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Cassisa's current research interests include East German Stud ies\, Queer Studies\, and Media Studies. Her master's thesis\, "Groomer Rum or: The Trope of the Queer Child Predator in German and American Popular Me dia (1869–2024)"\, is a podcast mini series that dives into the history and function of the current moral panic that labels LGBTQ+ people as "groomers ."
Abstract: Over the l ast four years\, the term “groomer” has emerged as a political weapon again st the LGBTQ+ community to conflate queerness with child abuse and “recruit ment.” Although this particular iteration is new\, the sentiment behind it has deep historical roots that can be traced to nineteenth-century Germany. Groomer Rumor is a podcast and experimental master’s thesis that ex plores the history and functions of this ongoing moral panic that labels qu eer people as sexual predators. The podcast uses historical examples from G ermany and the United States to critically analyze the weaponization of thi s trope against the LGBTQ+ community. Incorporating archival audio footage\ , interviews with scholars\, and original narration\, Groomer Rumor traces a transnational genealogy of the “groomer” trope over the course of more than a century to highlight the deeply entangled queer histories of Ge rmany and the United States\, while illuminating the distinct characteristi cs and implications of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in unique political\, cultural\ , and temporal contexts.
Listen to the trailer for the planned podcast here< /a>.
Cassisa's defence will be on June 20th at 10:00am PST\, and held online via Zoom. Participants must register ahead of time.
Susanna Cassisa grew up in Oxford\,
Mississippi. She earned her B.A. in International Studies and German from
the University of Mississippi and is completing an M.A. in German Studies at the Universi
ty of British Columbia. It took (almost) two German degrees and a move to C
anada to make her realize she's mostly interested in writing about American
culture\, but German stuff usually finds its way into her writing anyway.<
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Her
work generally focuses on gender\, sexuality\, and the way media tropes sha
pe our understanding of the world around us. She's also interested in the w
ays we talk about and understand violent crime and its perpetrators. She's
very into collaborative projects! Reach out on Twitter at @SusannaCassisa o
r email her at susannacassisa@gmail.com.
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