Dr Claudia Sternberg

Profile

I joined the University of Leeds in 2004 as Lecturer in Cultural Studies before being promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2012.

I obtained my PhD from the University of Cologne in 1997 and before coming to Leeds held lecturerships and postdoctoral appointments at the University of Cologne (1991–1994), the University of Technology Chemnitz (1994–1999) and the University of Tübingen (1999–2004).

At the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, I was Programme Director for the BA Cultural Studies (2005-2008), Director of Learning and Teaching (2008–2011) and Undergraduate Admissions Tutor (2013–2015). Since January 2019 I am Programme Manager of the BA Cultural and Media Studies.

Responsibilities

• Programme Manager BA Cultural and Media Studies

Research interests

My background is in literary, film and television studies with an emphasis on British and American cultural production in general and multicultural Britain in particular. I mainly work on film and television and address questions of representation, predominantly in the context of (Jewish, Black and Asian) migratory and diasporic experiences. A special focus has been on the intersections of different migrations and diasporas; a comparative and transnational perspective underpinned the work of the international AHRC-funded research network Migrant and Diasporic Cinema in Contemporary Europe, which I co-coordinated from 2006–2008.

A further research area is the memory culture of the First World War as well as the relationship between war, media and cultural memory in more general terms. From 2013 to 2018 I worked wth colleagues in Leeds on the Legacies of War Centenary project. We collaborated with people and organisations in Leeds, the UK and internationally to explore the legacy of the First World War through research, creative practice and knowledge exchange. More specifically, my project In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time looked at the experience of civilian internment in both Britain and Germany during WWI.

As a continental European and native German who relocated to the UK in 2004, I also maintain an interest in German language and culture, the constructions of Germanness and Britishness across Europe and the trajectories of continental Jews who settled in Britain throughout the centuries. I also continue to be interested in screenplays and the practice of writing for the screen.

I am a member of the Centre for Critical Studies in Museums, Galleries and Heritage and the Screenwriting Research Network.

I offer PhD supervision in the following areas:

• (Popular) representations of the First World War
• War, media and cultural memory
• Migration and diaspora in film and television
• Cultural diversity in Europe
• Black, Asian and Jewish British culture

I am open to establishing links with institutions that consider a collaborative PhD in any of the above areas.

• Centre for Hidden Histories
• Legacies of War: Culture and the Arts

Qualifications

• MA Communications (Radio, Film and Television)
• MA English and American Studies; Film, Television and Theatre Studies; German Literature
• PhD British and American Language and Literature

Student education

My research interests and activities inform my teaching practice. I teach on cinema, migrant and diasporic film and postcolonialism. Questions of cultural memory and representing the past also feature in my modules.

In addition to assessing students on the basis of essays and exams, I encourage them to experiment with writing in different genres, digital storytelling, team projects, fieldwork, co-authoring and editing. During the First World War centenary years I enabled student to collaborate with partners in the University and beyond.

I believe that research and teaching environments benefit greatly from diversity and internationalisation. I am dedicated to ensuring participation of individuals from many ethnic, national, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. I manage a BA programme with many international students, am involved in the International Pathway Centre’s Foundation Year, contribute to education outreach events and have also organised visits abroad for students and young people not yet in higher or further education. 

Current postgraduate researchers

• Annika Christensen
• Tom Ashworth
• Sanaa Al-Hadabi