Vorträge:

2022

• "The Early Reception of Mark Twain in German-Language Newspapers and Periodicals: New Material from Digital Resources" (The Ninth International Conference on The State of Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies, 4.–6. Aug.)

• "Send in the Clowns': Humor as a Tool for Political Participation" (Annual Conference of the German Association for American Studies, Heidelberg, 17.–19. Juni)

2019

• "Humor and the Political Sphere." 19th International Summer School on Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications, Bonn, 1.-5. Jul.

• "Cultural Contexts for the Study of Humor and Aging." 19th International Summer School on Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications, Bonn, 1.-5. Jul.

• "Humor als Widerstand: Hoffnung und Wirklichkeit." Bürgerfest für Demokratie am 20. Juli, Halle, 20. Jul.

2017

• "Mark Twain's 'Assault of Laughter' and the Limits of Political Humor" (The Eighth International Conference on The State of Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies, 3.–5. Aug.)

2016

• "Looking for Something More Pleasant: Cartoonist Roz Chast Chronicles Aging and Dying" (ISHS International Humor Conference, Boston University, Dublin, Ireland, 27. Juni –1. Juli)

2014

• "'Das Licht der Kunst im Schatten der Unterwelt': Stephen Cranes Texte über New York City" (16. Internationales Literaturforum Badenweiler / Universität Freiburg, 1. Nov.)

• "Die Deutschamerikaner und der Erste Weltkrieg" (Ringvorlesung "Der Erste Weltkrieg", Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, 28. Mai)

2013

• "'The greatest and youngest old man in the United States': Conformity, Contestation, and Resistance in Mark Twain's Attitude Toward Aging" (The Seventh International Conference on The State of Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies, 1.–3. Aug.)

• "Mark Twain and the Complexities of American Humor." 13th International Summer School on Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications, Magdeburg, 22.-27. Jul.

• "Mark Twain and Realism" (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik. Universität Osnabrück, 16. Jan.)

• "Die Welt vom Floß aus gesehen: Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Ringvorlesung "Weltliteratur", Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, 15. Jan.)

2012

• "Ein schlechter Schriftsteller von zufälliger und vorübergehender Popularität": Das Ringen um die literarische Bedeutung von Edgar Allan Poe" (Ringvorlesung "Weltliteratur", Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, 6. Nov.)

• "How to Grow Old, Laughing: Age and Aging as a Topic in Mark Twain's Writings" (ISHS International Humor Conference, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland, 25.–29. Juni)

• "'Try it at our risk': The Promises, Profits, and Problems of Radium in the Early Decades of the 20th Century (The Shaping Power of Risk: Literature, Culture, Environment, Universität Bayreuth 24.-26. Feb.)

2011

• "'It is better to be a young June-bug than an old bird of paradise': Aging from the perspective of America's greatest humorist" (Crossroads -- A Conference in Honor of Rüdiger Kunow, Universität Potsdam, 28.-29. Okt)

• "Ethnic Humor in the Media: General Introduction and Response -- Remarks from the Panel Chair" ("Humor Studies Caucus: Ethnic Humor: Pleasures and Problems," Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association, Baltimore, 20.-23. Okt)

• Three lectures at the 11th International Summer School on Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications, Tartu, Estonia, 15.-20. Aug.
  • "National Humor -- A Critical Perspective"
  • "Dialect and Humor in American Literature and Culture: An Uneasy Relationship"
  • "Mark Twain and the Complexities of American Humor"
• "Getting Better With Age? The Development of Mark Twain''s Humor from 'Literature of a Low Order' to Humor 'in the Service of Humanity' (ISHS International Humor Conference, Boston University, Boston, Mass., USA, 5.–9. Juli)
  

2010

• "'I am a great and sublime fool': Die ernste Welt des Humoristen Mark Twain" (Wissenschaftlicher Verein, Mönchengladbach, Stift. Humanistisches Gymnasium, 06. Dez. )
  
• "'I am no longer of ye': Mark Twain's Ambivalence about Europe and America in A Tramp Abroad," ("En Route" Weekend Symposium at Elmira College Center for for Mark Twain Studies, 15.–16. Okt.)

• "Angela Davis – Scholar and Activist: Introduction to Her Guest Lecture "Rassismus und Herrschaft in Obamas USA" (Universität Magdeburg, 22. Jun.)

• "Rereading Mark Twain: Traveler – Writer – Social Critic" (American Embassy, Berlin und ZUSAS, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle, 23. und 26. Apr.)

• Mitwirkung bei Radiobeiträgen zum 100. Todestag von Mark Twain
  
  • WDR Zeitzeichen: "Der Todestag des amerikanischen Schriftstellers Mark Twain", 21. Apr.
  • NordwestRadio / Radio Bremen: KulturJournal "Mehr als nur Huckleberry Finn", 21. Apr.
  • SWR2 Forum: "'Dann komm' ich eben in die Hölle' – Zum 100. Todestag von Mark Twain", 16. Apr. (mit Audio-Datei)

• Mark Twain Lecture Series, (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, Cal., USA: 15.–17 März)
  
  
  • "Mark Twain's Place in American Literary History"
  • "Journalism as a Foundation for Mark Twain's Writing"
  • "The Intercultural Dimension of Mark Twain's Work"

2009

• "National Character, Literature, and Intercultural Communication – Mark Twain Takes on Paul Bourget, Max O'Rell, and the French" (The Sixth International Conference on The State of Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies, 6.–8. Aug.)

