Pickett, Marisa

Photo: Marisa Pickett

MA Student

Email

Education: B.A. German with a minor in Microbiology, Texas State University, 2018 M.A. German, University of New Mexico, 2021

Area and Thematic Fields/Interests

Europe 1815-present. Post-1945 history, cultural history, social history, African Diaspora studies, Black history, decolonial studies, gender and sexuality studies, political activism, and forms of resistance. My area of study is the historical presence of Black/People of Color (PoC) in Central Europe, specifically in German-speaking countries. I also study the evolving perceptions of Blackness over time in the greater European context, from colonialism to the present. My thesis for German Studies (2021) unveiled anti-Black rhetoric in the German concept of ‘Heimat’ through investigating the documentary film Roots Germania, historical literature, and scholarly texts. My current thesis is a trans-cultural inspection of Black Art and Activism in Britain and Germany in the 1980s. I hope to utilize this research to combat the antithetical perceptions of European, specifically German, "culture" and question traditional concepts of "belonging" as Black/PoC in a traditionally white space.