Meredith (Mimi) is an advanced PhD candidate currently on the job market. Meredith's dissertation project focuses on ecological bodies and racialization in the works of Franz Kafka. Following omnivorous traditions from Black studies, gender studies, queer theory and ecology, she works on the environmental epistemologies traced by Kafka throughout his career against the backdrop of contemporary ecological and evolutionary thought, including Ernst Haeckel and R.H. Francé. She is especially curious about matters of scale, environment, dis-identification, particulate matter, and flight. Additional research interests include food studies; pharmacognosy and Drogenkunde of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; qualities of taste and smell; literature of the German Democratic Republic, Wilhemine Berlin, and the Dual Monarchy; recipe books, plot gardens, Arzneimittel, and Arzneimittelwirkung. Meredith has taught Metropolis: Culture of the City, Elementary German I, Elementary German II, Intermediate German, German for Reading Knowledge (accelerated graduate course), and co-taught Seeing Green: German Environmentalisms with Dr. Simon Richter. Her pedagogy revolves around an emphasis on growth mindset within the classroom, encouraging creativity in the language sequence, and equitable teaching practices. In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Meredith served as the Vice President of Policy for the Graduate Student Government (SASgov) during the 2019-2020 year, and as President of SASgov during the 2020-2021 academic year. Before beginning her studies at Penn, Meredith worked at Cornell University in the College of Arts & Sciences' Career Development Center, where she worked with undergraduate students preparing for life after graduation and implemented systems to ensure students could reach help in moments of need.  Before working at Cornell, she worked at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the Center for Career Planning and Professionalism. She received her B.A. in German Studies and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Emory University, where she focused on concepts of the malleable body. Schedule office hours with Meredith here: https://calendly.com/mimihacking/office-hours. Recent Awards: In May 2024, Mimi was awarded the 2024 Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching by Graduate Students. The award recognized Mimi's teaching for its intellectual rigor, exceptional coherence, and for the considerable impact it makes on students. Mimi, along with six other recipients, was selected by a joint faculty-student committee. Faculty members celebrated her passion and enthusiasm for teaching German, along with her internalized expertise and collegiality. Students who supported Mimi's award praised her ability to foster community class spirit and her creative activities that blended innovative approaches with a passion for helping others.