Welcome to the North American Studies Program

Dedicated to the transdisciplinary and comparative study of the United States and Canada, the North American Studies Program provides an innovative space of inquiry into theories and practices of culture, transatlantic relations, and processes of globalization. In both research and teaching, we focus on the interplay of political and economic structures with literary and cultural forms and discourses, the dynamics of race, class, gender, and sexuality, and the interrogation of North America in a global context. Our distinctive strengths are in such areas as literary and cultural theory, Native and Indigenous studies, gender studies and feminist critique, environmental studies, visual culture studies, the intersections of law and culture, and dialogues between cultural studies and the natural sciences.

Established in 1990 as a joint venture of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, the North American Studies Program ranks as one of the best places in Germany to study and do research in the field and has gained an outstanding reputation for its conferences, guest lectures, and lecture series on issues of North American and cultural studies. We foster the education of students who wish to think broadly, work independently, and pursue innovative research projects. Our faculty members are experts in literary and cultural studies, political science, and economics and also include visiting scholars. In addition, students profit from our close cooperation with colleagues in the fields of history and postcolonial studies at the University of Cologne and from our long-standing alliances with U.S. and Canadian universities.



Next Event

More Events

Indigenous Peoples' Day
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
From 2025 onward, the Columbus Day Lecture - a tradition of the North American Studies Program since its beginning in the early 1990's - will come to an end, ...
November 5th and the Fate of American Optimism
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Dr. Nyerges lecture places the contest of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in a broader historical dialectic of hope and fear, the primary affects animating US ...
Debating the Possible Outcome of the US Election
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Ever since US president Joe Biden passed on the torch and vice president Kamala Harris moved to the center stage of the electoral race, the dynamics of the ...
Election Night Special
Bundeskanzlerplatz 2E | ...
09:00 PM
Join us for our Election Night Special – watch CNN, listen to live music, share the excitement at the bpb:medienzentrum!
The Future of Transatlantic Relations
Bonner Universitätsforum,...
12:15 PM - 01:45 PM
In Europe, we have followed the 2024 US presidential and congressional elections with both interest and concern. The transatlantic partnership faces enormous ...
Debating the Outcome of the US-American Presidential Election '24
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Though certainly painful and hard to digest for many voters, commentators, and observers, the outcome of the 2024 US-American presidential election was not an ...
Nostalgia and Constructions of National Identities
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
In his talk, Alexei Kazakov proposes a new framework for understanding how national identity has taken shape since the late twentieth century. Grounding his ...
Social Photography and the Politics of Visibility
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Concentrating on the US-American tradition of social photography, Simon Schleusener’s lecture interrogates attempts to visualize dimensions of inequality that ...
The Intersection of Cultural and Personal Memory
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Join us for a lecture with Jim Mendelson, PhD, an independent scholar and writer, on "An Archive of Postcards: The Intersection of Cultural and Personal ...
Water Corpses in US-American Visual Culture
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Join us for a lecture with Sarah Becker from the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin on “Water Corpses in US-American Visual Culture”!
Outdoor Swimming and the Immediacy of Water
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Join us for a lecture with Dr. Imke Lichterfeld from the IAAK, University of Bonn on "‘My consciousness flowing’: Outdoor Swimming and the Immediacy of Water ...
Martin Luther King Day Lecture
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Join us for our Martin Luther King Day Lecture with Dr. Nadja Klopprogge from the University of Tübingen on "Intimate Constellations as Sites of ...
Anti-Pornography Discourses Across Ideologies
Rabinstraße 8 | 53111 ...
06:15 PM - 07:45 PM
Join us for a lecture with Madita Oeming, an independent writer, on "America’s War on Porn: Anti-Pornography Discourses Across Ideologies"!

NAS News

Brown-Bag Lunch with Former Members of Congress
© NAS Bonn

Brown-Bag Lunch Discussion with Former Members of Congress

On November 20, 2024, the North American Studies Program of the University of Bonn, together with its cooperation partners – the AmerikaHaus NRW e.V., the Bonner Akademie für Forschung und Lehre praktischer Politik (BAPP), the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), and the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC) – again had the pleasure of welcoming two former members of the U.S. House of Representatives to Bonn. This year, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence and Congressman Bob Goodlatte joined us to discuss the results of the recent US presidential and congressional elections in the Bonn Universitätsforum.

Jasper Trautsch
© Jasper Trautsch

Radio interview with Prof. Trautsch on what’s at stake for the transatlantic relationship in the 2024 election

Two days before the election, the national public radio broadcaster Deutschlandradio interviewed Prof. Trautsch regarding the impact of this year’s US presidential election on transatlantic relations, the historical precursors of Trump's nationalism, and the future of the West.

 

The recording of the radio show “Information und Musik” from November 3, 2024, can be found here: 
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/information-und-musik-100.html

ANS_9783551255181_2D.jpg
© Carlsen

"Indigenous People from North America Tell Their Stories"

Prof. Dr. Sabine N. Meyer, co-director of the North American Studies Program, functioned as a scientific advisor for the German publishing house Carlsen, supporting them with the publication of the Indigenous-authored monograph Indigenous People from North America Tell Their Stories by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger (in German: Indigene Menschen aus Nordamerika erzählen, Carlsen, 2024). This book, aimed at German children ages 10 and up, provides a lively insight into the contemporary lives, knowledges, and histories of the Indigenous people of North America. Check it out

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© WDR. Image Source: https://www1.wdr.de/radio/wdr5/sendungen/zeitzeichen/zeitzeichen-grundsteinlegung-freiheitsstatue-new-york-114~_tag-05082024.html

WDR Radio Broadcast on the History of the Statue of Liberty with Prof. Trautsch as Expert

On August 5, 1884, the cornerstone for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty was laid. On the occasion of the 140th anniversary of this event, the West German Broadcasting Service (WDR5) aired a radio show, in which the fascinating history of America’s most iconic monument is analyzed and which features an interview with Professor Trautsch.

 

Here you can listen to the history podcast on the Statue of Liberty:

https://www1.wdr.de/radio/wdr5/sendungen/zeitzeichen/zeitzeichen-grundsteinlegung-freiheitsstatue-new-york-114~_tag-05082024.html

Photo Bryan Wagner.jpg
© Bryan Wagner

The North American Studies Department welcomes Professor Bryan Wagner as a visiting scholar funded by a Lessenich fellowship

The North American Studies Department is pleased to welcome Professor Bryan Wagner as a visiting scholar funded by a Lessenich fellowship. Professor Wagner will be researching and teaching in Bonn in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Sabine N. Meyer in June and July.

Bryan Wagner is Professor in the English Department and affiliated faculty in the American Studies Program, Folklore Program, and Center for the Study of Law and Society at the University of California, Berkeley.

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© Sabine N. Meyer

"Entangled Lives, Entangled Freedom(s)" - Talk by Prof. Meyer at the University of Texas at Austin, USA

On February 26, 2024, Prof. Sabine N. Meyer, Co-director of the North American Studies Program at the University of Bonn, gave a lecture on "Entangled Lives, Entangled Freedom(s): The Transformative Potential of Contemporary Black Indigenous Literature" at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.

Next application phase for our M.A. in North American Studies:

May 13, 2024 until September 2, 2024 (for the winter term 2024/25)

Contact

Nordamerikastudienprogramm                                   
Institut für Anglistik, Amerikanistik und Keltologie
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Rabinstraße 8
D-53111 Bonn

office@nap-uni-bonn.de
Phone: +49-(0)228-73-1836
Fax: +49-(0)228-73-9674 

Contributors
Frauke Grimm
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