معرفی
Melanie Lorek is an Assistant Professor and Associate Academic Director in the Sociology and Human Relations Program at CUNY School of Professional Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from CUNY (2018), M.A. and B.A. in Social Sciences from Humboldt Universität Berlin (2010/2006). Her research focuses on memory studies, particularly East German identity and the legacy of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). She examines how autobiographical narratives interact with collective memory through lenses like food culture and political discourse.
Her work includes analysis of recipes as identity markers, the German Reunification's societal impact, and generational perspectives on GDR history. She has conducted research at WZB Berlin (2012-2013) and published in Symbolic Interaction and Food, Culture & Society. She co-authored chapters on third-generation East Germans' identity struggles and presented at conferences including ASA and GSA. Her current book project explores re-imagined narratives of socialist legacies.
Her academic service includes roles in arts education policy studies (2017) and cross-agency research initiatives in NYC public schools.
