Right now, there is much talk of conflict, division, and civil war-like conditions in the US, while at the same time the 250th anniversary of the world’s oldest democracy is being celebrated. In her talk, Heike Paul examines the power and influence of the country’s political and cultural founding myths, which for a long time were widely regarded as the common basis of the national identity. These include the myths of discovery, expansion, the founding of the state, and social

Heike Paul is invited to give a keynote, titled "American Myths in the Age of Re(tro)visionism", at the conference "Morphing America", organized by the PAAS (Polish Association for American Studies). The conference takes place at the University of Szczecin from September 16 to September 18. For more information, see here.

Heike Paul’s talk “Gefühlte Aufklärung? Politische Emotionen und die amerikanische Demokratie" has been uploaded under the title „Declaration of Independence – Der Stellenwert von Gefühlen in der US-Politik“ by Deutschlandfunk Nova. The recording is available in the Deutschlandfunk App, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and in the ARD Mediatheque. Heike Paul originally gave the talk on 18 March 2026 as part of the lecture series “Umkämpftes Vermächtnis: Die ›Declaration of Indepen

Heike Paul was interviewed for the audio documentary “Skinny – Körper und Kontrolle”, published by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW). The documentary consists of three episodes; the second and third feature Heike Paul as a speaker. It is available (in German) in the mediatheque of the BAdW as well as on other common platforms for podcasts. For more information (in German), see here.

Heike Paul is invited to give a talk as part of the lecture series "Machtmissbrauch", organized by the Women's Representatives of the the Faculty of Humanities, Social Scienes, and Theology, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg. The talk is titled "Machtmissbrauch und #Metoo im Film: Wie Hollywood von sich selbst erzählt" and takes place on Wednesday, May 27, 6pm. For more information on the talk (in German) see here, and for more information on the lecture series, including the zoom link,

As part of the seminar “Writing America: The United States at 250”, organized by the Centro Studi Americani in Rome, Heike Paul is invited to give two talks and participate in a roundtable discussion. On Tuesday, May 12, Heike Paul gives a talk on “Narratives of American Beginnings: ‘Lost Colonies’ and Historical Imagination.” Her second talk, on Wednesday, May 13, is about “Civil Sentimentalism versus ‘Toxic Empathy’: Affective Politics of Order and Belonging.” Additionally,