German
Research
Jeanne Cortiel’s research and teaching focuses on discontinuities and processes of transformation within American culture, originating, for example, in cultural contact zones. A particular interest here lies in the interactions between literature and popular culture. Three research projects are currently in progress:
(1) An interdisciplinary project with a focus on new technologies (i.e. nano- and biotechnology) including the theoretical debate around the question of interdisciplinarity.
(2) A project on African-American travel writing and abolitionism focusing on the significance of Africa in European-American cultural contact zones.
(3) The third project connects American cultural studies with classical questions of literary criticism, examining the interaction between poetry and visual culture since the nineteenth century.