Thank you very much for having me as a visiting scholar! Although the main goal for my stay here is to successfully finish my PhD project, I also aim to develop new ideas, find new inspirations and build an international network by connecting with researchers at IU Bloomington. I also hope to discover different approaches and topics in research and experience a different university culture.
As an opportunity for our audience to learn more about European culture, can you share some details about where you grew up and any of the traditions of the area? What makes this area unique?
I grew up in a small town in the southern part of Germany, somewhere in between Stuttgart and the Lake of Constance, called Biberach an der Riß. Located in the region Swabia I grew up with a lot of typical food - like “Maultaschen”, “Spätzle” and “Küchle” – and some nice local traditions – like the annual city festival called “Schützenfest” in the summer (this includes historical parades displaying the city history, a fair and one of the oldest children theaters in Germany), the traditional “Christkindle ralasse” at Christmas Eve (where a figure of the infant Jesus is lowered and Christmas songs are sung) and carnival (there called “Fasnet”). Further, the area features many nice villages and cities with medieval city centers and is close to the Alps and the Lake of Constance.
What project are you currently working on?
Funded through a scholarship by the Gerda-Henkel-Foundation and affiliated with the University of Konstanz, I am currently working on my PhD thesis in Modern History. My research focuses on music as a method of protest and, more specifically, on the way music was used to protest the extreme right in the Federal Republic of Germany from the late 1970s to the late 1990s. To accomplish that, my project looks at the concerts that took place under the slogan “Rock against the extreme right” (“Rock gegen Rechts”) and analyzes their organizational forms, the actors involved and their musical backgrounds, and the motives and strategies of the organizers with a special focus on the usage of music. Further research goals are to place musical protest against the extreme right in a transnational context as well as to give new perspectives on the social, cultural and political history of the FRG.
What are your plans when your time as a Visiting Scholar is complete?
My plans for after my time as a Visiting Scholar are still relatively vague. Since I will hopefully be nearly finished with my PhD by then, I plan to defend my thesis in Germany and get a post-doc position for afterwards.
See Merkel's complete CV here.