Faculty and Staff

North American Literary and Cultural Studies

UniGR-Center for Border Studies

Ukraine Saar Study Bridge

Research & Teaching Fellows

DAAD DIES IDC Latin America

Research Assistants and Tutors

Also in the Field of American Studies

 

Bärbel Schlimbach, M.A.

North American Literatures and Cultures Office Administration Prof. Fellner External Lecturer

Building A 5.3, room 2.17

E-mail: schlimbach(at)mx.uni-saarland.de

Phone: +49 681 302 2770

 

Research and Teaching Interests

  • Literature and Film from the American West / with plot set in the American West
  • 20th and 21st century American literatures
  • (Post-)Western Film/Fiction
  • (Cultural) Border Studies
  • Gender Studies
  • critical regionalism
  • processes of cultural appropriation
  • cultural studies

Current Research Project: "(South-)Western Borderland Narratives"

 

Professional Experience and Teaching Positions

  • since 2018: office management Prof. Fellner / doctoral researcher North American Literary and Cultural Studies / external lecturer
  • 2014-2018: Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin (doctoral researcher) North American Literary and Cultural Studies (Prof. Fellner) at Saarland University
  • Nov. 2013 - Dec. 2014: Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin (doctoral researcher) department for British, North American and Anglophone Studies at Saarland University
  • summer term 2012 - winter term 2014/15: external lecturer department for British, North American and Anglophone Studies at Saarland University
  • Oct. 2009 - July 2013: student research assistant and tutor North American Literary and Cultural Studies (Prof. Fellner) at Saarland University
  • Sep./Oct. 2006 and Nov. 2007: project-related short term contracts as student research assistant at DFKI Saarbrücken

 

Courses Taught

  • UE “Introduction to Media Studies: Suspense and Mystery in American Movies” (WS 2021/2022)
  • UE “Introduction to Media Studies: American Road Movies” (SoSe 2021)
  • UE “Introduction to Media Studies: American Crime on Screen” (WS 2020/2021)
  • UE “Introduction to Media Studies: Screening Eastwood” (SoSe 2020)
  • UE “Introduction to Media Studies” (WS 2019/2020)
  • PS “American Myths through the Centuries” (SoSe 2019)
  • PS “Suffragettes and Flappers: The Emergence of the ‘New Woman’ in American Fiction” (WS 2018/2019)
  • PS "Narrating the Nation: The 'Making of America' in 18th and 19th Century American Literature" (SoSe 2018)
  • PS "Depicting Transgression: Representations of Violence in American Literature and Film" (WS 2017/2018)
  • PS "Imaginary Wests: Representations of the American West from the 19th Century to the Present" (SoSe 2017)
  • PS "Mysteries and Secrets: American Crime Fiction" (WS 2016/2017)
  • PS "From Tombstone to Deadwood: (Post-)Western Film and Fiction" (SoSe 2016)
  • PS "Haunted by the Unknown: American Gothic Fiction from the 19th Century to the Present" (WS 2015/2016)
  • PS "No Country for Old Men: Identity Construction in Literature and Film about the American West" (SoSe 2015)
  • UE "What Made America? (De-)Constructing American Myths and Symbols" (SoSe 2015)
  • SoSe 2012 - WS 2014/15: "Written Expression" and "Written Expression Advanced"

 

