Guest Editors' Editorial 15.1 (2014)

Cedric Essi is a PhD candidate and lecturer at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. In 2009 he completed his M.A. in American Studies and also obtained a teaching degree (Staatsexamen) in English and French from the University of Würzburg including an assistant teacher year in Auxerre, France. In his dissertation project “Interracial Family Memoirs“ he draws up a typology of ‘genealogies’ in order to categorize and interrogate the ways in which autobiographical narratives claim kinship across the color line at the turn of the 21st century.

Stephen Koetzing studied American culture and literature and Iberian studies at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. He earned his MA in 2011 and currently is a fellow in the interdisciplinary doctoral program "Presence and Tacit Knowledge" funded by the German Research Foundation. In his dissertation project, he focuses on the representation of old age/aging, whiteness, and masculinity in contemporary US-American literature. His research interests include gender studies, inter-American studies, American film, and postmodern literature.

Monika Sauter, M.A., studied American Cultural Studies and Political Science at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and UCD Dublin. Since 2012 she has been a doctoral student in the interdisciplinary GRF research group that focuses on “Presence & Tacit Knowledge“ at FAU. She is currently working on a dissertation project that examines constructions and enactments of ‘evangelical womanhood’ in contemporary U.S.-American evangelical popular culture.