” requires taking perspectives other than that of the British colonizers. The thirteen colonies were shaped as much by cultural contact and ethnic pluralism as they were by frontier violence and various forms of unfree labor, most notably indentured servitude and racial slavery. We will discuss the evolution of these and other facets of British North America, always mindful of the fact that these developments were not carved in stone but subject to intense debate across lines of class, color, and region. Early BA and Lehramt students are welcome to participate. Basic knowledge of North American history, which students can acquire in the OK Landeswissenschaften, is recommended. 

Literatur:

Bailey, Richard A., Race and Redemption in Puritan New England (2011)

Dillehay, Tom D., The Settlement of the Americas: A New Prehistory (2000) 

Elliott, John H., Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492–1830 (2007) 

Of Thee I Sing: US History in Songs

Seminar, dienstags, 08:30 bis 10 Uhr ab 14.04.2026. AB 2, Raum 0408

American music has a rich and varied history, like the country itself. Profoundly multicultural and deeply transnational, the nation’s musical trends have also been enmeshed in movements for social and political change. This seminar is somewhat experimental, but I hope it will pay off (since I am a historian, not a musicologist). We will use a selection of popular songs from different periods of US history to probe how these songs reflected important constellations and conflicts at the time. We will discuss the composers and artists behind them, cultural responses and adaptations, as well as how, where, by whom and for which purposes these songs were performed. I will try to pick songs from different musical traditions (church hymns, spirituals, folk and country songs, jazz, rock, pop, hip-hop etc.) to illuminate the nation’s cultural diversity. I won’t finalize the list, however, so students are able to make suggestions of their own. This seminar is designed for advanced BA, MA, and Lehramt students.

Literatur:

(Among others:)

Songs of Ascent: “Roll Jordan Roll” (ca. 1750); John Newton, “Amazing Grace” (1779)

Songs of Denigration: “Old Zip Coon” (1834); John F. Poole, “No Irish Need Apply” (1862)

Abschlussarbeitenkolloquium für MA-, BA- und L3-Examensarbeiten

Di 16-18 Uhr , 14.04.-14.07.26

CampusCenter Raum 1118, Seminarraum 5

Dr. Sabrina Mittermeier

A History of American Television

Mo, 12-14 Uhr, Arnold-Bode-Str. 10, Raum 1217

This seminar will discuss the history of television from its rapid rise in the 1950s until today, tracing technological changes (from network to cable to streaming), a vast variety of genres (sitcoms, drama, science fiction, crime procedurals et al.), and their intricate connections to the historical context of the post-war and current United States. It will take a look behind the scenes of the industry as well as on-screen representation, considering issues of gender, sexuality, race and class, and also cover the wider scope and influence of fandom in today’s transmedia storytelling landscape.

A History of Sexuality

Mo, 14-16 Uhr, Kurt-Wolters-Str.5, Raum 0017

Sexuality has a history that is both longer and shorter than expected. While differentiating between same- and different-sex attractions extends back as long as recorded history, a formalized attempt to define and classify sexualities began only in the nineteenth century. Since then, the establishment of heterosexual desire as a normative baseline for social expectations has been accompanied by a long struggle to both defend and attack non-heteronormative identities. This course charts the development of discourses surrounding sexuality as they emerged in Western and central Europe (with specific focus on Germany), as well as the United States, from Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and Magnus Hirschfeld to Stonewall, from the AIDS crisis to marriage equality.

In engaging with prevailing attitudes towards sex in the public sphere, the course offers a holistic approach to the history of sexuality that engages in themes of political, social, and cultural history. In order to engage with these themes, we will analyze and interrogate classic and foundational theoretical texts as well as both primary and secondary sources. In addition, students will experience popular cultural depictions of sex and sexuality, via literature, film, television, music, stage production, and art. 

Dr. Clelia Caruso

Introduction to British and American History

Vorlesung/OK, Di 10-11:30 Uhr

This course is aimed at beginners. Successful completion of this course is required for all students planning to take other courses in 'Landeswissenschaften'. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the basics of British and American history. The history presented here is one of continuing British and US imperial dominance and economic, cultural, and political influence on the world since the late 18th century. The lectures focus on the overlapping history of the rise and partial decline of two imperial powers, taking into account recent historiography on the Atlantic world, the British Empire and American imperialism, and transatlantic relations. The period covered by the lectures ranges from the first colonial ventures of the British monarchy and the beginnings of the country's imperial engagement in the 17th century to the aftermath of the Second World War in the 20th century.

Weekly lectures will be supplemented by tutorial sessions and moodle learning units. Students are expected to attend the tutorials and work through the course units. At the end of the course, students will take a 90-minute written exam.

At the end of the course, students will take a written exam of 90 minutes. The exam is scheduled for February the last session of this course.

Literatur:

Bronstein, Jamie L./Harris, Andrew Todd, Empire, state and society. Britain since 1830, Chichester, West Sussex 2012.

Brown, Judith M. / Louis, William Roger (ed.), The twentieth century. (The Oxford history of the British Empire, Bd. 4). Oxford u.a. 2010

Jill Lepore, These truths: a history of the United States. New York 2018.

Monod, Paul Kléber, Imperial Island: a history of Britain and its empire, 1688 - 1837, Malden, MA u.a. 2009.