Presentations and Conference Papers

  • “North American Borderspaces: From Frontier to Border Studies” (Introduction to Border Studies from a Cultural Studies Perspective, online, Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Mykolaiv/Ukraine, 25 September 2021)
  • Fargo” (Vortrag im Rahmen von Erfolg in Serie VIII: Amerikanische TV-Serien als Gesellschaftsdramen, Kino Achteinhalb Saarbrücken, 19 July 2021)
  • “Gender in American Literature” (“Contemporary American Literature,” online, Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Mykolaiv/Ukraine, 05 May 2021)
  • “Interweaving Discourses and Histories: Bordertextures in the American West” (17 April 2021, Annual ABS Conference (Association for Borderlands Studies), virtual meeting, 15-17 April 2021)
  • “Western – Faszination und Problematik eines „typisch amerikanischen“ Genres“ (14 April 2021, Vortragsreihe „Amerikanische Populärkultur,“ Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Saarland)
  • “Border-Crossing Narratives in American Cultural Productions” (25 March 2021, Kick-Off Meeting Eastpartnership Program “Bridging Borders: Shifting Paradigms”)
  • “‘Re-Generation through Violence?’: Graphic Representations of Violence in HBO’s Westworld” (55th Annual Conference of the Western Literature Association “Graphic Wests,” virtual conference, Oct. 21-24, 2020)
  • “Space, Distance and Loneliness in Recent American Cultural Productions in the Light of the Current Covid-19 Crisis” (UdS American Studies Graduate Forum 2020 - Distance and Diversity in Times of Crisis: Literary Expressions and Artistic Responses, Saarland U, online, Oct. 15-17, 2020)
  • “Bordertextures in the American West: HBO’s Westworld” (Jahrestagung Kulturwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft “B/Ordering Cultures: Alltag, Politik, Ästhetik,” Europa Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt / Oder, Oct. 8-10, 2020)
  • “Bordertextures in Visual Representations of the American West” (Closing Conference “Border Nightmares, Border Dreams: The Bio-Politics of Borders in Times of Crisis,” Saarland U, online, July 6, 2020)
  • Million Dollar Baby” (Filmeinführung im Rahmen der “Retrospektive Clint Eastwood,” Kino Achteinhalb Saarbrücken, July 8, 2020)
  • In the Line of Fire” (Filmeinführung im Rahmen der “Retrospektive Clint Eastwood,” Kino 8 ½, Saarbrücken, July 1, 2020)
  • “The Wild West” (Lecture “Westwards We Go! The Literatures of the American and Canadian Wests,” Saarland U, June 30, 2020)
  • Dirty Harry” (Filmeinführung im Rahmen der “Retrospektive Clint Eastwood,” Kino 8 ½, Saarbrücken, June 24, 2020)
  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (Filmeinführung im Rahmen der “Retrospektive Clint Eastwood,” Kino 8 ½, Saarbrücken, June 17, 2020)
  • Re-Evaluating Mythical Migration Narratives: Hernan Diaz’ In the Distance” (4th UdS American Studies Graduate Forum “Liquid Trajectories: Flight, Mobility and Migration,” Saarland University, 30 November 2019)
  • “Creating the Nation: Westward Movement, Manifest Destiny and Exceptionalism” (Lecture “Introduction to Cultural Studies: North America,” Saarland University, 15 November 2019)
  • “The Myth of the American West: From Frontier Thesis to Postwestern Studies” (Lecture “Doing American Studies,” Saarland University, 5 November 2019)
  • Introduction to Stonewall (1995, dir. Nigel Finch; film screening as part of “Intersections 2019: Stonewall 50: Getting out of the Gender and Sexuality Box,” Saarbrücken, 24 June 2019)
  • “Creating the Nation: Westward Movement, Manifest Destiny and Exceptionalism” (Lecture “Introduction to Cultural Studies: North America,” Saarland University, 13 June 2019)
  • “The American West as Borderland: Border Discourses in HBO’s Westworld” (3rd UdS American Studies Graduate Forum “Cultural Borderlands: Literatures, Film and Aesthetic Practices,” Dec. 8, 2018)
  • “Westworld” (Lecture within the series “Erfolg in Serie VI: Amerikanische TV Serien als Gesellschaft Dramen,” Kino 8 ½, Saarbrücken, Nov. 20, 2018)
  • “Changing Approaches: From Frontier to Border Studies” (27 April 2018, Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Mykolaiv, Ukraine)
  • "Imaginary Wests: Transatlantic Appropriations of the Western Formula" (3 Nov. 2017, 44th Annual Conference of the Austrian Association for American Studies "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? The Changing Nature of American Studies," 3-5 Nov. 2017, Salzburg)
  • "Dystopic Visions and Imaginary Wests: Re-Negotiating Myths in HBO's Westworld" (28 Oct. 2017, 52nd Annual Conference of the Western Literature Association "Sweet Land, Mighty Waters: Myth and Storytelling West of the Mississippi," 25-28 Oct. 2017, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
  • Together with Astrid M. Fellner and Tetyana Ostapchuk: Presentation of Book Project "(Pop-) Cultures on the Move: Transnational Identifications and Cultural Exchange between East and West" (10 Oct. 2017, Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Mykolaiv, Ukraine)
  • "The West Is the West Is the West? De-Constructing Myths in HBO's Westworld" (7 Oct. 2017, 2nd UdS Graduate Forum "Reading American TV Series: An Interdisciplinary Conference," 5-7 Oct. 2017, Saarbrücken)
  • Introduction to Deadwood (20 June 2017, Erfolg in Serie V, Camera Zwo, Saarbrücken)
  • With Svetlana Seibel: "Understanding America: From Westward Movement to Standing Rock" (8 December 2016, Presentation, “24-Stunden-Vorlesung,” Saarland University)
  • "Making the Nation: Annexations and Borders" (15 November 2016, Lecture "Transnational American Literatures," Saarbrücken)
  • "Re-Framing the Western: HBO's Deadwood" (13 November 2016, 43rd AAAS Conference, "America Through the Small Screen: Television and Its Transformations," 11 – 13 November 2016, Innsbruck)
  • "Re-Negotiating National Myths in HBO's Deadwood" (21 October 2016, 1st UdS American Studies Graduate Forum, "The Religious Right: Republicans, Preachers and Presidents," Saarbrücken, 21 – 22 October 2016)
  • "The Sisters Brothers: Re-Negotiating Western Narratives" (24 September 2016, "The Profane West," 51st WLA Conference (Western Literature Association), Big Sky, Montana, 21 – 24 September 2016)
  • Introduction to Once Upon a Time in the West (1968, dir. Sergio Leone), part of the series "Meilensteine der Filmgeschichte II" (14 July 2016, Kino 8 1/2, Saarbrücken)
  • "Transgressions and Genre Crossings in McCarthy's No Country for Old Men" (9 July 2016, "Crossroads and Transgressions: Cormac McCarthy Between Worlds," International Symposium, 7 – 9 July 2016, John F. Kennedy Institute, Freie Universität Berlin)
  • "Frontier Gothic in Post-Western Film/Fiction," (28 June 2016, Research Colloquium Prof. Fellner)
  • "'Here Was a Man': Negotiating Gender and Sexuality in HBO's Deadwood" (15 April 2016, Conference “Biopolitics,” Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Mykolayiv, 15 April 2016)
  • Introduction to Stagecoach (1939, dir. John Ford), part of the series "Meilensteine der Filmgeschichte II" (02 March 2016, Kino 8 1/2, Saarbrücken)
  • "Marlboro Men: Masculinities in Western Movies" (19 January 2016, Lecture "Engendering North American Literature", Saarland University)
  • "'Big Hats, Horses and Dust'? Representations of the West in Recent American Film and Fiction" (02 October 2015, Guest Lecture at Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University, Mykolayiv/Ukraine)
  • "'No Country for Old Men': Borders and Identity Constructions in Cormac McCarthy's Novel" (07 August 2015, Workshop "Border Cultures: Theorizing and (Con-)Textualizing Borders", Saarland University, 6/7 August 2015)
  • "Cowboys and Desperados: Identity Construction and Imaginary Wests in Borderland Narratives" (08 July 2015, Lecture "Border Cultures: Theorizing and (Con-)Textualizing North American Borders")
  • "'The Diggings' by Claire Vaye Watkins as Western Borderland Narrative" (30 June 2015, Research Colloquium Prof. Fellner)
  • "Negotiating Identity Constructions from a Cross-Cultural Perspective" (16 May 2015; Conference "Theorising the Canada-US Border", University of Kent in Paris, 15-16 May 2015)

