Dr Corinne Painter
- Position: Lecturer in German and Intercultural Studies
- Areas of expertise: Gender and the German Revolution 1918; German Jewish history; war resistance; social history; life writing, intercultural studies.
- Email: C.J.Painter@leeds.ac.uk
- Website: | Twitter | LinkedIn | ORCID
Profile
My main research interest is to understand how power is consolidated, expressed and experienced. By moving the focus of study from what is understood to be the centre to the periphery, power dynamics are made visible. Most recently, I have been examining these dynamics through the lens of Gender and the German Revolution of 1918/19 using life writing by female revolutionaries. Through this research, the organisational structure of the revolution, how and why it happened, and the relationship between the revolutionary leaders and the rank and file can be brought to light.
After completing my BA (Hons) in German and Japanese at the University of Leeds, I lived and worked in Germany for nearly three years. I then returned to Leeds to complete a Masters by Research exploring the experiences of German Jewish women in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich in German Jewish magazines. My PhD thesis explored the life and works of Clementine Kraemer (1873-1942), a German Jewish writer and campaigner in the women’s movement.
I am also skilled at liaising with Arts and Cultural Organisations to generate research and impact activities. Committed to widening public access to, and engagement with, stories from our pasts
Media Contributions
- “The Path of Most Resistance”, ERA Magazine August 2020
- “Beyond Rosa Luxemburg: five more women of the German revolution you need to know about”, written in collaboration with Professor Ingrid Sharp. The Conversation 14 January 2019.
- “A Woman’s Place is in the Revolution”, written in collaboration with Professor Ingrid Sharp. Jacobin 15 January 2019.
Research interests
Commemoration, Conflict and Conscience
Project Coordinator
A year-long project, which culminated in a national festival in Bristol 2019. The project looks at ‘hidden’ or lesser known stories of the First World War, legacy, peace-building & alienation from commemoration. We are: uniting existing community groups and researchers, focusing on their work to date & generating new research; showcasing existing artistic work and performances and fostering new creative projects.
Project highlights:
- Bristol Festival 27–28 April 2019
Twitter: @FWWCCC2019.
Kiel Uprising: Women's activism and the German Revolution November 1918
This project examined the end of the First World War in Germany and the German Revolution. Revolutions are often imagined as male spaces and yet, for a revolution to spread as quickly and as far as the Revolution of 1918/19 did, women must have been involved. AHRC funded.
Project highlights:
- Exhibition: "Ending War, Imagining Peace: Germany 1918" at the Peace Museum
- Play: "Women of Aktion" opening Autumn 2018 and touring the UK
Follow the project on Twitter for all the latest updates @RevolutionNov18.
Selected Conference Papers
Invited Papers
- July 2020 – Rosa Luxemburg and the women of the German Revolution; Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education; Cape Town South Africa
- September 2018 – Writing the Revolution: German Women as Revolutionary Agents; Aftermath German and Austrian Cultural Responses to the End of WW1; King's College London
- May 2017 – Life under the Nazis: The German Jewish Community 1933–38, German History in the North; University of Leeds
- September 2016 – German Jewish Women in the Public Sphere: an Exploration of Identity through Fiction 1913 and 1933; New Directions in German History; University of Central Lancashire
March 2018:
- International Women’s Day: Kiel to Otley–Women of the German Revolution; Leeds City Museum
- Hidden from History: Voices of the German Revolution 1918-1919; Peace Museum; Bradford
Conferences organised
Resistance to War Conference
March 2016 – An international conference attended by 300 people
- Made conference packs; facilitated registration; organised travel and accommodation for speakers from 11 different countries
- This conference included a community day at Leeds City Museum which included stalls by peace activists and panels discussing the findings of local history and community groups
- Chaired a panel on “Jewish Resistance”
[Dis]Connected: The Spectre of German History
June 2014 – A postgraduate conference for twenty researchers funded by the German History Society
- Wrote the call for papers
- Wrote the successful funding application
Qualifications
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- PhD
- MA by Research
- BA (Hons)
Professional memberships
- Women in German Studies
- Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Student education
I teach modules at all levels of undergraduate and MA level on topics relating to German History, Women’s Writing, Intercultural Communication and Cultural History. I am a module leader for several modules on the MA Professional Language and Intercultural Studies (MAPLIS).
I am currently supervising two MA by research projects, one examining women in revolutionary thought and one conducting a Critical Discourse Analysis of German language learning websites.
If you are interested in postgraduate study, please email me.
Research groups and institutes
- German
- History
- Women, Gender and Society
- Cultural studies