• "Vigorous Executive: The President in American Politics and Culture" (Wittenberg Summer School 2008, "The American Press and the Challenges of Politics and Technology," Leucorea Foundation, Wittenberg, 10. Aug.)

• "Public Memory and the Presidency" (Wittenberg Summer School 2008, "The American Press and the Challenges of Politics and Technology," Leucorea Foundation, Wittenberg, 12. Aug.)

• "Between High-Minded Ideals and the Marketplace: The Dilemma of the Press in America" (Wittenberg Summer School 2007, "The American Press and the Challenges of Politics and Technology," Leucorea Foundation, Wittenberg, 30. Juli– 4. Aug.)

• "Freundschaftsbezeigungen und Dilettantenaufdringlichkeiten" – Mark Twains Berührungen mit der deutschen Kultur (Sommerschule Wust, 26. Juli)

• "I Vill Instruction You How to Speak a Sentence" – Humor in German American Dialect Texts (Sprache und Humor: Symposium zum Jahr der Geisteswissenschaften, Magdeburg 16. Juni)

• "Humor and National Self-Definition in the United States and Canada" (2007 MLA Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA, 27.–30. Dez.)

• "Religion in the U.S.: A Survey" (Wittenberg Summer School 2006, "Religion in American Politics and Culture," Leucorea Foundation, Wittenberg 31. Juli– 5. Aug.)

• "Humor in the Construction of a National Identity: The Case of Canada and the United States" (ISHS International Humor Conference, The Danish University of Education, Copenhagen, Denmark, 3.–7. Juli)

• "Mark Twain in Germany: A Brief Survey of his Popular and Academic Appeal (1994– 2004)" (The Fifth International Conference on The State of Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies, 4.–6. Aug.)

• "From Trickster Tales to National Self-Definition: Humor Studies and the Relevance of a Cultural Phenomenon in North America" (Lecture in Honor of Konrad Groß, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, 15. Jul.)

• "Special English for Special Purposes: The Cultural Relevance of German-American Literary Dialect" (Tales of Contact and Change: Traditional Stories of Immigration, Max Kade Institute, Madison, WI, 11.–13. Nov.)

• "Mark Twain und Deutschland" (Goethe-Institut Chicago, im Rahmen des Themenabends "Der Wilde Westen / Das Alte Europa", 8. Nov.)

• "Informationen, Sensationen und Manipulationen: Die Präsidentschaftswahlen im Spiegel der amerikanischen Presse" (Hermann-Ehlers-Akademie Kiel und Amerika-Gesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein, 28. Okt.)

• "Literary Uses of Pidgin English: Between Dialect Humor and Linguistic Transcription" (ISHS International Humor Conference, Instituts Universitaires de Technologie (IUT) of Dijon, 14.–18. Juni)

• "'It Began in the Swimming-Pool': Finding Humor in Jack London's The Cruise of the Snark" (Seventh Biennial Symposium of the Jack London Society, Santa Rosa, CA, 23.-26. Mai.)

• "Heilige und Hexen: Neu-Englands Puritaner im Spannungsfeld von Gut und Böse" (Amerika-Gesellschaft Schleswig Holstein, Kennedy-Informationszentrum, Kiel, 21. März)

• "Thanksgiving, Amerikas anderer Nationalfeiertag: Vom Dank fürs Überleben zum Dank für den Überfluß" (Vortrag im Rahmen des Wochenendseminars "Die Vereinigten Staaten – 'God's Own Country'?" Europäische Akademie Schleswig-Holstein, 28.-30. Nov.)

• "Land des Lachens: Die Bedeutung des Humors in Amerika" (Europäische Akademie Schleswig-Holstein, 28.-30. Nov.)

• "Transcultural Perceptions of Humor: Early German Responses to America's Literary Humor" (ISHS International Humor Conference, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, 8. Juli–12. Juli)

• "Linguistic Subversion or Racial Masquerade? The Complicated Case of Chinese Pidgin- English as a Mode of Literary Expression" (GNEL/ASNEL [jetzt: gesellschaft für anglophone postkoloniale studien] Conference "Global Fragments – Dis-Orientation in the New World Order," Magdeburg 28. - 31. Mai)

• "Was Amerika hat und ist: die Bestandsaufnahme der Lewis and Clark Expedition und ihre heutige Bedeutung" (Vortrag im Rahmen des Wochenendseminars "Amerika entdecken: Die Vereinigten Staaten — das Land, die Idee, die Menschen, die Politik" Europäische Akademie Schleswig-Holstein e.V. Sankelmark, 17.-19. Jan.)

• "Garten Eden oder Dämonenreich? Amerikas zwiespältiges Verhältnis zur Natur" (Europäische Akademie Schleswig-Holstein, 17.-19. Jan.)
  

