Christopher Chiasson

Christopher Chiasson serves as an Assistant Professor of Practice in German at Southern Illinois University Carbondale within the College of Liberal Arts. His academic appointments include prior teaching positions at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Modern German Literature and Culture, Indiana University

Research Interests: Dr. Chiasson's work centers on narrative theory, investigating stories emerging from visual artifacts in German Romantic literature, constructions of "the people" in historical/sociological disciplines, and narratives derived from stasis in slow cinema. His theoretical frameworks integrate psychoanalysis, Marxism, and intellectual history, with additional focus on German cinema, folklore, Viennese Modernism, and art history.

Teaching and Publications: His diverse teaching portfolio includes courses on the Brothers Grimm, witchcraft, Norse mythology, Viennese Modernism, detective fiction, Nazi-era cinema, and the human body's artistic representation from Winckelmann to Riefenstahl. Published scholarship analyzes the Brothers' Grimm "Faithful Johannes," Goethe's Elective Affinities, and Fritz Lang's Mabuse film series. Current research examines Heinrich von Kleist's concept of the neighbor, Wilhelm Raabe's community representations, and a monograph adaptation of his dissertation titled "Stories from Stone: Statues in German Romanticism".