MICHAEL CHAPMAN KIMMAGE
Associate Professor
The CatholicUniversity of America
History Department
Washington, DC20064
(202) 390-1655
e-mail:
TITLE
The CatholicUniversity of AmericaWashington, DC (2005 to present)
Associate Professor of History
WORK EXPERIENCE
The CatholicUniversity of AmericaWashington, DC (2005 to present)
Undergraduate and graduate teaching; undergraduate advising; supervision of dissertations; administrative work within the history department and the university; undergraduate adviser
VilniusUniversityVilnius, Lithuania (academic year, 2009-2010)
co-taught class on American politics at the Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science; co-taught class on North American multiculturalism for the Vilnius University English faculty
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany (academic year, 2004 to 2005; summers 2007, 2008 and 2009)
Visiting instructor in American studies at the Amerika-Institut; conducted seminars in German (on “American Conservatism,” “Neoconservatism,” “Perceptions of the U.S. in Europe,” “Perceptions of Europe in the U.S.,” “The Iraq War” and “Arguing the Cold War”)
Freie UniversitätBerlin, Germany (1999 to 2000)
Visiting instructor in American studies at the John F. Kennedy Institute of American Studies; taught seminars in German (on “America through European Eyes” and “Europe through American Eyes”)
EDUCATION
HarvardUniversityCambridge, Massachusetts (1997 to 2004)
Ph.D in the History of American Civilization program awarded November 2004
M.A. in history in 2000
Columbia UniversityNew York, New York (2000 to 2001)
Exchange scholar; worked in the Lionel Trilling papers at ColumbiaUniversity
UniversityCollege, Oxford UniversityGreat Britain (1995 to 1997)
B.A. with first-class honors in modern European history
OberlinCollegeOberlin, Ohio (1991 to 1995)
B.A. with highest honors in history; elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1995
AWARDS
Center for Advanced Studies Munich, Germany(Spring 2010)
Senior Fellow; research fellowship; will return in the summer of 2011
German Chancellor Scholarship (2004 to 2005)
One-year fellowship awarded by the Humboldt Foundation
Gilder-Lehrman Summer Research Fellowship (2004)
Research support from the Gilder Lerhman Institute of American History
Whiting Fellowship (2002 to 2003)
One-year dissertation completion fellowship awarded by HarvardUniversity
Javits Fellowship (1997 to 2001)
Four-year fellowship for graduate study administered by the U.S. government
British Marshall Scholarship (1995 to 1997)
Two-year fellowship for study in Britain administered by the British government
PUBLICATIONS
books
The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-CommunismHarvardUniversity Press (2009)
In History’s Grip: Philip Roth’s Newark Trilogy (monograph on history in the fiction of Philip Roth, under review at Stanford University Press)
Amerika Journey(translation of Wolfgang Koeppen’s travelogue, Amerikafahrt, with notes and scholarly introduction, under review with Berghahn Books)
articles, book chapters and longer essays
The American Dream in the Twenty-First Century (forthcoming)
chapter, “The Politics of the American Dream, 1980-2008,” in a book of conference essays to be published by Temple University Press
Internationales Archiv für Sozialgeschichte der Deutschen Literatur (December 2010)
peer-reviewed article, “Manhattan/Munich Transfer: America in Wolfgang Koeppen’s Tauben im Gras”
Melvin Lasky: New York – Berlin – London: A Tale of Three Cities (2010)
essay, “Melvin Lasky und die Gedanke der Revolution [Melvin Lasky and the Idea of Revolution],” to be published by the LaskyCenter for Transatlantic Studies (Munich)
CAS E Publication (2010)
article, “America’s Germany and Germany’s America in Wolfgang Koeppen’s Tauben im Gras,” an electronic essay series put out by the Center for Advanced Studies of the LudwigMaximilianUniversity
A New Literary History of America (2009)
article, “The Plight of Conservative Literature in America,” in a volume published by Harvard University Press
Arguing the Modern Jewish Canon: Essays on Literature and Culture in Honor of Ruth R. Wisse(2009)
article, “The Modern Hero as Schlemiel,” in a book of essays published by Harvard University Press
The Princeton Encyclopedia of United States Political History (2009)
article, “Politics in the American Novel,” published by Princeton University Press
The New England Review (2009)
article, “The Middle of the Journey and the Crisis of Liberalism”
Commentary(January 2009)
essay, “In the Ruins of Vilna,” about the Jewish history of Vilnius, Lithuania
The New York Intellectuals and Beyond(2008)
chapter, “Lionel Trilling’s The Middle of the Journey and the Complicated Origins of the Neoconservative Movement” published by Purdue University Press in 2008
The Valve: A Literary Organ (2008)
