Digital resources in the Social Sciences and Humanities OpenEdition Our platforms OpenEdition Books OpenEdition Journals Hypotheses Calenda Libraries OpenEdition Freemium Follow us

About the Editors

Editors

Markus Dietrich, M.A.

Credit: Oliver Fink 

Marcus Dietrich holds an M.A. in history and a diploma (equivalent of M.A.) in International Business and Economics from the University of Innsbruck. He is currently a PhD-candidate with the research training-group “Authority and Trust” at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies. His dissertation focuses on the integration of socialist banks into international financial markets during the Cold War period with a particular focus on the East German case. Further research interests include the history of banking, finance and money, alternative globalization efforts and global monetary systems. 

Get in touch: mailto:mdietrich@hca.uni-heidelberg.de

Bluesky: @marcusdietrich.bsky.social


Jonas Faust, M.A.

Credit: Oliver Fink

Jonas Faust is a research associate and coordinator of the M.A. program at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA). He obtained his PhD at Heidelberg University in 2024 with a dissertation project on the paradigm of prophetic poetry in the works of Allen Ginsberg, funded by a PhD scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation). His research interests include the Beat Generation (particularly Ginsberg and Burroughs), American Transcendentalism, British Romanticism, Modernism/Postmodernism and the intersections of literature, sociology, philosophy, and religion.

Get in touch: jfaust@hca.uni-heidelberg.de

More about: Jonas Faust – Heidelberg Center for American Studies


Richard J. Lange, M.A., M.A.

Credit: Oliver Fink

Richard received his B.A. in History and Political Science from Heidelberg University. During his undergraduate studies he spent a year at Durham University, UK, where he studied International Relations and Classics. In 2021 he graduated with distinction from Heidelberg University with a M.A. in Modern and Contemporary History. In 2022, he obtained a second M.A. in International Relations from Leiden University, where he specialized in European Union Studies. Since 2023, he works as a research associate at the DFG-Graduiertenkolleg Authority and Trust at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA). In his PhD project, Richard analyzes Euro-criticism and anti-Europeanism in post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy. His research interests include international relations in historical perspective, the foreign policy of the United States, transatlantic relations, and the history and politics of European Integration.

Get in touch: rlange@hca.uni-heidelberg.de

More about: Richard Lange

Bluesky: @richardlange.bsky.social


Mehdi Sejdiu, M.A.

Mehdi Sejdiu comes from a small village in Kosova. He studied Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul Şehir University (BA) and Heidelberg University (MA). He worked as a political advisor to the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kosova (2021 – 2023) mostly coordinating Kosova – Eu affairs. He is a former IPS fellow of the German Bundestag and attended the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. Mehdi worked in several research institutes in Germany and Kosova, among others in the Institute for Political Science Heidelberg, Balkan Policy Research Group and Group for Legal and Political Studies.

Get in touch: msejdiu@hca.uni-heidelberg.de


Nele Thomann

Nele Thomann is a PhD candidate at the HCA and is part of the research training group “Authority & Trust.” She holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from the University of Bamberg and a master’s degree in Transatlantic Studies from Radboud University, during which she had the opportunity to participate in a graduate exchange program at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on U.S. federalism dynamics, with a particular emphasis on subnational governments. She is especially interested in the interrelations of U.S. federalism as a complex political system and the behavior of substate governments in both domestic (state-level politics/intergovernmental relations) and international contexts (paradiplomacy).

Get in touch: nthomann@hca.uni-heidelberg.de

More about: Nele Thomann – Heidelberg Center for American Studies

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelethomann/

 


 

Former Editors

Dr. Natalie Rauscher

Natalie Rauscher completed her PhD at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) in 2020 with her dissertation The Discourse on the Future of Work in the United States under the influence of Automation and the Platform Economy. Her research interests include discourses on the future of work, the platform economy, social movements, social media, U.S. philanthropy and the impact of natural catastrophes in the U.S. She is working and teaching as a research associate at the HCA. She is a founding member of the HCA Graduate Blog.

Get in touch: nrauscher@hca.uni-heidelberg.de

LinkedIn: Natalie Rauscher


Maren Mariani, M.A.

Maren Mariani is working and teaching as a research associate at the University of Heidelberg’s Institute of Political Science. She joined the HCA PhD program in 2017 and is associated with the research training group Authority and Trust (GKAT). In her research project, Maren examines populist rhetoric in contemporary American political discourse, focusing on framing strategies and their influence on Americans’ increasing distrust and even dislike of authorities. Her research interests include populism, political communication, in particular political rhetoric and the language of persuasion, and American politics as a whole. Moreover, Maren is interested in the topics entrepreneurship and the future of learning. She is a founding member of the HCA Graduate Blog.

Get in touch: Maren.Schaefer@stud.uni-heidelberg.de

Follow me on X: Maren Mariani

LinkedIn: Maren Mariani


Aline Schmidt, M.A.

Aline, a former collegiate of the research training group Authority and Trust (GKAT) at the HCA, brings a background in linguistics to her interdisciplinary pursuits. Her research spans critical and corpus-assisted discourse studies, with a keen focus on exploring the linguistic dimensions of charismatic authority and the significance of linguistic authenticity in US presidential discourse. Passionate about affective politics, hate speech, forensic linguistics, and urban linguistics, Aline is interested in understanding the intricate nuances of language in societal contexts. She is a founding member of the HCA Graduate Blog.

Aline’s LinkedIn


Nikolas Mariani, M.A.

Nikolas Mariani joined the HCA’s PhD program in 2019. His research project focuses on the phenomenon of alternative, and often digital-native, news media outlets on the left and right of the political spectrum, and seeks to explore the question of how audiences of such sources come to form a relationship of trust with them. Nikolas’ research interests include political communication, alternative and far-right news media, as well as digital and economic transformations in journalism. Nikolas works at the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation. He joined the editorial team in January 2021.

Follow me on X: @Nik__Mariani


Andreas Balz, Staatsexamen

Andreas Balz graduated from Heidelberg University with a Staatsexamen, the German degree required for teaching in advanced secondary education, in English Studies and Biology. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD at the HCA with a focus on contemporary U.S. autobiographical fiction. His research project aims at providing a new perspective on literary authorship, approaching it as a cultural concept defined through routinized practices that manifest themselves in writing as well as in other activities authors engage in on the literary field. He is a founding member of the HCA Graduate Blog.

Get in touch: balz@stud.uni-heidelberg.de