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Alexander Stephan (August 16, 1946 – May 29, 2009) was a specialist in German literature and area studies. He was a professor, Ohio Eminent Scholar, and Senior Fellow of the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at Ohio State University (OSU).[1]

Key Information

Background

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Stephan studied American and German literature at the Freie Universität in Berlin and at the University of Michigan. He obtained his Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Career

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Subsequently, he taught at Princeton, the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Florida. At Ohio State University, he held a research professorship in German literature and area studies.

As professor of German literature, Stephan focused on the modern period. His publications covered the history of German exile literature, the Weimar Republic, and the literature of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). He was the author of books, among others, on Anna Seghers, Christa Wolf, Max Frisch, and Peter Weiss. Stephan was also the first researcher who obtained access to the documents which the FBI kept on German exile writers such as Bertolt Brecht, Lion Feuchtwanger, Thomas Mann and Anna Seghers.

At the OSU Mershon Center, Stephan concentrated on international security and US-European cultural relations. He wrote about the impact of American culture on the GDR and published five collections of essays analyzing Americanization and anti-Americanism in Germany and in Europe after 1945.

Stephan was a founder of the book series Exilstudien/Exile Studies, a member of the German PEN, and a recipient of grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, Humboldt Foundation, and numerous other institutions. His publications were discussed on German television, by CNN, and in papers such as The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, and The Guardian.

Legacy

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A Festschrift honoring Stephan, and entitled, Kulturpolitik und Politik der Kultur/Cultural Politics and the Politics of Culture (Oxford) appeared in 2007. It was edited by Helen Fehervary and Bernd Fischer.

His widow, Halina Stephan, is a Professor of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures. She has been director of the Center for Slavic and East European Studies at Ohio State University. She specializes in Russian avant-garde literature and Polish theatre.[2]

Works

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Books (selection):

  • Überwacht, ausgebürgert, exiliert. Schriftsteller und der Staat. Bielefeld, 2007.
  • Im Visier des FBI. Deutsche Exilschriftsteller in den Akten amerikanischer Geheimdienste. Stuttgart, 1995, rev. pb. Berlin, 1998
    • "Communazis": FBI Surveillance of German Émigré Writers (2000)[3]
  • Anna Seghers: 'Das siebte Kreuz'. Welt und Wirkung eines Romans. Berlin, 1997.
  • Anna Seghers im Exil. Bonn, 1993.
  • Max Frisch. München, 1983.
  • Christa Wolf. München, 1976, 4th, enl. and rev. ed. 1991.
  • Die deutsche Exilliteratur. München, 1979.

Books in preparation:

  • Left Behind. Popular Culture, Religious Fundamentalism and Politics in the USA of George W. Bush.
  • Das Dritte Reich und die Exilliteratur. Ausbürgerung und Überwachung deutscher Autoren durch Behörden des Nazistaates.

Edited volumes (selection):

  • America on my mind. Zur Amerikanisierung der deutschen Kultur seit 1945 (with Jochen Vogt). München, 2006.
  • The Americanization of Europe: Culture, Diplomacy, and Anti-Americanism after 1945. New York, 2006, pb. 2007.
  • Das Amerika der Autoren. Von Kafka bis 09/11 München, 2006.
  • Exile and Otherness: New Approaches to the Experience of the Nazi Refugees. Oxford, 2005.
  • Refuge and Reality: Feuchtwanger and the European Émigrés in California (with Pól Ó Dochartaigh). Amsterdam, 2005.
  • Americanization and Anti-Americanism. The German Encounter with American Culture After 1945. New York, 2005, pb. 2007.
  • Anna Seghers, Die Entscheidung. Roman. Werkausgabe, vol. I, 7. Berlin, 2003.
  • Döblin, L. Feuchtwanger, A. Seghers, A. Zweig, Early 20th Century German Fiction. New York, 2003, pb. 2003.
  • Jeans, Rock und Vietnam. Amerikanische Kultur in der DDR (with Therese Hörnigk). Berlin, 2002.
  • ‘Rot = Braun’? Brecht Dialog 2000. Nationalsozialismus und Stalinismus bei Brecht und Zeitgenossen (with Therese Hörnigk). Berlin, 2000.
  • Uwe Johnson, Speculations About Jakob and Other Writings. New York, 2000, pb. 2000.
  • Themes and Structures. Studies in German Literature from Goethe to the Present. A Festschrift for Theodore Ziolkowski. Columbia, 1997.
  • Ulrich Plenzdorf, Günter Kunert, Anna Seghers, and others, The New Sufferings of Young W. and Other Stories from the German Democratic Republic (with Therese Hörnigk). New York, 1997, pb. 1997.
  • Christa Wolf: The Author’s Dimension. Selected Essays. New York and London, 1993; Chicago, 1995.
  • Exil. Literatur und die Künste nach 1933. Bonn, 1990.
  • Schreiben im Exil. Zur Ästhetik der deutschen Exilliteratur 1933-1945 (with Hans Wagener). Bonn, 1985.
  • Peter Weiss. Die Ästhetik des Widerstands. Frankfurt, 1983, 2nd ed. 1987, 3rd ed. 1990.
  • Editor of Exilstudien/Exile Studies. A Monograph Series. New York, Oxford, 1993ff. (vols. 1-10, vols. 11 in preparation).

