Dr. Andrea Meyertholen
- Associate Professor
- German and European visual culture and literature since 1700 | Intermedial encounters of literature and art | Representation and narrative in museums, monuments, and tourist spaces | Discourses of body, gender, and fashion from Romanticism
Contact Info
1445 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045
Personal Links
Biography —
Andrea Meyertholen received her Ph.D. in Modern German Literature and Culture from Indiana University in 2014. Her interests connect post-1750 German literature and culture with art history and museum studies, and focus on painting in German-speaking Europe as represented through and in relation to different media. Bringing this fascination with modes of representation into the classroom, she engages art, film, and other visual media as a means to energize and enhance language learning.
Andrea has taught language and literature courses at all undergraduate levels, including for overseas study programs in both Germany and Austria. She has also studied at universities in Berlin and Würzburg, and worked in Munich. Her publications have featured Heinrich von Kleist, Caspar David Friedrich, and the Altes Museum in Berlin, while her presentation topics include Goethe's cloud poetry, Expressionist painting and the modern zoo, and the use of social media platforms for introducing classic texts to contemporary students.
Education —
Teaching —
Teaching interests:
- German and European visual culture and literature since 1700
- Intermedial encounters of literature and art
- Representation and narrative in museums, monuments, and tourist spaces
- Discourses of body, gender, and fashion from Romanticism
Selected Publications —
“Hoffmann as Artist: E.T.A. Hoffmann and the Visual Arts.” E. T. A. Hoffmann in Context (Literature in Context Series), edited by Polly Dickson and Joanna Neilly. Rochester, NY: Camden House. TBD. (forthcoming)
“Pretty in Patriarchal Pink: Barbie’s Genitals and the Fairy-Tale Horrors of Abject Motherhood.” Marvels & Tales, vol. 39, no. 2, Fall 2025.
“Schinkel’s Altes Museum as ‘Bildungsmuseum:’ The Aesthetic Education of a National Community and the Makings of the Modern Museum.” The Origins of Bildung and the Future of the Humanities, edited by Jennifer Ham, Ulrich Kinzel, and David Pan. New York: Berghahn, 2023, pp. 76-100.
“From Marginalia to the Museum: The Transfiguration of the Doodle by Gottfried Keller, Hans Prinzhorn, and Jean Dubuffet.” Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies, vol. 58, no. 4, Fall 2022, pp. 361–385.
“Rumpelstiltskin’s (Queer) Secret: Nonbinary Bodies Buried Between the Lines of the Brothers Grimm.” Marvels & Tales, vol. 35, no. 1, Spring 2021, pp. 36-61.
Meyertholen, Andrea. 2021. The Myth of Abstraction: The Hidden Origins of Abstract Art in German Literature (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture). Books. Camden House.
Meyertholen, Andrea. 2021. “Freundschaft, Motivationstraining Und Märchen: Learning by Living Life in the DDR.” Book Chapters. In Outreach Strategies and Innovative Teaching for Small German Programs, edited by Melissa Etzler and Gabriele Maier, 156–71. New York: Routledge.
Meyertholen, Andrea. 2021. “Rumpelstiltskin’s (Queer) Secret: Nonbinary Bodies Buried Between the Lines of the Brothers Grimm.” Journal Articles. Marvels & Tales 35.1.
Meyertholen, Andrea. 2019. “Zum Ersten Mal Sah Ich Ein Bild:" Goethe’s Cognitive Viewing Subject as Scientist and Artist.” Journal Articles. Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies 55 (3): 203–228.
Meyertholen, Andrea. 2016. “It’s Not Easy Being Green: The Failure of Abstract Art in Gottfried Keller’s Der Grüne Heinrich.” Journal Articles. German Studies Review 39 (2): 241–58.
Meyertholen, Andrea. 2013. “Apocalypse Now: On Heinrich von Kleist, Caspar David Friedrich, and the Emergence of Abstract Art.” Journal Articles. German Quarterly 86 (4): 404–19.
Selected Presentations —
Meyertholen, A. (3/10/2021 - 3/14/2021). 13 Reasons Why Goethe is Relevant for 21st-century Students. Presentation, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA). Virtual Convention
Meyertholen, A. (11/16/2018 - 11/18/2018). "Nur ein kleines Mädchen…": Exploring Gender, Class, and Cultural Difference through Three Cinderella Stories. Presentation, AATG/ACTFL Convention and World Languages Expo. New Orleans, LA
Meyertholen, A. (4/12/2018 - 4/15/2018). Freundschaft, Motivationstraining und Märchen: Learning by Living Life in the DDR.”. Roundtable: Innovative Instruction: Quick Tricks of the German Pedagogical Trade. Pittsburgh, PA
Meyertholen, A. (3/22/2018 - 3/25/2018). Polarity, Empiricism, and Abstraction: Goethe and the Emergence of Abstract Art. Presentation, ASECS Annual Meeting. Orlando, FL
Meyertholen, A. (3/23/2017 - 3/26/2017). A Grim(m) State of Affairs: Learning to Write in German and Writing to Learn about Fairy Tales. Roundtable: Writing Beyond the Language Requirement, NeMLA. Baltimore, MD
Meyertholen, A. (11/18/2016 - 11/20/2016). It’s Debatable: Making Literature Relevant to Students in Bridge-Level Courses. Presentation, AATG/ACTFL Convention and World Languages Expo. Boston, MA
Meyertholen, A. (10/1/2015 - 10/4/2015). Beyond the Pages of Pergamon: Effecting Real Resistance through Affective Ideals in 'Die Ӓsthetik des Widerstands'. Presentation, GSA. Washington DC
Meyertholen, A. (9/18/2014 - 9/21/2014). Between Resistance and Appropriation: Claiming the Commons for Proletariat Aesthetic Education in 'Die Ӓsthetik des Widerstands'. Presentation, GSA. Kansas City, MO
Meyertholen, A. (4/3/2014 - 4/6/2014). The Art of the Book: Critiquing and Creating the "Fine Art" of Cover Design. Presentation, NeMLA. Harrisburg, PA
Meyertholen, A. (10/17/2013 - 10/19/2013). Classic Texts, Contemporary Students: How I Friended Kafka on Facebook. Presentation, Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association (IFLTA). Indianapolis, IN
Awards & Honors —
Finalist for the Waterloo Centre for German Studies Book Prize
Richard Sussman Essay Prize, Goethe Society of North America (GSNA), 2020