• Jack London and "Beche-de-Mer"-English: Linguistic and Literary Considerations (Sixth Biennial Symposium of the Jack London Society, Kauai, HI, 10.-12. Okt.)

• Firefighters — Amerikas neue Helden (Hermann-Ehlers-Akademie Kiel, 11. Feb.)

• Warum trauern die Amerikaner im Yankee-Stadion? Wie Deutsche sich über Amerika wundern (Vortrag im Rahmen des Wochenendseminars "Die USA—Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten?" Europäische Akademie Schleswig-Holstein e.V. Sankelmark, 18.-20.Jan.)

• "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" — Grundpfeiler amerikanischen Denkens (Vortrag im Rahmen des Wochenendseminars "Die USA—Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten?" Europäische Akademie Schleswig-Holstein,18.-20.Jan.)

• "Dutch Comics and the Problem of Ethnic Comedy on the Vaudeville Stage" (ISHS International Humor Conference, U of Maryland, College Park, 6. Juli–9. Juli)

• "The German Reception of American Humor: Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Responses" (Annual Conference of the German Association for American Studies, Bremen, 5.–8. Juni)

• "Der neue Präsident und die Rituale amerikanischer Politik und Kultur" (Lions Club Kiel, 5. Feb.)

• "Jack London's Dog Stories in the Light of Ecocriticism" (Fifth Biennial Symposium of the Jack London Society, Santa Rosa, Cal., 11.-14. Okt.)

• "Bedeutende Schriftstellerinnen Amerikas : Kate Chopin und Charlotte Perkins Gilman" (VHS Flintbek, 27.Sept.)

• "'Waltzing mit Matilda Yane'--Deutschamerikaner als Protagonisten in der amerikanischen Populärkultur" (Amerika-Gesellschaft Schleswig Holstein / Literaturhaus Schleswig-Holstein, Kennedy Haus Kiel, 6. Juli)

• "Utopian Visions of the Trans-Mississippi West: The Lewis and Clark Expedition and Its Image in Contemporary America" (Annual Conference of the German Association for American Studies, Dresden, 13.–16. Juni)

• "German-American Dialect Humor" (Symposium organized by the Society for German-American Studies, Bremerhaven, 11. Juni)

• "Amerikanische Literatur im 19. Jahrhundert: Ein Überblick" (VHS Flintbek, 23. Feb.)

• "'A Literary Pursuit': Die Bedeutung und öffentliche Wahrnehmung der Lewis und Clark-Expedition in der amerikanischen Kultur" (Kiel, 15. Dez.)

• "'From der Sublime to der Ridiculous': The Diversity of German-American Dialect Humor at the Beginning of the 20th Century" (ISHS International Humor Conference, Oakland, CA, 29. Juni–3. Juli)

• "Nonsense, Satire and Language Art: George V. Hobart and the Tradition of German-American Dialect Writing" (American Literature Association: Tenth Annual Conference, Baltimore, 27.–30. Mai)

• "Toward an Appreciation of 'Ethnic' Dialect Humor" (American Literature Association / American Humor Studies Association Conference on American Humor, Cancun, 9.–12. Dez.)

• "'Bastard Sounds' or 'the Natural Speech of Emotion'?—Literary Representations of Minority Voices" (Annual Conference of the German Association for American Studies, Leipzig, 2.–5. Juni)

• "'Die schönste Lengevitch'": Americans, Germans and the Pleasures of a 'Broken' Language" (Amerika-Gesellschaft Schleswig Holstein, Kennedy Haus Kiel, 25. Nov.)

• "Mark Twain: The Tramp Abroad" (The State of Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies, 14.–16. Aug.)

• "Culture Wrapped in Broken Speech: Hans Breitmann's Humorous Achievement" (International Society for Humor Studies Conference, U of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Oklahoma, 8.–13. Juli).

• Mark Twain: An Introduction (Amerika-Gesellschaft Schleswig Holstein, Kennedy-Haus Kiel, 4. Feb.)

• "Sentimental Communication in Disguise: Yawcob Strauss' German Dialect Humor" (Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association: 50th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM, 24.–26. Okt.)

• "William Henry Drummond and American Dialect Poetry" (Kanada-Tagung, "The Viking Connection: Canada—Continentalist Perspectives", Greifswald, 1.–4. Mai)

• "Using the Immigrant's Voice: Humor and Pathos in 19th Century 'Dutch' Dialect Texts" (European Association for American Studies, Biennial Conference, "American Culture and its Impact", Warschau, 21.–24. Mrz.)

• "Stephen Crane's 'The Pace of Youth' and the Phantoms of Hope" (United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, 30. Nov.–2. Dez.)

• "'Human Natur in a Forren Aspeck': Twain's Encounters with German Culture" (Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies, Elmira, NY, 4. Okt.)

• "Mark Twain and the Funny Magic of the German Language" (American Literature Association / American Humor Studies Association Conference on American Humor, Cancun, Mexico, 8.–11. Dez.)

• "When You Don't Get What You See: What Mark Twain Knew About Germany Before He Visited the Country" (Internationales Symposium "Images of Central Europe in Travelogues and Fiction by North American Writers", Wien, 15.–18. Apr.).