Political economy, German contemporary films, critical theory, immigration, theories of nationalism & citizenship.
Andrea Zach is a native German and holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from George Mason University. Dr. Zach is a Term Assistant Professor of German in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and an affiliate of the Department of Cultural Studies at George Mason University. Dr. Zach teaches German language and culture courses as well as German literature in translation courses. Her studies are interdisciplinary and include political economy, German literature, German contemporary films and critical theory.
In Spring 2022, Dr. Zach teaches GERM 340: Transcultural Imagination in Literature and Film. The course invites intermediate German students to rethink the linguistic and cultural bounds of ‘German’ literature and film and, in the process, ask important questions about race, gender, and memory. ‘Texts’ from Black Germans (Schwarz-Deutschen) afford students an excellent window on the historical and cultural factors that shape today’s German citizenry. They serve as case studies to discuss and contextualize marginalized voices. We will take a multi-disciplinary approach to examining the Schwarz-Deutsche diaspora. Engaging with and analyzing multiple genres of literature and film adaptations, we will investigate both difference and ethnicity as products of historical, political, discursive, and material configurations.
I am currently researching and writing on the complex dynamics of health and illness in Thomas Mann’s novel The Magic Mountain.
"Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin: The Spectacular [A]ffect of Vergangenheitsbewältigung." International Journal of Zizek Studies 6, no. 2 (2012).
FRLN 330: German Medieval Civilization, Literature and Culture
FRLN 330: Topics in World Literature: The Magic Mountain
GERM 365: Reading Narrative Prose
GERM 340: (Post)Memories: Transnational & Transcultural Imaginations in Literature and Film after the Wende
GERM 250: Gateway to Advanced German
GERM 210: Intermediate German
GERM 201: Intermediate German I
GERM 202: Intermediate German II
GERM 110: Elementary German
INYO 106: Research Methods for International Students
INYO 105: American Cultures (in-class and online)
PROV 504: Accelerated Introduction to Graduate Studies
PROV 502: Introduction to Graduate Studies I
BIS 491: Senior Project Presentation
BIS 390: The Research Process
CULT 320: Globalization and Culture
GLOA 101: Introduction to Global Affairs
Ph.D. Cultural Studies, George Mason University, 2017
M.A. Sociology, George Mason University, 2012
B.A. Liberal Studies, Marymount University, 2007
“Bodies and Anti-Bodies in Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain.” Cultural Studies Association Conference, Virtual Session, June 10—June 12, 2021.
"Subsidiarity: A Strategic Umfunktionierung of the 'national' film." Cultural Studies Association Annual Conference, Tulane University, LO, June 2019.
"The German idea heimat and the 'policing of crisis' in Germany/Europe." Cultural Studies Association Annual Conference, University of Villanova, PA, June 2016.