In order to give you an idea of what I'm doing here in Konstanz, my story would have to begin not in Germany but in the United States. For the past three years I have been studying as a PhD student of history at the University of Missouri. In Fall 2018, my advisor, Dr. Sperber, invited me to his campus office and suggested that I begin on my dissertation (a major written research project) as soon as possible. But there was a problem.
"To this day," I explained to Dr. Sperber, "very few books have been written about what I study" - the emergence of science-fiction movies in the 1920s - "and even fewer historians can speak with authority about the topic."
Because specific archives and libraries in Germany, Austria and France house documents about the making of these movies and about the creation of the stories behind them, my only solution was to go to Europe for myself.
"Given that no one has really devoted their career to this part of history," Dr. Sperber said, "you really need to live for a year in Germany - perhaps even longer. Have you considered applying for a Fulbright grant?"
The Fulbright grant provides funding for students and scholars to study, teach or conduct research in other countries. And the idea of living in Germany was exciting.
