piel_maryann

Maryann Piel

Visiting Assistant Professor of German

My research focuses on gender and authorship in German literature from the 18th - 21st century. I am particularly interested in the role of celebrity in the production and marketing of literary ventures. In my current book project I trace starkly gendered literary lineages from the Goethezeit to the contemporary period, highlighting the influence of each author’s gender on their (in)ability to achieve and maintain literary celebrity. In connection with this work, I explore gender and authorship beyond the binary and the connection between celebrity authorship and the development of a (largely homogenous) German literary canon. In addition to my work as a researcher, I enjoy teaching German language and culture courses at all levels, including courses on literary prize winners, contemporary celebrity, and the history, art and people of Berlin.

 

Education

Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago

M.A. University of Illinois at Chicago

B.A. Northern Illinois University

 

Courses Taught

German Language (Beginner - Advanced)

Literary Prize Winners and the German Language Book Market (Upcoming, Spring 2025)

Rising Stars: Celebrity in the Media Age

Democratizing the Canon?: Contemporary (Female) Literary Prize Winners

German Geographies - Berlin: Kiez by Kiez

 

Publications

“Ingeborg Bachmann: Composing a Celebrity Persona” in Journal for Austrian Studies (Forthcoming) 

“Beyond the Award: Female and Non-Binary Authorship on the (Literary) World Stage” in Against Exclusivity: New Aesthetics in German-Language Literature and Film. Eds. Imke Meyer and Nadjib Sadikou, Bloomsbury (Forthcoming).

“La Roche and Goethe: Gender, Genre, and Influence,” The Goethe Yearbook 30.1, pp. 41-61 (2023).

“Celebrity and the German Cultural Nation,” literatur für leser:innen (“New Transatlantic Approaches to Thomas Mann”). 43.1, pp. 205-212 (2023)

 

Honors and Awards

UIC Dean’s Scholar Fellow (2022/2023)

Robert Kauf Award for Outstanding Curriculum Development (2023)

DAAD Fellowship (Bergische Universität Wuppertal) (2021/2022): “Self-Made Royalty: Celebrity in German Literature”