Marlene Compton, M.A., M.A.

Research and Teaching Areas

  • Memory Studies
  • Research on Antisemitism
  • Holocaust Studies
  • Literature in the context of collective memory
  • Queer Studies
  • Gender Studies
  • Postcolonial Studies

Biography

My teaching and research focuses on memory studies, specifically how memory of collective trauma is passed down through generations, looking at the link between in the individual and the collective. Literature and cultural objects can represent both an individual’s process of dealing with collective trauma and also serve as tools for collective memory. I hold master’s degrees both in Interdisplinary Research on Antisemitism (Technische Universität Berlin, 2021) and Comparative Literature (Freie Universität Berlin, 2023) after gaining an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree in Language and Communication. Thus, my work is shaped by interdisciplinary and intersectional approaches and the collective memory as well as the literary depiction of the Shoah have been at the core of my academic interest.

After joining Friedrich-Alexander-Universität in April 2023 as a researcher, lecturer and PhD-candidate, I founded the university’s Queer Staff Network in the fall of the same year. If you have any questions about the network, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Through the Mental Health First Aid program I am certified as a first responder to offer help and support with problems related to mental health and wellbeing. Feel free to contact me or come by my office, if I can be of any assistance.

Current Positions

Vice Speaker of the Doctoral Researcher Representatives (stellvertretende Sprecherin des Promovierendenkonvents (“ProKo”)

Speaker of the Doctoral Researcher Representatives at Phillosophische Fakultät und Fachbereich Theologie (Sprecherin der Promovierenden der Fakultät)

At ProKo, I handle issues between doctoral researchers and their supervisors, meaning I offer doctoral researchers a confidential, peer-level space to talk openly about concerns related to misuse of power. Together, we can identify possible next steps or get further support if needed.

Current Projects

Shoah and Postmemory: Anne Blonstein’s Poetry.

If you are interested in a copy of Anne Blonstein’s correspondence with nobody for research purposes, do let me know.