Guest Book

The well-known Chicana singer and songwriter Leticia („Tish“) Hinojosa (San Antonio, Texas) presented a combination of Folk, Country, Tex-Mex, and Latin Pop in English and Spanish for two seminars: "La otra América: La cultura chicana en Estados Unidos" and "Introducing North American Studies."

As part of the seminar "Introducing North American Studies," the American historian Professor Roger Nichols (University of Arizona, Tucson) gave a lecture on "Native Americans in Modern Times."

Charlene Edge is the author of Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of the Way International. In her autobiography, she describes how she used to be fascinated by a fundamental religious community (“The Way International”) and how difficult it was to escape the clutches of the cult.Charlene Edge shared her experiences with the seminar “Introducing North American Studies” (North American Studies profile) on July 5, 2017. Click here to see an interview with Charlene Edge.

The Spanish art historian and curator deals with the question of identity in art. She tries to make us discover the wealth and cultural diversity of Spanish-speaking countries in artistic production. She already attended Leuphana in 2017 and 2018.

The Mexican psychologist, coach, and author María Teresa González Osorio - who also has a law degree - currently teaches seminars in the field of human development and empowerment for the Spanish-speaking population in Hamburg.

As part of the "Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes" lecture series, the American director Ethan Bensinger gave a talk on "Transgenerational Memories of Jewish Life."

Richard Yoneoka, Consul General of the United States (General Consulate Hamburg) was without a doubt the highlight of the lecture series during the winter semester 2017/18. Although he was careful to refrain from partisan remarks in his position as a high-ranking diplomat, the audience enjoyed insights into the life of a politician serving the USA – from a political as well as a personal viewpoint.

Charlene Edge is the author of Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of the Way International. In her autobiography, she describes how she used to be fascinated by a fundamental religious community (“The Way International”) and how difficult it was to escape the clutches of the cult. Charlene Edge shared her experiences with the seminar "Introducing North American Studies" (North American Studies profile) on July 5, 2017. Click here to see an interview with Charlene Edge.

As part of the lecture series "Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes"and the event "La Francophonie d'Amérique du nord: Langue et identité au Québec," Professor Helga Bories-Sawala visited our university. Helga Bories-Sawala, founder of the Institute for Canadian and Québec Studies at the University of Bremen, gave a lecture on the French-speaking province of Québec.

On the occasion of introducing his newest book, White Robes, Silver Screens: Movies and the Making of the Ku Klux Klan, Tom Rice was a guest speaker at the "Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes" lecture series on December 15, 2016. He talked about the entanglement of the Ku Klux Klan in the Hollywood film industry at the beginning of the 20^thcentury ("Beware the Face at Your Window: The Klan, Film, and the Fear of the Outsider"). Click here to see an interview with Tom Rice.

Franklin Sage (University of North Dakota) spoke about his dissertation project "Navajo Code Talkers in World War II" at the "Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes" lecture series on November 10, 2016. Although he was born and raised on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, Franklin Sage did not hear about the so-called "code talkers" – one of whom was his father – until very late. These Navajo, sworn to utmost secrecy, were hired by the U.S. Navy during World War II to create a code that could neither be cracked by the Germans nor the Japanese.

On the occasion of the international Plain People Conference from July 2-4, 2015, the American ex-Amish writer Ira Wagler read from his award-winning memoir Growing Up Amish and gave a lecture on the Amish in modern times.

The translators (Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish) Dr. Gabriele Haefs und Dr. Christel Hildebrandt organized a translation workshop in the seminar “Litterärt
laboratorium” (literary laboratory).

José Napoleón Mariona is a retired envoy from El Salvador and has lived in Hamburg since his retirement where he heads the Spanish-speaking literary group "El Butacón." At Leuphana he gave a lecture on the indigenous populations of South America.

In 2015, a highlight of the "Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes" lecture series was the screening of the documentary, Refuge: Stories of the Selfhelp Home, directed by Ethan Bensinger.