 

Publications

Books:

(Pop) Cultures on the Move: Transnational Identifications and Cultural Exchange Between East and West. Ed. Astrid M. Fellner, Tetiana Ostapchuk and Bärbel Schlimbach. Saarbrücken: Universaar, 2018.

Download (Pop) Cultures on the Move here.

Articles:

  • "'Once Upon a Time in the West': Cross-Cultural Appropriations of Western Films." (Pop) Cultures on the Move: Transnational Identifications and Cultural Exchange Between East and West. Ed. Astrid. M. Fellner, Tetiana Ostapchuk and Bärbel Schlimbach. Saarbrücken: Universaar, 2018. 107-122.
  • "Introduction: (Pop) Cultures on the Move." Together with Astrid M. Fellner and Tetiana Ostapchuk. (Pop) Cultures on the Move: Transnational Identifications and Cultural Exchange Between East and West. Ed. Astrid. M. Fellner, Tetiana Ostapchuk and Bärbel Schlimbach. Saarbrücken: Universaar, 2018. 7-13.
  • "'Here Was a Man': Negotiating Gender and Sexuality in HBO's Deadwood." Naukovi pratsi: naukovo-metodychny zhurnal (The Scholarly Papers: scholarly and methodical journal), vol. 271, issue 259, Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, 2016. 46-51.

 

Memberships

  • ABS (Association for Borderlands Studies)
  • DGfA (German Association for American Studies)
  • German American Institute Saarland
  • IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network)
  • Memità (International Network Memory and Identity)
  • WLA (Western Literature Association)
  • Working Group "Bordertextures" (bordertextures.org)

 

Education

  • Magistra Artium (M.A.): English and German literatures and linguistics, Saarland University (2013)