Luvena Kopp

Luvena Kopp is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), University of Bonn, where she conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of American Studies, cultural studies, film studies, and sociology. She is a member of the Working Group 'Rethinking Atlantic Narratives of Slavery and Freedom' and teaches courses such as 'Accounts of Slavery and Dependency' and 'Doing Research I: Text-based Scholarship' in the current semester.

Education:

• M.A. (Magister Artium) in American Studies and Theater, Film, and Media Studies, Goethe University Frankfurt (2002–2010)
• Fulbright Fellow, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts and Department of Social and Cultural Analysis (Africana Studies), 2012
• Fulbright American Studies Institute: 'Why Black Lives Matter: Race and Politics in the U.S.,' San Francisco State University, 2016

Her research focuses on cinematic representations of symbolic violence and resistance, particularly in the films of Spike Lee, analyzed through the theoretical frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu, Norbert Elias, and Loïc Wacquant. She explores how Black experiences in the U.S. are portrayed through a quasi-sociological lens, exposing subliminal power mechanisms and asymmetrical dependencies. Her work also engages with social movements, especially the Black liberation movement, and their cultural and political impacts.

The most recent publications reflect a strong thematic continuity in race, resistance, and representation. Her articles span film analysis, social movements like Black Lives Matter, and systemic racism in both the U.S. and Germany. They emphasize interdisciplinary approaches combining film, sociology, and political critique, with recurring subfields including police violence, neoliberalism, transnational activism, and racialized penality.

Scientific Awards and Honors:

• Fulbright American Studies Institute Participant (2016)
• Fulbright Fellow (2012)
• Ph.D. Grant by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (2011–2014)

Luvena Kopp has been actively involved in academic and public engagement. She has secured third-party funding for conferences, co-organized international symposia, and served as a peer reviewer. She frequently contributes to public discourse as a commentator on U.S. race relations and the Black Lives Matter movement, participating in media interviews and panel discussions with outlets such as ZDF, SWR, and Radio Bern. She has delivered invited lectures at institutions including Goethe University Frankfurt and the University of Osnabrück. Her academic service includes organizing workshops on visual media, racialized violence, and post-black aesthetics.

She is affiliated with the research team of Prof. Dr. Pia Wiegmink and contributes to the BCDSS’s outreach and educational mission through public lectures, film discussions, and collaborative research initiatives.