Joseph S. Atha Professor of Humanities, Stanford University

 

moderated by

Director, German-American Institute Saarland

 

Together with the Association of German-American Centers, we cordially invite you to the September edition of our "Half an Hour with..." format.Our guest Prof. Shelley Fisher Fishkin is one of the leading scholars in American Studies and a professor at Stanford University. Her work explores race, cultural memory, and the voices that have been marginalized or overlooked in American history. Her latest book, Jim: The Life and Afterlives of Huckleberry Finn's Comrade, demonstrates why engaging with literature and history remains essential in times of social and political polarization. Drawing on her long-standing engagement in public scholarship, civic initiatives, and debates about democracy and social justice, she will also reflect on the current political situation in the United States and the role of academics in public life. 

 

Prof. Dr. Shelley Fisher Fishkin is the Joseph S. Atha Professor of Humanities. Professor of English and (by courtesy) of African and African American Studies at Stanford University. She is the former Director of Stanford's American Studies Program and Co-Director of the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford. She is the award-winning author, editor, or co-editor of fifty books and has published over one hundred fifty articles, essays and reviews, many of which have focused on issues of race and racism in America, and on recovering and interpreting voices that were silenced, marginalized, or ignored in America's past. Her most recent book is Jim: The Life and Afterlives of Huckleberry Finn’s Comrade (Yale UP – “Black Lives” series, 2025), which was named an “Outstanding Academic Title” in American Literature by CHOICE in 2026. Her research has been featured twice on the front page of the New York Times, and she has been awarded Bode-Pearson Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Studies Association and  the Tuckey Lifetime Achievement award by the Center for Mark Twain Studies. The American Studies Association created a new prize, the "Shelley Fisher Fishkin Prize for International Scholarship in Transnational American Studies” in 2019. She is a Founding Editor of the Journal of Transnational American Studies.

 

 

Half an Hour with… is a transatlantic discussion series organized by the Association of German-American Centers (AGAC) (German: Verbund Deutsch-Amerikanischer Zentren (VDAZ)). Once a month, we jointly invite audiences to a 30-minute conversation with experts who provide well-informed and concise insights into the United States and German-American relations. Whether focusing on current political developments, social trends, economic perspectives, or cultural insights, Half an Hour with… brings transatlantic issues directly to your home or office. Take the opportunity to meet engaging speakers, explore different viewpoints, and contribute your own questions to the discussion.