Pia Banzhaf

Pia Banzhaf is an Assistant Professor in the Department of German at Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters. Her research focuses on the intersection of art, cognition, and society, particularly exploring how puppetry performances manipulate animacy/inanimacy principles to enhance ambiguity tolerance in spectators.

• Ph.D., Cultural Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston
• M.A., German Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland
• B.A., German Linguistics & Cultural Anthropology of Textile Art, University of Dortmund

Prior to MSU, she taught German language and culture courses at Memorial University, Queen’s University, and the University of Manitoba. She is licensed to teach in North-Rhine Westphalia and offers courses in 2nd/3rd-year German, as well as classes at the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) and the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities (IAH).

Her scholarly work, including publications like Towards A Cognitive Poetics of Puppetry (2018), emphasizes cognitive approaches to puppetry theory and societal engagement with ambiguous art forms. Though no explicit awards are listed, her research bridges literary analysis, theater studies, and cognitive science.