TV and radio (selection):

  • Left Behind: Popular culture, religiöser Fundamentalismus und Politik in den USA des George W. Bush, TV lecture, Germany, 2005.
  • Thomas Mann und der CIA, TV documentary, Germany, 2002.
  • Exilanten und der CIA, TV documentary, Germany, 2002.
  • Brecht und das FBI, TV documentary, Germany, 2001.
  • Im Visier des FBI. Deutsche Autoren im US-Exil, TV documentary (with Johannes Eglau), Germany, 1995.

See also

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References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Alexander Stephan

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from Grokipedia
Alexander Stephan is a German-born literary scholar and professor known for his groundbreaking research on German exile literature during the Nazi period, GDR literature, and postwar U.S.-German cultural relations. [1] His research involved accessing FBI files on German émigré writers in the United States, culminating in his influential book "Communazis": FBI Surveillance of German Émigré Writers (2000), which examined surveillance of figures such as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht, and Lion Feuchtwanger. [1] Stephan authored monographs on key authors including Anna Seghers and Christa Wolf, and edited volumes exploring themes of Americanization, anti-Americanism, and writers' interactions with state authority. [1] Born on August 16, 1946, in Germany, Stephan studied at the Free University of Berlin, earned an M.A. from the University of Michigan, and completed his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1973. [1] He held teaching positions at Princeton University, the University of California, Los Angeles (where he advanced from assistant to full professor), and the University of Florida (where he also served as department chair) before joining Ohio State University in 2000 as Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of German, with a joint appointment at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies. [1] [2] At Ohio State, he was recognized as a dedicated teacher, mentor, and colleague whose work bridged literary scholarship with international security and cultural studies. [2] Stephan's scholarship earned him prestigious fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among others, and he founded the monograph series Exilstudien / Exile Studies. [1] He was a member of the German PEN Center and a founding member of the International Anna Seghers Society. [1] After battling brain cancer for several years, Stephan died on May 29, 2009, in Schmöckwitz, in eastern Berlin, where he spent his final days. [2] His legacy endures through his extensive publications and the ongoing influence of his research on exile, surveillance, and transatlantic cultural dynamics. [1]

Early life

Alexander Stephan was born on August 16, 1946, in Germany. [1] No further verified details about his early life are available in reliable sources.

Career

After earning his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1973, Alexander Stephan began his academic career with teaching positions at Princeton University. He then moved to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he progressed from assistant professor to full professor. [1] Stephan later served as department chair at the University of Florida. In 2000, he joined Ohio State University as the Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of German, with a joint appointment at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies. At Ohio State, he was remembered as a dedicated teacher, mentor, and colleague who bridged literary scholarship with international security and cultural studies. [1] [2] His professional work focused on research and teaching in German exile literature, GDR literature, and U.S.-German cultural relations, earning him fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and others. He also founded the monograph series Exilstudien / Exile Studies. [1]

Death

Alexander Stephan died on May 29, 2009, in Berlin, Germany, at the age of 62, after battling brain cancer for several years. He passed away peacefully at his home in Schmöckwitz in the eastern part of Berlin and is buried in nearby Grünau.[2]

Filmography

Alexander Stephan, the literary scholar and professor, has no documented credits or career in feature films, television movies, or episodic television acting.
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