Across Boundaries – These Thomas Mann Fellows will visit Los Angeles in 2025

In their projects, the fellows deal with the following topics:

During her fellowship, Hila Amit will explore notions of a “Jewish homeland” in the face of anti-democratic processes in Israel and global anti-Semitism. She will speak with queer American Jews and examine “Jewish belonging” in the US today.

Can mediation strengthen democracy? Susanne Beyer will investigate this question as part of her fellowship at Thomas Mann House. How can mediation concepts be applied to debate cultures? And how can we develop journalistic formats in particular that encourage a change of perspective and encourage us to balance interests?

During her fellowship, Sonja Hegasy will focus on previously neglected (secular) Jewish-Muslim solidarity networks and intellectual debates in times of right-wing ideologies and terrorism. Her project contributes to the visibility and self-efficacy of Jewish-Muslim alliances.

At the Thomas Mann House, Uwe Jean Heuser will examine the climate discourse, which is highly ideologized and often leads to conflict instead of uniting different points of view. He will look for new transatlantic approaches, both in Germany and in the United States, that can create the basis for a narrative of climate change that appeals to a larger number of people.

During his fellowship, Rana Deep Islam will explore the role of the economy in sustaining our democratic social order. He approaches this topic from a transatlantic and intersectoral perspective, examining the intersection between the private and public sectors.

During her fellowship, Sandra Kegel will investigate the extent to which the decline of the (local) press is promoting populism and mistrust in democratic structures and what lessons can be learned from the findings for the German newspaper landscape. The use of AI in media companies and the consequences for the journalistic ecosystem will also be examined.

As part of the fellowship at the Thomas Mann House, Nils Christian Kumkar will examine conspiracy theories as a specific practice of drawing boundaries in seemingly unlimited communication spaces. He will take a look at how conspiracy theories structure the political discourse of the populist moment on both sides of the Atlantic.

Shouldn't politically impactful art be accessible to a wide audience? Johannes Müller will explore this question at the Thomas Mann House. He examines the production methods of the entertainment industry in the USA and analyzes the relationship between art and popular culture there, seeking insights on how this dynamic could be reimagined in Germany. Johannes Müller was selected for a fellowship at the Thomas Mann House by the independent advisory board in 2022 and will begin his residency in 2025.

At the Thomas Mann House, Oliver Polak will create a show for comedy clubs in Los Angeles that explores his journey as Germany's only Jewish stand-up comedian, the son of a concentration camp survivor and a Russian immigrant. He will document this process in a diary, aiming to create resonant spaces, challenge prejudices (including his own), and reflect on the humorous similarities and differences between various cultures in the USA and his own diverse identities.

As a fellow at the Thomas Mann House, Robert Riener will look at current technological trends in the field of AI and robotics and their potential positive and negative effects on people with or without disabilities and society as a whole. His project aims to contribute to a dialog on the appropriate use of new technologies in our society.

During her time in Los Angeles, Margaryta Surzhenko will reflect on her experiences with the war in Ukraine and the nuances of life in multicultural Germany, incorporating a transatlantic perspective. She will express these reflections in prose, emphasizing the importance of advocating for democratic values and fostering a culture of communication that brings people together.

During his fellowship at the Thomas Mann House, Steven Walter will investigate the contemporary art music scene in the USA in a transatlantic context. What can the German art music scene in particular learn from American developments?