Hello and welcome!
I teach American literature and culture in the English Department at the University of Lausanne. Born in Warsaw, Poland, I grew up in Los Angeles, California, and moved to Switzerland in 1994. After teaching at the University of Geneva for 12 years, I came to the University of Lausanne in 2006. My areas of specialization are cultural studies, critical theory, gender and queer theory, the affective and cultural work of genre (including melodrama, horror, American Gothic and adventure), representations of war, and African American literature, history and culture. I have a strong background in Film Studies and work with cinema studies as well as visual culture and literature.
In recent years I have taught and researched the role of genre in the affective and ideological work of narratives about combat and warfare — especially representations of military death — and have just finished a book on this topic. This project has taken me deep into the world of American nationalism, the cult of the flag, the highly ambivalent and emotionally charged role of the military, and the place of gender in American self-definition and political rhetoric. The result, Combat Death in Contemporary American Culture: Popular Conceptions of War Since World War II, will be published by Lexington Books at the end of 2020.
A recurring question that motivates my research is how art, literature and language can be used to promote social justice and a more sustainable future — and I have as a result been increasingly concerned with environmental issues, and have come to realize that our dependency on oil, accelerating environmental degradation and what some scholars call ‘ecocide’ go hand in hand with American militarism, imperialism and war culture. My next research project will focus on these issues and especially the role of narrative and language in shaping our responses to this planetary crisis. (See the short video on a collaboration with Lancaster University around climate change below and the poster for the transdisciplinary and interfaculty course on Global Warming and Societal Change).
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL MY COURSES WILL BE ONLINE THIS SEMESTER
ELECTION NEWS:
For students who would like to understand better how the presidential election process works, I have made a video. It’s 40 minutes long because it includes some history and some remarks about the current election. You can just skip to the part about the electoral college and swing states if that is what you want to know about quickly.
Passcode: c.6RjnVQ
COMING SOON:
RECENT NEWS:
An article I published recently has won the annual Russel B. Nye Award for the Outstanding Article in the Journal of Popular Culture award: “American War Adventure and the Generic Pleasures of Military Violence: Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper” Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 51, Issue 6, Dec, 2018.
The ironic thing is that a peer reviewer had originally rejected the essay. I managed to publish it because I happened to be the co-editor of that volume as well. Then the article won this award AND a publisher contacted me to know if it was part of a larger project, and that’s how I got my contract for my forthcoming book, Combat Death in Contemporary American Culture. Just to show you that academic publishing is a lottery at times! So, junior scholars, never take rejections to heart! It doesn’t mean that your work is no good, but that one person didn’t like it – so you need to keep doing what you love and have faith that it will find its audience!
https://wp.unil.ch/labelettres/revisiting-adventure/
Recent Events organized by the American Domain in 2020:
Oct. 19: Guest lecture on “Civil Religion and the 2020 Election,” by Prof. Emeritus Carolyn Marvin of the University of Pennsylvania
March 17, Tuesday, 14:15-15:45 (ANT 4173): Dr. Martin Mühlheim (University of Zurich) will give a talk in the Haitian Revolution and its lingering presence in Anglo-American literature. Available ONLINE: https://tube.switch.ch/channels/b91e6f65
March 31, Tuesday, 14:15-15:45 (ANT 4173): Prof. Gilmer Cook (Dominican University, Illinois) will give a guest lecture and seminar on Critical Race Theory.
March 5, Thursday, 16:15-17:45 (ANT 5196): Prof. Ewa Lukacz (University of Warsaw) gave a talk in the research seminar series, titled “Making of Americans: Charlie Chaplin, Harvey Kellogg and the Science of Eugenics”
Also:
Recent interview about American imperialism and the adventure genre:
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Other links:
Link to podcast of RTS interview about the series ‘Atlanta’ and race in American on Nov. 8th, 2016
Slightly less new but still timely! My interview on the RTS program ‘Tribu’ October 11th speaking about Obama and race in the United States (sorry –in French!). link to podcast
New! See the short film made about our department’s collaboration with the University of Lancaster around a teaching and research project on climate change and global warming:
THE AMERICAN STUDIES SPECIALIZATION PROGRAM
The American domain of the English department at UNIL offers a Master’s specialization program (a 30 credit program added to the 90-credit MA) in New American Studies.
Students who have completed their 30 credits in their second branch of study and plan to write a mémoire on an American topic and wish to do the SPEC program can sign up by writing me (and Boris Vejdovsky) an email:
agnieszka.soltysikmonnet@unil.ch
Boris Vejdovsky <Boris.Vejdovsky@unil.ch>
Click here for official link to information page in French.