essay, “The Journey Continued and Abandoned: Lionel Trilling’s The Journey Abandoned” for an online literary journal from the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics
Dos culturas en diálogo: historia cultural de la naturaleza, la técnica y las ciencias naturales en España y América Latina (2007)
chapters, “Old America and New Europe: A Reversal of Roles,” published in a book of conference essays (Madrid: Iberoamericana/Vervuert)
Rheinsicher Merkur (January 2006)
essay, “Zum sterben zu jung [To Die too Young: Neoconservatism and the Democratic Party]” in a German newspaper
Internationale Politik (January 2006),
essay, “Zum sterben zu jung [To Die too Young]”
Literature Compass (September 2006)
essay, “Whittaker Chambers’s Witness and the Dilemma of Modern Conservatism” in a peer-reviewed literary journal (
Philologie im Netz (April 2005)
article, “In History’s Grip: Philip Roth’s “Newark Trilogy” in a German online literary journal (
Internationale Politik (September 2005)
essay, “Abschied vom Iraq [Farewell to Iraq]”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (October 22, 2004)
essay, “Wer Denkt für Bush? [Who Thinks for Bush?]” in a leading German newspaper
Communism, Capitalism and the Politics of Culture (2004)
chapter, “Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Anti-Communist Imperative,” published in a book of conference essays (Frankfurt am Main: Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Verlag)
Shofar(Spring 2003)
article published on “Lionel Trilling and the Origins of the Neo-Conservative Movement” in a Jewish-studies journal
reviews, shorter publications and editorial work
Competing Modernities(forthcoming)
did editing, translation and conceptual work on a book of essays on modern German and U.S history, published first in German as Wettlauf um die Moderne: Die USA und Deutschland 1890 bis Heute (Pantheon 2008); forthcoming with Cambridge University Press
Amerikastudien/American Studies(forthcoming)
review of Peter Wenz, Beyond Red and Blue: How Twelve Political Philosophies Shape American Debates
Historically Speaking(forthcoming)
response to Age of Fracture by Daniel Rodgers in a forum on the book
The Jewish Review of Books(Winter 2011)
review ofPhilip Roth, Nemesis
The Book: The New Republic(January 2011)
review of Jason Stevens, God-Fearing and Free: A Spiritual History of America’s Cold War
Journal of American History(December 2010)
review of Justin Vaïsse Neoconservatism: The Biography of a Movement
The Journal of the Historical Society(December 2010)
review of Jennifer Burns, Goddess of the Market; John Fleming, Anticommunist Manifestos; Neoconservatism by Justin Vaisse; and Anne Heller, Ayn Rand and the World She Made
Dissent(May 4, 2010)
review essay on Archie Brown, The Rise and Fall of Communism; David Priestland, The Red Flag: A History of Communism; and Vladislav Zubok, Zhivago’s Children: The Last Russian Intelligentsia
American Historical Review(April 2010)
review of Michael Brown, The Historiography of Communism
Reviews in American History(March 2010)
“Atomic Historiography,” review essay on Rosemary B. Mariner and G. Kurt Piehler, editors, The Atomic Bomb and American Society: New Perspectives
Columbia Magazine(Winter 2009-2010)
“Heart of Darkness,” review of Michael Scammell’s Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic
Columbia Magazine(Fall 2009)
review of Constance Rosenblum’s Boulevard of Dreams: Heady Times, Heartbreak, and Hope along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx
Rorotoko(September 2009)
interview about my book, The Conservative Turn, in an online magazine
Dissent (August 2009)
review of Kim Phillips-Fein’s Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan
Washington Post (July 28, 2009)
review of D.D. Guttenplan’s American Radical: The Life and Times of I.F. Stone
The Sixties: A Journal of History, Politics and Culture(June 2009)
review of William Graebner’s Patty’s Got a Gun: Patricia Hearst in 1970s America
Reviews in American History(March 2009)
review essay on Ted Widmer’s Ark of the Liberties: America and the World
Jewish Culture and History (August 2008)
review of Murray Friedman’s The Neoconservative Revolution: Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy
New York Times Book Review (November 18, 2007)
review of Donald Critchlow’s The Conservative Ascendancy: How the GOP Right Made Political History
Internationale Politik (August 2006)
review of Francis Fukuyama’s America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power and the Neoconservative Legacy
New York Times Book Review (November 28, 2004)
review of Corey Robin’s Fear: The History of a Political Idea
Partisan Review (January 2002)
review of Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s A Life in the Twentieth Century: Innocent Beginnings, 1917-1950
Commentary (February 2001)
review of Lionel Trilling’s The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent
