Mr. Philipp Kneis is studying History and American Studies at Humboldt University (Germany).

"Born in Berlin in 1976 and grown up in East Germany, I finished high school in 1995. After a ten-month military service, I tried one semester of studying physics at Berlin's Humboldt-Universität, yet discovered I wasn't into the dryer aspects of it - nevertheless, I've retained a strong interest in natural sciences. I switched to history the subsequent semester, adding American Studies to my curriculum yet another semester later, in 1997. Having thus found the wellspring that is this unique interdisciplinary combination of literary and cultural studies, with its immense research territory, combining the useful with the enjoyable, I've since become an avid follower of the still young and fresh cultural studies tradition.

This explains my interest in topics like that of so-called pop culture phenomena, which need not be less academic than dealing with allegedly more solid and serious areas within the literary canon. Within cultural studies, literature is just one part of the large tapestry of life which is the cultural discourse the people are embedded into. Examples from contemporary culture, be it James Bond or horror or science fiction, be it literature, movies or television; all those commonly known or unknown cultural tokens allow us to take a look at various fields of research. Also, movies and television are indeed serious forms of artistic expression. This interest is not just professional, it is also personal - it is something I don't fear to bond with: Analyzing and investigating culture in as much diverse facets as possible, isn't that a worthwhile activity? Aren't you supposed to like what you're doing - couldn't you possible have fun with it also? Wouldn't that be a great generator of inspiration and an opportunity to find personal improvement?

Another interest of mine is languages and comparative linguistics. This can be seen as belonging to my interest in the whole of culture, as well as in the means of producing a text, the means of creating the cultural world, at whose basis lies language. Regarding the natural world, and blessed with a strong affiliation to and admiration of the natural sciences, I'm also interested in a lasting and productive dialog between all academic disciplines, devoid of ideology and other pseudo-political obstructions to thinking and caring. Every other interest of mine can be explained by my other subject of choice, history, which, as we know, encompasses everything very neatly.

My teaching experience lies in the field of American Cultural Studies and history. Also, I've been organizing student-based conferences on topics like James Bond, Horror, Multiculturalism, Art, and Contemporary Politics. I'm currently preparing for my MA thesis.

Besides, or rather, supplementing my academic interests, I also indulge in writing poetry, undertaking photography and web design, all of that being visible at pjkx.com."