Nugent, Walter T. K., Habits of empire. A history of American expansion, New York, NY 2008.

Klausur: 14. Juli 2026, 10-12 Uhr.

Wiederholungsklausur: 21.09.2026, 16-18 Uhr

World War I from a British-American perspective

Seminar, Mi 8:30–10 Uhr

In Continental Europe, the First World War is commonly regarded as the first Great European War. From the perspective of Britain and the United States, however, the global aspects of the conflict are of primary importance. The United Kingdom entered the war as the dominant imperial power. The British government thus was faced with the dual challenge of defending its national security and upholding the principles of free trade and international law in the face of German militarism. The United Kingdom had an empire to defend, as well as a considerable array of imperial resources that could be mobilized for the war effort. The empire made a significant contribution in terms of resources, personnel, and labor. In the aftermath of the war, despite the acquisition of vast territories, however, the deterioration of relations between London and its colonies initiated a process of imperial decline.

The United States' involvement in a conflict instigated by European powers alone underscores the global implications of the First World War. After initially adopting a policy of neutrality, the United States entered the war in 1917. The United States became involved in the First World War as a consequence of its extensive global economic entanglements and robust financial commitments to the Allied Powers. Furthermore, the United States was preoccupied with the increasingly assertive imperial actions of Germany and sought to gain a stronger influence in shaping the world's economic and political order. The United States' absence from the post-war European peace process notwithstanding, the First World War marked the beginning of the country's ascendance as a global power. Moreover, it could be argued that the United States' involvement in the war led to the establishment of a doctrine that has resulted in the country's sustained preoccupation with the global promotion of democracy and capitalism.

The mobilization and wartime efforts undertaken by the United States and the British Empire revealed internal social divisions and ruptures. The government's capacity was subjected to rigorous testing and underwent significant expansion in order to meet the demands of war. This resulted in an increase in administrative and governmental power, which frequently had a detrimental impact on lower social classes and ethnic minorities. The opposition to these wartime policies played a pivotal role in precipitating significant social and political transformations. Both countries witnessed an expansion of the electorate, with the extension of suffrage to women representing a crucial aspect of this development. The phenomenon of internal migration had a significant impact on the social and economic order, particularly in the United States, where it led to the strengthening of the civil rights movement as an immediate consequence of the war and subsequent migration. In Britain, the formation of a political party advocating on behalf of the underprivileged led to the articulation of protests against economic and social inequities within the parliamentary sphere. The same party also articulated criticism of the empire, thereby intensifying anti-colonial sentiments in Britain.

The seminar will concentrate on the international aspects of the First World War. Nevertheless, our analysis of the First World War remains informed by the findings of historical research on the major societal effects that the war produced in the United States and the United Kingdom alike. In this manner, we will correlate the history of global war with its internal effects. This seminar has been designed with the specific intention of familiarizing students who are at the outset of their academic training (either as a Bachelor of Arts or Lehramtstudent*in) with the fundamental principles of historiographical work. The course will introduce students to the various historiographical approaches and research methods employed by historians, as well as the analytical tools utilized to investigate the past. It is expected that students will attend the sessions regularly and participate actively in order to fulfill the requirements for the Studienleistung. Moreover, students will prepare an oral presentation on a selected historiographical principle and present their findings to the class. The additional term paper shall be considered a "Prüfungsleistung."

Studierenden, die dieses Seminar im Rahmen des Geschichtsstudiums absolvieren, steht es frei, ihre Prüfungsleistung in deutscher Sprache zu verfassen. Die Seminarsitzungen finden allerdings in englischer Sprache statt, das schließt zu erbringende Studienleistungen ein.

Literatur:

Brooke L. Blower/Andrew Preston (ed.), The Cambridge history of America and the world 1900-1945. (The Cambridge history of America and the world, volume 3, 1900-1945). Cambridge 2021.

Judith M. Brown/William Roger Louis (ed.), The Oxford history of the British Empire. Volume IV: The twentieth century. Oxford u.a. 2010.

Christopher Capozzola, Uncle Sam wants you: World War I and the making of the modern American citizen. Oxford 2008

Robert Gerwarth/Erez Manela (ed.), Empires at war: 1911 - 1923. (The Greater War). Oxford 2014.

Adrian Gregory, The last Great War: British society and the First World War. 3. Aufl. Cambridge u.a. 2011.

Dr. Risto Lenz

Figures in American Pop Culture: From the 1970s to the Digital Age

Online: Fr, 12.06.26, 14-16 Uhr

Nora-Platiel-Str. 6, Raum 0212: Fr, 03.07.26, 16-20 Uhr / Sa, 04.07.26, 10-18 Uhr / So, 05.07.26, 10-18 Uhr

This seminar explores the transformation of pop-cultural figures in the United States from the 1970s to the present day. Moving beyond biographical approaches, the course employs figural theory to analyze how figures like "the Singer-Songwriter," "the Rock Star," "the DJ," or "the Influencer" function as culturally constructed types.

We will investigate how these figures are produced, performed, and perceived within shifting media ecologies. The seminar will be grounded in theoretical readings on the communicative construction of figures. This analytical framework will then be applied to concrete case studies spanning music, film, and digital media.