{{Short description|German American Studies Scholar, founder of a literature journal and European DH Network}}
'''Frank Mehring''' (born 29 December 1970 in Alsfeld) is a German Americanist and professor at Radboud University Nijmegen.
{{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = Prof. Dr. | name = Frank Mehring | image = Frank Mehring Marshall Plan 2018 Performance.jpg | image_upright = 1.0 | alt = Frank Mehring at the German premiere of La Sterlina Dollarosa (2018) | caption = Frank Mehring at the German premiere of *La Sterlina Dollarosa*, 2018 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|12|29}} | birth_place = Alsfeld, Hesse, Germany | education = University of Wisconsin-Madison Harvard University Freie Universitaet Berlin - John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies | alma_mater = Justus Liebig University Giessen | employer = Radboud University Nijmegen <!-- Add other fields as needed -->| awards = EAAS Rob Kroes Award }}
== Life and work ==
Mehring earned his M.A. at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, focussing on English Romantic Literature and American Transcendentalism. He received a doctorate in English and American Studies in 2001, exploring the manifestation of transcendentalist ideas in the music of Charles Ives and John Cage. His postdoctoral thesis, ''The Democratic Gap,'' examines the transcultural confrontations between German immigrants and the American promise of freedom. Mehring premiered the first performance of the Marshall Plan opera ''La Sterlina Dollarosa'' by Alfred Friendly in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The New Marshall Plan Europe – Ausstellung am Campus Kleve der Hochschule Rhein-Waal (PM) {{!}} Hochschule Rhein-Waal |url=https://www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/new-marshall-plan-europe-ausstellung-am-campus-kleve-der-hochschule |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pappert |first=Peter |date=2019-06-28 |title=Musikalische Geschichte der deutsch-amerikanischen Beziehungen von 1949 bis heute: Oper und Revue von Marshall bis Trump |url=https://www.aachener-zeitung.de/kultur/musik/ungewoehnlicher-mix-an-der-rwth-politik-musik-und-wissenschaft_aid-39738193 |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=Aachener Zeitung |language=de}}</ref> He held a three-year visiting professorship at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies in Berlin. In 2012, Mehring became Professor of American Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Mehring – Netherlands American Studies Association |url=https://www.netherlands-america.nl/board-members/frank-mehring/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |language=en-US}}</ref> Mehring also serves as President of the [https://www.netherlands-america.nl/ Netherlands American Studies Association (NASA)] and as an honorary museum director.
== Main research areas == Mehring's research focuses on the intersection of culture, media and politics in order to trace transfer processes between Europe and North America. His work on the transcultural confrontation of German immigrants such as Charles Follen, Ottilie Assing, Winold Reiss, Kurt Weill, Hans J. Massaquoi, and Hannah Arendt received the European Rob Kroes Award in Transnational American Studies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Administrator |title=EAAS Rob Kroes Publication Award |url=https://eaas.eu/eaas-grants/rob-kroes-publication-award |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=EAAS - European Association for American Studies |language=en-gb}}</ref> thumb|A handcrafted Canadian Liberation Guitar, created to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Canadian liberation of the Netherlands (1945–2025), presented to Frank Mehring at the Freedom Museum in Groesbeek (Netherlands). Mehring's work is informed by foci on intermediality in popular culture and cultural mobility in transatlantic contexts. The CD ''Poe-Attic-Lies-Sense'' (1999)<ref>{{Citation |last=Mehring |first=Frank |title=Poe-attic-lies-sense |date=2000 |url=https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn=35754773X |access-date=2023-11-29 |place=Giessen |publisher=Mephisto Music}}</ref> emerged from his book on ''Sight & Sound'' with poems of English and American Romanticism set to music, followed by recordings of Dutch liberation songs in the book on ''Soundtrack van de Bevrijding (Soundtrack of Liberation)''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Soundtrack van de bevrijding, Frank Mehring {{!}} 9789460042201 {{!}} Boeken {{!}} bol. |url=https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/soundtrack-van-de-bevrijding/9200000037719478/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=www.bol.com |language=nl-NL}}</ref> (2015), also published as video clips as part of the Canadian Tulips Festiva<nowiki/>l.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Songs of Liberation |url=https://tulipfestival.ca/songs-of-liberation/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=Canadian Tulip Festival |language=en-US}}</ref> Concerts with pianist Jens Barnieck,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-12 |title=Vogue Mexico – Taunussteiner Kirchenmusik |url=https://www.taunussteiner-kantorei.de/2014/11/12/vogue-mexico/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |language=de-DE}}</ref> with whom he produced the sound installation ''The Mexico Diary'' based on diary entries by Winold Reiss.