INVITED LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS
Columbia University New York, New York (March 2011)
gave talk, “Philip Roth’s Newark Trilogy”
Woodrow Wilson CenterWashington, DC(January 2011)
served as commentator for a presentation by Professor Daniel Rodgers on his book, The Age of Fracture
The CatholicUniversity of AmericaWashington, DC(December 2010)
panelist in a roundtable discussion, “Conceptualizing the Right: A Discussion of Recent Historiography on American Conservatism” with Jennifer Burns and Jerry Muller
LaskyCenter for Transatlantic Studies MunichGermany(October 2010)
participated in podium discussion for conference, “Cold War Politics”
Lithuanian Television Vilnius, Lithuania (August 2010)
interviewed for news program on the question of immigration in America
Universität BremenBremen, Germany (June 2010)
gave talk, “Toward a Definition of American Conservatism”
Koeppenhaus Greifswald, Germany (June 2010)
participated in panel discussion, “The Authors’ America,” at the Wolfgang Koeppen archive
VilniusUniversityVilnius, Lithuania (June 2010)
addressed Democracy Club of Vilnius University on the presidency of Barack Obama
Amerika Haus Munich, Germany (May 2010)
gave presentation, with Berndt Ostendorf, “An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer”
VytautasMagnusUniversityKaunas, Lithuania (November 2009)
gave talk, “The Strange Disappearance of September 11”
NationalArtGalleryVilnius, Lithuania (Fall 2009)
served as consultant and featured speaker for film series as a part of the exhibit “Cold War Modern: Design 1945-1970”
VilniusUniversityVilnius, Lithuania (October 2009)
gave presentation, “The American Cold War,” at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science
Summer Literary SeminarVilnius, Lithuania (July 2009)
gave talk, “Vilnius to New York: Literary Voyages”
HarvardUniversityCambridge, MA (May 2009)
gave talk: “The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling and Whittaker Chambers” for the HumanitiesCenter
CatholicUniversity of AmericaWashington, DC (May 2009)
gave talk: “The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Stalinism”
Columbia UniversityNew York (April 2009)
gave talk: “School Ties: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and ColumbiaUniversity”
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany (July 2008)
gave talk: “Conservatism after George W. Bush”
The German Historical Institute Washington, DC (May 2008)
gave talk: “The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Stalinism”
CatholicUniversity of AmericaWashington, DC (April 2008)
gave talk: “The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Stalinism”
Allied MuseumBerlin, Germany (December 2007)
participated in discussion/radio broadcast, “The Cold War: History and the Present Day,” organized by the Allied Museum and by “Info-Radio” of the Berlin-Brandenburg radio station
Lithuanian Institute of History Vilnius, Lithuania (July 2007)
gave talk: “Jewish Vilnius”
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany (May 2006)
gave talk: “The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Stalinism”
Higher School of Economics (StateUniversity)Moscow, Russia (May 2006)
participated in orientation program and seminar for Russians preparing to spend a year in Germany; organized by the Humboldt Foundation’s German Chancellor Scholar program
Institut für Zeitgeschichte Munich, Germany (June 2005)
gave talk in German: “Der frühe Neokonservatismus, 1939-1961 [Early Neoconservatism, 1919-1961]” at the Institute of Contemporary History
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Germany (May 2005)
gave talk: “Philip Roth”
Amerika Haus Munich, Germany (May 2005)
gave talk: “Der amerikanische Neokonservatismus: Ein Überblick [American Neoconservatism: An Overview]”
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany (December 2004)
gave talk: “In History’s Grip: Philip Roth’s ‘Newark Trilogy’”
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany (October 2004)
Participated in panel discussion: “America before the Election”
Deutsche Schülerakademie Rostock, Germany (July 2003)
gave talk: “Amerika, Europa, und die Logik der Distanz [America, Europe and the Logic of Distance]” for a summer program on the European Union
CONFERENCES
OAH Annual MeetingHouston, Texas (March 2011)
participated on a roundtable “Rethinking Anti-Communism”
U.S. Intellectual History Conference New York, New York(October 2010)
gave talk, “Alexander Solzhenitsyn and the Emptiness of American Conservatism”
Universities of Turin and Eastern Piedmont, Turin, Italy (May 2010)
invited participant in conference, “'The West and the Rest: The Atlantic Community in the Global Arena” at the PieroBairatiCenter for European-American Studies
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, German (May 2010)
