Manuel Franz, M.A.
Curt Engelhorn Chair in American History
Research Associate
Contact Details:
Heidelberg University
Historisches Seminar
Grabengasse 3-5
D-69117 Heidelberg
Room: 044A
Phone: +49 (0) 62 21 / 54 - 3361
E-Mail: manuel.franz@zegk.uni-heidelberg.de
Office hours:
By Appointment
Dissertation Project:
"Fight for Americanism". Preparedness-Bewegung und zivile Mobilisierung in den USA 1914-1920
Profile:
Manuel Franz studied History and Political Science at Kiel University and San Diego State University. In December 2014, he completed his M.A. with a thesis on the Confederate diplomatic strategy during the Civil War. In August 2015, he began to work on his dissertation project at Heidelberg University. He first received the Schurman Scholarship and is now a Research Associate at the Curt Engelhorn Chair in American History. During his 2016 research stay in the U.S., he was a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in New York City. Manuel Franz submitted his dissertation in November 2019.
For a full academic CV, please click here.
Research Interests:
- American History and the U.S. Political System
- Diplomatic History
- History of Political Thought
- History of Parliamentarism and Political Parties
Publications:
- “A Shining City and the Sodom Below: Historical Guilt and Personal Agency in BioShock Infinite.” Playing the Field: Video Games and American Studies. Ed. by Sascha Pöhlmann. Berlin/Boston, De Gruyter, 2019: 221-234 (with Henning Jansen).
- “Preparedness Revisited: Civilian Societies and the Campaign for American Defense, 1914-1920.” Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 17/4 (2018): 663-676.
- “Drittbewerber bei US-Präsidentschaftswahlen: Chancenlos, aber wahlentscheidend?” Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen 48/2 (2017): 311-328 (with Florian Gawehns).
- “The United States and World War I: Perspectives and Legacies, Conference Proceedings.” Bulletin of the German Historical Institute 61 (2017): 137-142 (with Lara Track). Also published online on H-Soz-Kult, April 20, 2017, <http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/index.asp?pn=tagungsberichte&view=pdf&id=7127>.
- “Amerika und die Zukunft der europäischen Sicherheitsordnung: Die US-Debatte im Spiegel ausgewählter Think-Tank-Publikationen und Fachzeitschriften 2014/15.” SWP Zeitschriftenschau 2015/1 (2015): 1-8 (with Marco Overhaus), <http://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/zeitschriftenschau/2015zs01_ovs_Franz.pdf>.
Selected Talks:
- “Die Urkatastrophe: Ursachen und Verlauf des Ersten Weltkriegs.” Seminar on ‘Geschichte Verstehen: 100 Jahre Erster Weltkrieg’, Avicenna-Studienwerk Saarbrücken, November 9-11, 2018.
- “A Shining City Above a Hill? American Exceptionalism and Historical Guilt in BioShock Infinite.” Conference on ‘Playing the Field: Video Games and American Studies’, Amerikahaus Munich, April 26-29, 2018 (with Henning Jansen).
- “The American Preparedness Movement in World War I.” Conference on ‘1917 – Revolution in War, Society in Revolution’, Military History Institute Prague, September 19-21, 2017.
- “Defense Societies in the Campaign for American Military Preparedness, 1914-1920.” 39th Annual Conference of the Historians in the German Association for American Studies on ‘The United States and World War I: Perspectives and Legacies’, Heidelberg Center for American Studies, February 10-12, 2017.
Teaching:
- Winter term 2019/20: Seminar on "American History in the Interwar Period (1920-1941)"
- Winter term 2018/19: Seminar on "The History of the Republican Party (1854-2016)"
- Winter term 2017/18: Seminar on "The United States and World War I"
- Winter term 2016/17: Seminar on “The American Civil War“
