Babette B. Tischleder

Professor Babette B. Tischleder is Professor of North American Studies and Media Studies at the University of Göttingen, where she has taught since 2010. Previously, she held positions at the John F. Kennedy Institute, Free University of Berlin (2007-2010), the Universities of Freiburg and Paderborn (2006-2007), and the University of Frankfurt am Main (1996-2006). Her academic journey includes a Habilitation from the Department of Philosophy and Humanities at Free University of Berlin (2010), a PhD in American Studies from Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (2000), and an MA in American Studies from Goethe University Frankfurt (1995).

Her research centers on materiality, obsolescence, and nonhuman agency, exploring how creative practices across literature, screen media, and digital animation shape our understanding of ecological crises and multispecies coexistence. Current projects include 'Chronotopes of the Nonhuman,' which examines contemporary art and literature that imagines human worlds as interconnected with other living creatures and vital materials. Her work challenges anthropocentrism and rethinks culture, kinship, and planetary cohabitation.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent trajectory exploring the relationship between humans and nonhuman entities across multiple disciplines. Her scholarship bridges literary studies, media theory, and environmental humanities, with increasing focus on multispecies relations and posthuman perspectives. The interdisciplinary nature of her work spans from analyzing Pixar animation to examining urban wildlife and theoretical frameworks like new materialism.

• Virtual Fellow, International Forum for U.S. Studies (IFUSS), University of Illinois (2023)
• Resident Fellow, IFUSS, University of Illinois & Visiting Scholar, University of Chicago (2019)
• Visiting Professor, Department of English Languages and Literature, University of Chicago (2018)
• Fellow, Karla Scherer Center for American Culture, University of Chicago (2014-2015)

Professor Tischleder teaches a wide range of courses in literary, cultural, and media studies, including the two-semester 'Introducing Critical Theory' course covering approaches from New Criticism to ecocriticism, gender studies, and postcolonial theory. She has supervised numerous graduate students and organized significant academic conferences, including the International Conference 'Cultures of Obsolescence in North America' (2013) and the Symposium 'Articulations of the Nonhuman Turn' (2022). Her upcoming speaking engagements through 2025 demonstrate her continued active role in the international academic community.

Her work connects with major research clusters focused on material culture, environmental humanities, and more-than-human studies, positioning her at the forefront of interdisciplinary scholarship addressing contemporary ecological challenges through literary and cultural analysis.