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Vansh Sharma, student in the B.A. program in American Studies at the Department of English and American Studies, is this year's recipient of the DAAD Prize at Goethe University Frankfurt. The DAAD Prize is awarded for outstanding achievements of international students studying at German universities and is endowed with 1,000 EUR. It honors international students whose outstanding academic accomplishments are complemented by special social and intercultural engagement.

The American Studies division nominated Mr. Sharma for the exceptional quality of his academic work in American Studies and for his exemplary participation in the division's teaching and research activities. In his nomination, Prof. Dr. Johannes Völz notes that Vansh is “one of the most promising young international scholars" he has encountered in his teaching career. As a student assistant, Vansh supports Prof. Völz's professorship; as a tutor in “Introduction to Literary Studies," he helps new students develop core skills in reading and writing about literature.

Mr. Sharma is completing his B.A. in American Studies with outstanding results and will continue his academic path in the M.A. American Studies program at Goethe University from the coming winter term. Alongside his studies, he plays a leading role as co editor in chief of the IEAS Literary Journal and has been an important member of the Chaincourt Theatre Company, contributing both on stage and in production support. Within the institute's student group, he represents student interests and helps to shape the intellectual and social life of the American Studies community.

Originally from New Delhi, India, Mr. Sharma prepared for his studies at Goethe University by attending the Studienkolleg Frankfurt and has since been an active participant in university and regional initiatives. He volunteers in Goethe University's Buddy Program for international students, supports alumni networks at the Studienkolleg, and takes part in STUBE Hessen seminars and workshops on topics such as political participation, development policy, mental health, religion, and culture. As a volunteer educator with techeroes gGmbH, he teaches programming and robotics to children and adolescents, encouraging young people to discover and trust their abilities in the digital realm.

What does it mean to retell a story? In recent Anglophone literature, retellings have become extremely popular, from Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls to Percival Everett's James. Retellings use existing, often much older, narrative material, and tell the story anew by adapting it to the needs and expectations of a contemporary readership. Placing the current trend of retellings in its wider context of literary history, I argue that repetition is the key generator of meaning in the retelling process. 

Eva von Contzen is professor of English Literature including the literature of the Middle Ages at the University of Freiburg. She is PI of the ERC-funded project “Retelling and Repetition (DERIVATE)". Her research interests include narrative theory, literary history, reception studies, retellings, and lists. 

Ksenia Robbe is a Senior Lecturer in European Culture and Literature at the University of Groningen and currently a Humboldt Fellow at Goethe-University Frankfurt. Her research sits at the intersection of postcolonial and postsocialist studies, with the focus on concepts and practices of memory, time, gender, and feminism in literature and film.