News and Events

“Könnte das auch bei uns passieren? Dienstpflicht und ethische Verantwortung”

Against the backdrop of current developments in the United States, this event explores how democratic institutions – including those in Austria – can come under pressure, the role of obedience and responsibility within law enforcement and government institutions, and how democracy can be effectively safeguarded.

"Sommergespräch" with Cornelia Klecker (Department of American Studies, University of Innsbruck), HR Franz Steger-Künz (Referatsleiter Landesamt Staatsschutz und Extremismusbekämpfung, Polizei Tirol), and Philipp Weinkogl (MCI). Click here

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An International Conference
Making Sense of America: Conversations on Matters and Methods

While the sensorium and sense perceptions have long been considered as bodily dispositions that are determined by physiological and neurological factors, a cultural studies approach to the study of the senses complements this perspective by centering attention on how sense-making takes place in a relational, embodied, performative, and co-constructed manner and appears in interaction between individuals as the collection of lived experiences, being shaped as they are by mutually perceived perceptions and performed practices. As Erica Fretwell asserts, therefore, the task in exploring the various dimensions of sensory perception and sense-making, e.g., in the study of the US, is to

“[reconsider] the senses not simply as objects of study but as methodologies: as a means of navigating and investigating the cultural materials, affective forces, and epistemological paradigms through which humans and nonhumans continue to both emerge and engage each other“ (“Introduction: Common Senses and Critical Sensibilities” 2018, 3).

The two-day, international conference “Making Sense of America” brings together Americanists in a collective attempt at understanding the United States in this very frame: multisensory, embodied, co-created, and affective. 

MA Keynote Lecture Erica Fretwell| University of Albany | please click here

2nd & 3rd of July 2026 |New Orleans Saal, Hauptgebäude, University of Innsbruck | Organized by Ass.-Prof. Dr. Mahshid Mayar and Philipp Helge Leonhardt

Follow this link for updates on the conference line-up, the “Making Sense of America” art exhibition, and more.

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Art Installation during the International Conference "Making Sense of America - Conversations on Matter & Methods"

As part of the "Making Sense of America - Conversations on Matter & Methods" at University of Innsbruck (2-3 July), Mahshid Mayar and Philip Leonhardt are also organizing a critical arts installation, exhibiting students' experimentation with erasure techniques on four-page copies of the Declaration of Independence. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States, transforming the country's foundational document promises to be a thought-provoking endeavor for students and visitors of the art installation.

2nd & 3rd of July 2026 | University of Innsbruck

For updates on the installation, check the conference website

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„Tape, Text, Podcast. Sound and Transmedia Storytelling in Contemporary Literature“

Gastvortrag von Philipp Helge Leonhardt M.A.

09 th of july 2026 von 12:15 bis 13:15 |  online via Zoom | Universität Trier

For further details please click here