The PGF conference—organized by Ella Ernst, Peter Hintz, Leonie Kratzenstein, Milo Miller, Laura Pröger, Annika Schadewaldt, and Samir Taher—reflected on contemporary instances as well as historical perceptions of ‘crisis’ in American society, politics, and culture. Moreover, the meeting sought to emphasize the various ways in which crises are and have been negotiated as sites of care and resilience. American Studies Leipzig had last hosted the Postgraduate Forum in 2010.
In keeping with the tradition of the PGF, the conference overall gave American studies PhD researchers from a wide array of German universities an opportunity to network and to present their dissertation projects to their peers. The three-day meeting thus included two dozen doctoral presentations as well as further discussions on American studies as a scholarly field and place of academic employment. Keynote speaker PD Dr. Martin Lüthe (FU Berlin) addressed a large crowd of conference attendees and other guests on the topic of “Crisis Ordinariness or Crisis Pervasiveness? American Studies and/as 21st-Century Pop.”
The organizers again want to thank all presenters for their insightful and promising talks and projects as well as all visitors to the conference for their attendance. A round of thanks also goes out to all sponsors of the 2025 PGF meeting as well as to all volunteers for assisting in organizing it. For further information, please consult the conference website.