gave paper, “The American Idea of the West, from Edward Said to Samuel Huntington” at the Center for Advanced Studies
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, German (January 2010)
gave paper, “American Present and American Anticipated in Wolfgang Koeppen’s Tauben im Gras” at the Center for Advanced Studies
The HebrewUniversityJerusalem, Israel (August 2009)
gave paper: “Jewish Intellectuals and the Cold War” for the World Congress of Jewish Studies
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany (May 2009)
gave presentation: “The Idea of the West, 1920s to 1980s” for a conference titled “The Transcultural Atlantic” at the HeidelbergCenter for American Studies
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany (February 2008)
gave paper: “Allan Bloom and the Decline of the West” for a conference titled “The Idea of the West: Polarities”
German Historical Institute Washington, DC (October 2007)
chaired panel: conference on “A Humanitarian as Broad as the World: Abraham Lincoln’s Legacy in an International Context”
CatholicUniversity of AmericaWashington, DC (March 2007)
gave paper: “The Politics of the American Dream” for a conference on the American Dream
University of LouisianaLafayette, Louisiana (November 2005)
gave paper: “Lionel Trilling the Communist” for “A Symposium on Lionel Trilling”
Technische Universität DresdenDresden, Germany (April 2005)
gave paper: “Old America, New Europe: A Reversal of Roles” for a conference titled “Historia cultural de la Naturaleza, la Técnica y las Ciencias Naturales
American Studies Association Conference Hartford, Connecticut (October 2003)
participated in roundtable discussion: “’Our Incredible City’: The Place and Meaning of Postwar New York”
East/West Conference, University of FrankfurtFrankfurt, Germany (June 2003)
gave paper: “Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Politics of Civilization” for a conference titled “Communism, Capitalism and the Politics of Culture”
International History Conference, HarvardUniversity (March 2003)
gave paper: “Wolfgang Koeppen’s Amerikafahrt: The Marvel and Melancholy of the American Example” for a conference titled “The United States from the Outside In”
American Historical Association Conference Chicago, Illinois (January 2003)
organized panel: “The Dilemma of the Elite in the 1950’s: Race, Politics and Anti-Communism in Postwar America”; and gave paper, “William F. Buckley and the Intellectual Origins of Conservative Populism”
RESEARCH PROJECTS AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Center for Advanced Studies Munich, Germany(2010-2012)
member of the working group for the research project “Transatlantic Cultures: America, Europe and the West”at the Center for Advanced Studies of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität; will involve publications and an international conference
MelvinLaskyCenter for Transatlantic Studies Munich, Germany(ongoing)
consultant to the Melvin Lasky Project at the Amerika Institute, at theLudwig-Maximilians-Universität; cataloguing the library of the intellectual, Melvin Lasky, and coordinating research into Cold War political and intellectual networks
The Enlightenment, Center for Advanced Studies (2010-2011)
organizing a conference titled “The Enlightenment between Europe and America: Twentieth-Century Tensions” which will be held at the Center for Advanced Studies in May 2011
Ideas and Images of the West, Center for Advanced Studies (May 2010)
conceived, organized and introduced an international conference on ideas and images of the West
Amerikafahrten, Center for Advanced Studies (January 2010)
conceived, organized and introduced conference on images of America in the literature of Wolfgang Koeppen; conference was held in German
The Idea of the West: Polarities, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (February 2008)
conceived and organized conference; fund-raised, supervised, did publicity and introduced the conference as well as its keynote speaker, Adam Michnik
The Intellectual in American Culture, HarvardUniversity(March 2003)
conceived and organized conference; fund-raised, supervised, did publicity and introduced the conference
participants included: Andrew Delbanco, David Hall, Marjorie Garber, Todd Gitlin, Alice Kessler-Harris, James Kloppenberg, Louis Menand, John Stauffer, Sam Tanenhaus, and Alan Trachtenberg
Globalization and (Anti)-Americanism, HarvardUniversity (October 2001)
conceived, organized, fund-raised and introduced panel discussion
participants included Professors Charles Maier, Cemal Kafadar, Anthony Hopkins and Ambassador Charles Dunbar
SKILLS
Language Fluent Russian and German; reading knowledge of French; rudimentary knowledge of Lithuanian
Music Advanced study of piano and flute; studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music; extensive performance experience
Michael Kimmage – curriculum vitae - page 1