Author Description

Issues of multi-ethnicity and multiculturalism have always been intricately interwoven with North America as a geographical region and American Studies as an academic discipline. It is therefore quite natural that American Studies not only eagerly exploited this particular asset but rather functioned as one of the major instigators of this recent trend which now firmly holds most disciplines within the Humanities under its spell. All essays in this collection address particular parameters of this phenomenon either by adopting a culturally informed methodology or by dealing directly with institutional politics. The contributors, including Shirley Lim, Darius James, Hanjo Berressem, Sabine Sielke, Walter Hölbling, and Heinz Tschachler highlight Literature, Cultural History, Film, Theory, and University Administration as the main focal points of this collection.