Research

I am a first year PhD student working on representations of 'the other' in Weimar film under the supervision of Dr. Ian Roberts and Dr. Christine Achinger and Dr. Jon Burrows. I am particularly interested in exploring the (dis)continuities between the films of the Weimar Republic and those of the Third Reich and how cinema from these two very different periods depict those considered to be a threat to the 'national community'. My PhD is funded by the Midlands 4 Cities AHRC doctoral award.

The focus for my PhD builds upon my MA thesis, which examined how 'the Jew' was figured in Weimar Cinema and noted an intensification in covert antisemitic depictions as the period approached 1933. I am keen to work with both well-known and lesser-researched films of the era to offer new perspectives and bring new films to the forefront of Weimar Film Studies. My work also contributes to our knowledge and understanding of the National Socialist era, highlighting how the Nazis were able to exploit pre-existing attitudes towards marginalised groups in Germany.

Research Interests

Antisemitism in Germany

Representations of the 'Other' in German culture

Third Reich Cinema

Weimar Cinema and Cultural History

Women in Weimar Germany and during the Third Reich

Teaching and Assessment

GE101: Modern German Language 1Link opens in a new window [Study Skills]

GE103: Modern German Language for BeginnersLink opens in a new window [Study Skills]

GE201: Modern German Language 2Link opens in a new window [Beisitzerin in speaking examinations]

GE217: Film in the Weimar Republic and under National SocialismLink opens in a new window [Seminar Tutor]

LN307: Propaganda and Persuasion in Modern EuropeLink opens in a new window [Seminar Tutor]

Non-Academic Roles

Co-Organiser, Explore Seminar Series (2021-)

Postgraduate Representative, Women in German Studies Committee (2021-2023)

Student Co-ordinator of the SMLC Peer Mentoring Scheme (2020 - 2021)

Publications

'Anti-Heimat Cinema: The Jewish Invention of the German Landscape (Ofer Ashkenazi)', in Focus on German Studies, 28 (2021), 193-196, <https://journals.uc.edu/index.php/fogs/article/view/4414/3328>

'A Celebration of Anders als die Andern', (2021), <https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/academic/postgraduate/harrabin/weimarfilmnetwork/blogs/?topic=8a1785d779ae97850179b32b31ac1125>

'From Caligari to RuPaul's Drag Race: The Machinenmensch in Pop Culture', (2021), <https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/academic/postgraduate/harrabin/weimarfilmnetwork/blogs?topic=8a17841b779666fe0177abe2a9b6259e>

Projects

I am the founder and co-editor of The Weimar Film Network, which provides a platform for discussions on the cinema of the Weimar Republic. The Network posts articles, blog posts and reviews by students and academics, encouraging a sense of community within Weimar Film Studies. We also have a resource section that would be useful for anyone teaching, researching or is just generally interested in Weimar Cinema. You can find out more, including how to contribute to the network, via the website or on Twitter. Please send all enquiries, including about potential collaboration to weimarfilmnetwork at warwick dot ac dot uk.

Alongside Dr. Ian Roberts, I co-organise the Weimar 100 Project, which marks the centenaries of key films from the period 1918-1933 in German history. A key aim of the project is to make Weimar film more accessible to a modern audience. Each year between 2019 and 2033, a public screening and talk will be held, showcasing classic and obscure films from the years of the Weimar Republic. The most recent event (2020) marked the centenary of the release of Robert Wiene's Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920) and included an online screening and talk about the contested readings of the film.

Papers

'Jewish' Vampirism in Nosferatu' - Nosferatu: 100 Years of Horror Symposium (organised by Evan Torner and Ervin Malakaj, 18th March 2022)

'From the "monstrous other" to the "monstrous Jew": Representations of "Jewishness" in Weimar Film' - Warwick Workshop for Interdisciplinary German Studies, 2nd February 2022

'From the "monstrous other" to the "monstrous Jew": Representations of "Jewishness" in Weimar Film' - Cambridge German Graduate Research Seminar, 27 January 2022 [online]

Conferences and Events

Explore... Seminar on Teaching in Higher Education (9 February 2022, co-organiser)

Explore... Seminar on Impact and Engagement (17 November 2021, co-organiser)

Women in German Studies Online Teaching Development Day (8 September 2021, co-organiser)

Weimar Film Network Information Evening (12 July 2021, host)

Women in German Studies Annual Conference, Keynote Lecture by Dr. I. M. Nick - Ein letztes Lebewohl : A Thematic Content Analysis of Suicide Letters written by Jewish Germans during National Socialism (25 June 2021, second chair)

Women in German Studies Annual Conference, Postgraduate and Early Career Academic Workshop (24 June 2021, host and speaker)

Scholarships and Awards

Midlands 4 Cities Open Doctoral Award (October 2021 - March 2025)

FindaPhD Masters Student of the Year 2020 (Nominated)

Warwick Graduate Award (October 2020 - October 2021)

British Council Language Teacher Training Scholarship (September 2019 - September 2020)

Qualifications

I achieved a first class undergraduate degree in German Studies at the University of Warwick, in which I studied a wide range of language and cultural modules, ranging from 1790s Germany up to the present-day. In my final year, I completed a dissertation entitled 'From Lola to Lulu, From Freder to Rath: Gender and Sexuality in the Weimar Republic'. My undergraduate degree also included a stint in Munich, where I worked as a British Council Language Assistant in a Fachoberschule. I then completed my Postgraduate Certificate in Secondary Education at the University of Manchester, teaching German up to A Level and French to Key Stage 3, before returning to Warwick to undertake my research. I recently completed a Master's by Research in German Studies at Warwick, entitled ‘Representations of ‘Jewishness’ in Weimar Cinema. This work considers how ‘the Jew’ is depicted in Weimar cinema to provide an insight into the pre-existing prejudicial attitudes in German society that were eventually exploited by the Nazis. This research was awarded Distinction in January 2022.

Memberships

German Studies Association

Women in German Studies

UK Association for German Studies

British Association for Film, Television and Screen Studies