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mexico Diary - WVT - Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier |url=https://www.wvttrier.de/en/p/the-mexico-diary |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=www.wvttrier.de |language=en}}</ref> Other biographical projects focus on Antonia Brico (June 26, 1902 – August 3, 1989), the first conductor from the Netherlands, and on the band Van Halen, whose roots lie in Amsterdam and Nijmegen. In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Canadian liberation and in recognition of his efforts to preserve the soundtrack of liberation,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Songs of Liberation in the Netherlands: The Transatlantic Soundtrack of Freedom |url=https://www.routledge.com/Songs-of-Liberation-in-the-Netherlands-The-Transatlantic-Soundtrack-of-Freedom/Mehring/p/book/9789048570218 |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=Routledge & CRC Press |language=en}}</ref> Frank received a handcrafted Canadian Liberation Guitar from Richard Thain at the Freedom Museum in Groesbeek. The instrument serves as a sonic ambassador, enabling him to convey the history of lost and regained freedom through his musical performances.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gitarrensound der Freiheit |url=https://www.niederrhein-nachrichten.de/nachrichten/gitarrensound-der-freiheit-14500.html |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=NN-Online |language=de}}</ref>
Mehring wrote the German biography of the German-American freedom fighter and abolitionist Charles Follen (2004)<ref>{{Cite book |title=Karl/Charles Follen : deutsch-amerikanischer Freiheitskämpfer, eine Biographie {{!}} WorldCat.org |oclc=60129332 |language=en}}</ref> and published a selection of Follen's works in 2007.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Between natives and foreigners : selected writings of Karl/Charles Follen (1796-1840) {{!}} WorldCat.org |oclc=124036334 |language=en}}</ref> He helped erecting a commemorative plaque in the city of Romrod where Follen was born.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oberhessen-live |date=2022-03-27 |title=Erinnerungen an einen Romröder Freiheitskämpfer |url=https://www.oberhessen-live.de/2022/03/27/erinnerungen-an-einen-romroeder-freiheitskaempfer/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=Oberhessen-Live |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="Nenn es Freiheit, oder nenn es Liebe": Das Leben des in Romrod geborenen Freiheitskämpfers Karl Theodor Christian Follen (1796-1840) – Romrod |url=https://www.romrod.de/nenn-es-freiheit-oder-nenn-es-liebe-das-leben-des-in-romrod-geborenen-freiheitskaempfers-karl-theodor-christian-follen-1796-1840/ |access-date=2023-11-30 |language=de-DE}}</ref> In Berlin, he organized the first international symposium on the German-American artist, teacher and designer Winold Reiss at the Free University of Berlin.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-20 |title=Winold Reiss Symposium 2011 |url=https://www.jfki.fu-berlin.de/en/v/winold-reiss/index.html |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=www.jfki.fu-berlin.de |language=en}}</ref> He published an overview of Reiss's work in the book ''The Multicultural Modernism of Winold Reiss (1886–1953) – (Trans)National Approaches to his Work'' (2022.)<ref name=":0" />
Together with Tatiani Rapatzikou and Stefan L. Brandt, he founded the journal ''AmLit (American Literatures)''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Editorial Team {{!}} AmLit - American Literatures |url=https://amlit.eu/index.php/amlit/about/editorialTeam |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=amlit.eu}}</ref> and the EAAS Digital Studies Network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lobo |first=Patricia |title=EAAS Digital Studies Network |url=https://eaas.eu/eaas-networks/643-eaas-digital-studies-network |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=EAAS - European Association for American Studies |language=en-gb}}</ref> Mehring volunteers as director of the Museum Forum Arenacum on the subject of art, culture and history in the Lower Rhine region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Das Forum |url=https://www.forum-arenacum.de/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=www.forum-arenacum.de}}</ref> Since 2024, Frank Mehring has served as the President of the Netherlands American Studies Association (NASA). In this role, he oversees the organization's efforts to promote interdisciplinary research, academic collaboration, and cultural exchange between the Netherlands and the United States. <ref>{{Cite web |title=NASA Board Members – Netherlands American Studies Association |url=https://www.netherlands-america.nl/board-members/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> Frank is a co-founder of the Digital Studies Network at the European Association for American Studies (EAAS)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Networks – EAAS |url=https://eaas.eu/networks/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250812173312/https://eaas.eu/networks/ |archive-date=2025-08-12 |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=eaas.eu |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref> and of the peer-reviewed online journal ''American Literatures'' (AmLit).<ref>{{Cite web |title=AmLit - American Literatures |url=https://www.amlit.eu/index.php/amlit |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=www.amlit.eu}}</ref> He is an active member of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation<ref>{{Cite web |title=www.studienstiftung.de {{!}} Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes |url=https://www.studienstiftung.de/ |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=www.studienstiftung.de}}</ref> and serves as a regional leader of the German Atlantic Association (Deutsche Atlantische Gesellschaft e.V.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Startseite · Deutsche Atlantische Gesellschaft e.V. |url=https://ata-dag.de/ |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=Deutsche Atlantische Gesellschaft e.V. |language=de-DE}}</ref>).