Following the invitation issued by the Language Center and the Literary Society of Lüneburg, the actor Burghart Klaußner presented an evening of Thomas Bernhard in November 2015. Along with pianist Dietmar Loeffler, who played Thomas Bernhard’s favorite composers Schubert and Schönberg, Klaußner took his audience on a whimsical journey through Thomas Bernhard’s publications, using song and drama to bring to life many of the Austrian playwright’s satirical pieces on the (lecture hall) stage.

The Chilean musician and professor Nancy San Martin, who belongs to the Mapuche people, presented the thousand-year-old history of her people in her songs. As the only indigenous, i.e. non-immigrant people in Latin America, the Mapuche have so far succeeded in resisting colonization by the Spanish and largely preserved their independence and autonomy.

Christel Hildebrandt, one of the most renowned translators of Swedish literature, visited Leuphana in 2014 where she conducted translation workshops for and with students on the works of the Swedish novelist Håkan Nesser.

Håkan Nesser is one of Sweden’s most famous novelists. He has written more than 20 novels which have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Following an invitation issued by the Language Center, writer Patricia Briggs came to Leuphana on May 27, 2014. She talked about a topic that has re-ignited interest in literature, particularly amongst young readers: urban fantasy. For further information, go to Goosebumps for the Humanities.

As part of the "Maple Leaf, Stars and Stripes" lecture series, the Native Canadian playwright Drew Hayden Taylor gave the provocative talk, "Peeking under the Loincloth: An Insider's Take on Native Sexuality." In addition, he held two lectures: "Reading and Writing History in Canadian Native Literature" as well as "The Creative Native: A Creative Writing Workshop with a Literary Shape-Shifter."

On May 7, 2013, Ira Wagler read from his memoirs and gave a guest lecture entitled, "Growing Up Amish: An Evening with Ira Wagler."

On November 8, 2012, the German Studies and Media scholar, Thomas Kramer (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), introduced his new book and offered insights into the screen versions (east + west) of Karl May's novels. Previously, in May 2009, Thomas Kramer had lectured in Lüneburg on “Noble Wild Men – Red Brothers: Indian Film and Literature in the GDR and the FRG between Wild West Romanticism and Criticism of America." For further information, go to Karl May and the Germans’ Perception of Indians (WS 12/13).

As part of the "Maple Leaf & Stars and Stripes" lecture series, Professor Karen McGarry (Department of Anthropology / McMaster University, Ontario) gave a lecture on "Ethnographic Friction and the 'Ice Scandal': Canadian Nationalism in High Performance Figure Skating."

As a contributor to the event "Découvrir le Canada: Un pays, deux langues, deux cultures?" the French-Canadian poet and literary scholar, Dr. Louise Bouchard, visited our university in January 2012. In addition to a lecture given on literature as an aspect that forges identity in Québec, Louise Bouchard read from her most recent publication, "Entre les mondes," at the Heinrich-Heine Haus in Lüneburg. Dr. Bouchard’s visit to Leuphana University was made possible by the Language Center and the Association Internationales d’Études Québécoises (http://aieq.qc.ca/).

The famous singer and songwriter Leticia "Tish" Hinojosa presented her newest compositions from her home country, the so-called "Borderlands" at the border between the United States and Mexico.

Professor Roger Nichols (University of Arizona, Tucson) was a guest professor at the Leuphana Language Center and, along with Professor Maria Moss, taught the seminar "History of Native North America." On May 13, 2013, he gave a guest lecture on "The Greening of the Reds: The Ecology of Native America."

The Center for Modern Languages hosted acclaimed Canadian/Ojibway playwright and author, Drew Hayden Taylor, as writer-in-residence from November 30 to December 4, 2009. During that week, the author lectured on Native issues and his career in drama as well as conducted creative writing workshops in the various seminars.

The Native Canadian sculptor David Seven Deers of the Skwahla-Stó:lo-Halkomelem tribe in British Columbia visited Leuphana on December 12, 2008, to conduct a workshop on Native spirituality. Seven Deers carved the totem pole in front of the Hamburger Museum für Völkerkunde (Hamburg Museum of Ethnology) and curates an exhibit at the museum every year.