Prof. Dr. MaryAnn Snyder-Körber

Professor of American Cultural Studies

Philosophiegebäude, Room 5.E.4
Phone +49 931 31 86839
maryann.snyder-koerber@uni-wuerzburg.de

Research Interests

I am particularly interested in how modernization processes intersect with cultural production practices. Thus, my research and teaching look closely at media ecologies and the material forms (print, visual, and digital) that they foster. My areas of interest include modernisms in the context of globalizing modernities, the aesthetics and connective potentials of small forms such as the anecdote, articulation as a key analytical concept in cultural studies (and beyond), networked cultures from the nineteenth century to the present, gender discourses and feminism as well as practices of writing and authorship.

Expanding traditional seminar formats has been further constant in my work since coming to Würzburg. Accordingly, I am committed to transnational and interdisciplinary collaboration, writing and project-focused approaches, and public humanities outreach. I regularly teach an interdisciplinary undergraduate seminar in cooperation with colleagues at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida and JMU History. Selected projects from the course are featured in the "Monuments & Memory” online exhibition. The Cultural Studies Colloquium (CSC) is a research-focused seminar for advanced students co-taught with British and Slavic Cultural Studies at JMU that also regularly integrates the perspectives of international partners. The JMU Cultural Studies publication series extends that dialogue from the classroom to the printed and digital page.

My current teaching and research cooperation "Mobile Feminisms: Gender, Social Media, Transnational Interactions" with Prof. Dr. Simi Malhotra of Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service / “Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst” (DAAD) and the Indian University Grants Commission (UCG).

Office Hours

My weekly office hours in the active semester generally take place on Tuesday, from 16:30 on. We can speak in person, via Zoom, or phone. On occasion, however, the day and/or time frame might be modified.

You can find an overview of upcoming office hours and sign-up possibilities here.

Thesis Supervision

If you would like to write your Bachelor Thesis or "Zulassungsarbeit" under my supervision, you should have attended at least one of my seminars and completed it with a graded term paper or equivalent writing project. This is a non-negotiable prerequisite for supervision. Please make an appointment to discuss your planned project at least one semester before your registration for the Bachelor Thesis or submission of the "Zulassungsarbeit." Additionally, participation in the "Colloquium American Studies" (Veranst.-Nr. 04093490) is required for all students writing a Bachelor Thesis or "Zulassungsarbeit" with me. The colloquium is offered every semester and takes place on Friday from 10-12 on Zoom, so it can easily be combined with other courses and obligations. While participation can be applied to modules within study programs (04-En-FM-Kol1 "Forschungsmodul Kolloquium" [BA 120 ASPO 2015 und BA 120 Erste Änderungsssatzung 2016]), the more important function of the colloquium is to provide a forum for testing out your ideas as well as discussing practical aspects of developing a thesis project. Not least, the colloquium creates a supportive peer group for the writing process.

I look forward to supervising Masters Theses in English Speaking Cultures and Literatur Kultur Medien with a focus on US-American literatures and cultures from the eighteenth century to the present.

Dissertation projects are mentored within the framework of the Graduate School for the Humanities.