== Publications (selection) ==
=== As author === * ''Sight & Sound: Naturbilder in der Englischen und Amerikanischen Romantik''. Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2001 [with CD], {{ISBN|3-8288-8324-9}} * ''Sphere Melodies: Die Manifestation Transzendentalistischer Ideen in der Musik von Charles Ives und John Cage''. Metzler, Stuttgart 2003, {{ISBN|978-3-476-45311-2}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Mehring: Sphere Melodies. Die Manifestation transzendentalistischen Gedankenguts in der Musik der Avantgardisten Charles Ives und John Cage. - Perlentaucher |url=https://www.perlentaucher.de/buch/frank-mehring/sphere-melodies.html |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=www.perlentaucher.de}}</ref> * ''Karl/Charles Follen: Deutsch-Amerikanischer Freiheitskämpfer''. (Studia Giessensia 12). Universitätsverlag Ferber, Giessen 2004, {{ISBN|978-3-932917-55-4}} * ''The Democratic Gap: Transcultural Confrontations of German Immigrants and the Promise of American Democracy.'' Winter, Heidelberg 2014, {{ISBN|978-3-8253-6170-9}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Krabbendam |first=Hans |date=2016-12-21 |title=Frank Mehring, The Democratic Gap: Transcultural Confrontations of German Immigrants and the Promise of American Democracy |url=https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11688 |journal=European Journal of American Studies |language=fr |doi=10.4000/ejas.11688 |issn=1991-9336|doi-access=free }}</ref> * ''De Soundtrack van de Bevrijding: Swingen, Zingen en Dansen op Weg naar Vrijheid''. Vantilt, Nijmegen, 2015. {{ISBN|9789460042201}} [with CD].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Web |first=Chef du |title=Soundtrack van de bevrijding |url=https://vantilt.nl/boeken/soundtrack-van-de-bevrijding/ |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=Uitgeverij Vantilt |language=en}}</ref> * ''Songs of Liberation in the Netherlands: The Transatlantic Soundtrack of Freedom.'' Amsterdam: AUP, 2025. {{ISBN|978-9-048570218}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048570218/songs-of-liberation-in-the-netherlands |title=Songs of Liberation in the Netherlands |date=2025-04-22 |isbn=978-90-485-7021-8 |language=en}}</ref> * ''BEUYS LAND''. Gerd Ludwig. Lammerhuber, Wien, 2024. {{ISBN|978-3-903101-99-9}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=BEUYS LAND |url=https://edition.lammerhuber.at/buecher/beuys-land |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=Edition Lammerhuber |language=de}}</ref>
=== As editor === * ''Between Natives and Foreigners. Selected Writings of Karl/Charles Follen (1796–1840).'' With an introduction by Frank Mehring. (New Directions in German-American Studies) Lang, New York 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-8204-9732-7}} * ''Transcultural Spaces: Challenges of Urbanity, Ecology, and the Environment in the New Millennium''. With Winfried Fluck, Stefan Brandt. Narr, Tübingen 2010. * ''[https://brill.com/edcollbook-oa/title/31632?language=en Politics and Cultures of Liberation: Media, Memory, and Projections of Democracy]''. With Hans Bak, Mathilde Roza. Brill, Amsterdam 2018, {{ISBN|978-90-04-29200-0}} * ''Sound and Vision: Intermediality and American Music.'' With Erik Redling. In ''European Journal of American Studies.'' 12 (4 ), 2017, ISSN [https://zdb-katalog.de/title.xhtml?idn=985910755&view=brief&direct=true 1991-9336] {{doi|10.4000/ejas.12384}} * ''The Multicultural Modernism of Winold Reiss (1886–1953) – (Trans)National Approaches to his Work''. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 2022.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |title=The Multicultural Modernism of Winold Reiss (1886–1953): (Trans)National Approaches to His Work |date=2022-01-04 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/isbn/9783422980525/html?lang=en |work=The Multicultural Modernism of Winold Reiss (1886–1953) |access-date=2023-11-30 |publisher=Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) |language=en |isbn=978-3-422-98052-5}}</ref> {{ISBN|978-3-422-98052-5}}<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Haddad |first1=Natalie |last2=Mulcahy |first2=Joanne B. |date=2022-08-25 |title=The German Modernist Who Painted a Multicultural United States |url=http://hyperallergic.com/753538/winold-reiss-german-modernist-who-painted-a-multicultural-united-states/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Hyperallergic |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''[https://amlit.eu/index.php/amlit/issue/view/6 Electronic Wastelands? Information Management, Cultural Memory, and the Challenges of Digitality].'' With Stefan Brandt and Tatiani G. Rapatzikou. ''AmLit – American Literatures''. 3.1 (2023). {{doi|10.25364/27.2:2022.2.0}} * ''[https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048565849/faces-of-liberation Faces of Liberation. The Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery].'' With Jaap Verheul. Amsterdam University Press, 2025. {{ISBN|978-9-048565849}}. Dutch Version: [https://www.walburgpers.nl/nl/book/9789464564891/gezichten-van-de-bevrijding Gezichten van de Bevrijding; De Canadese Oorlogsbegraafplaats Groesbeek]. Walburg Pers, 2025. 978-9-464564891
== Museum Director == Frank Mehring serves as the honorary museum director of the Museum Forum Arenacum in Rindern. The museum, with a focus on Roman and Franconian history, is a vital center for understanding the formative years of artist Joseph Beuys. Under Mehring's guidance, the museum has initiated the "art and climate change" project which uses art to read landscape through an ecological lens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beuysland |url=https://artandclimatechange.com/beuysland/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2021, Mehring initiated the photographic landscape installation ''Beuys Land'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-03 |title=Beuys-Land in FAZ |url=https://www.gerdludwig.com/news/2021/10/beuys-land-in-faz |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Gerd Ludwig Photography |language=en-US}}</ref> featuring the work of German-American photographer Gerd Ludwig, to explore the connection between art and climate change in the unique natural landscape of Beuys' youth between Kleve in Germany and Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
=== Exhibitions (selection) ===
* 2021: ''Joseph Beuys: Kindheit und Jugend in Rindern'', Forum Arenacum, Rindern<ref>{{Cite web |last=Daams |first=Andreas |date=2021-07-21 |title=Kleve: Ausstellung zu Joseph Beuys' Kindheit und Jugend |url=https://www.nrz.de/staedte/kleve-und-umland/kleve-ausstellung-zu-joseph-beuys-kindheit-und-jugend-id232848593.html |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=www.nrz.de |language=de-DE}}</ref> * 2021: ''Bäume, Beuys & Brüx''. Forum Arenacum, Rindern<ref>{{Cite web |last=Helmus |first=Jens |date=2022-06-18 |title=Kleve-Rindern: Manuel Brüx im Museum Forum Arenacum |url=https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/kleve/kleve-rindern-manuel-bruex-im-museum-forum-arenacum_aid-71485637 |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=RP ONLINE |language=de}}</ref> * 2022: ''Retro: Von Brüx bis Brüx 1902–2002'', Forum Arenacum, Rindern<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grass |first=Matthias |date=2022-09-24 |title=Im Forum Arenacum Rindern: Ein Jahrhundert Künstlerfamilie Brüx |url=https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/kleve/ein-jahrhundert-kuenstlerfamilie-bruex-in-kleve_aid-77261205 |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=RP ONLINE |language=de}}</ref> * 2023: ''Industrie-Fotografie: Josef Hintzen'', Forum Arenacum, Rindern<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-23 |title=Kleve: Neue Ausstellung widmet sich der Industrie-Fotografie |url=https://www.nrz.de/staedte/kleve-und-umland/kleve-neue-ausstellung-widmet-sich-der-industrie-fotografie-id237973527.html |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=www.nrz.de |language=de-DE}}</ref> * 2023: ''Resonanz: Fritz Poorten'' – Wasserburg-Kapelle in Rindern<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ausstellung RESONANZ: Fritz Poorten - Freunde Klever Museen |url=https://www.freunde-klever-museen.de/termine/ausstellung-resonanz-fritz-poorten-2.html |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=www.freunde-klever-museen.de}}</ref> * 2024: ''The Liberation 80 Years Ago - From Market Garden to the Rhineland Offensive''<ref>{{Cite web |title="Die Befreiung vor 80 Jahren" |url=https://www.niederrhein-nachrichten.de/nachrichten/die-befreiung-vor-80-jahren-4186.html?srsltid=AfmBOopVSYb0-ikcxpmrZMKdZL4WHVgpajdM9EvgOGqBr5oRmMH1lAyj |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=NN-Online |language=de}}</ref> * 2025: ''The Van Halen Story: From Nijmegen Roots to Global Success''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smudja |first=Ivana |date=2025-11-11 |title=Ode aan Van Halen in de UB: 'Leuk om in te zoomen op de Nijmeegse periode van deze muzikale broers' |url=https://www.voxweb.nl/nieuws/ode-aan-van-halen-in-de-ub-leuk-om-in-te-zoomen-op-de-nijmeegse-periode-van-deze-muzikale-broers |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=Vox magazine |language=nl-NL}}</ref> Since becoming a museum director, Frank Mehring has played a key role in publishing several works that bridge local art history, cultural studies, and transatlantic relation enriching both scholarly discourse and public engagement with cultural heritage. His publications feature collaborations with internationally renowned photographers such, as well as acclaimed illustrators and artists. In 2025, Mehring appeared in the ARTE documentary <nowiki>''Der mystische Rhein von Joseph Beuys''</nowiki>, discussing the cultural and environmental legacy of the artist.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/127151-000-A/der-mystische-rhein-von-joseph-beuys/ |title=Der mystische Rhein von Joseph Beuys - Stadt, Land, Kunst - 29/05/2025 - Die ganze Doku {{!}} ARTE |language=de |access-date=2025-08-11 |via=www.arte.tv}}</ref>
=== Publications ===
* Frank Mehring, Kurt Kreiten (Hrsg.): ''Die Wasserburg Rindern im Wandel der Zeit: Jagdschloss, Gefechtsstand und Bildungsstätte''. Kleve, 2020. {{ISBN|978-3-981793277}} <ref>{{Cite web |last=Münster |first=Bistum |date=2020-12-14 |title=Buch über die Geschichte der Wasserburg Rindern erschienen |url=https://www.bistum-muenster.de/startseite_aktuelles/newsuebersicht/news_detail/buch_ueber_die_geschichte_der_wasserburg_rindern_erschienen |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Bistum Münster |language=de}}</ref> * Gerd Ludwig, Frank Mehring: ''Beuys Land''. Lammerhuber, 2024. {{ISBN|978-3-903101-99-9}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=BEUYS LAND |url=https://edition.lammerhuber.at/buecher/beuys-land |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Edition Lammerhuber |language=de}}</ref> * Frank Mehring, ''Die Kaese-Spionin: Das Geheimnis des Gelben Buches''. Rindern: Edition Mosaik, 2025 {{ISBN|978-3-98135366-2}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grass |first=Matthias |date=2025-03-14 |title=Neues Buch über Maria Reymer: Die Käse-Spionin vom Niederrhein |url=https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/kleve/kinderbuch-aus-kleve-maria-reymer-die-kaese-spionin-vom-niederrhein_aid-125150473 |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=RP ONLINE |language=de}}</ref>
== External links == * {{DNB-Portal|123273404}} * [https://www.ru.nl/en/people/mehring-f Radboud University faculty profile] * {{Perlentaucher|frank-mehring}} * [https://tulipfestival.ca/songs-of-liberation/ ''Songs of Liberation'' at the Canadian Tulip Festival]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehring, Frank}} Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Academic staff of Radboud University Nijmegen