Lena Trüper

Lena Trüper earned her Ph.D. in European languages and transcultural studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Over the past decade, she has taught and conducted research both in the U.S. and Germany, encouraging students to learn about the history of digital cultures through scientific and popular scientific writings, films and artworks. Trüper’s peer-reviewed publications focus on the history of cybernetics through a postcolonial lens. In 2025, she produced the documentary film Wake the Flies on the humanitarian crisis in Plateau State, Nigeria. She is deeply committed to community engagement and incorporating diverse perspectives into the (language) classroom. At Hamilton, Trüper looks forward to fostering students' ethical reflection on digital technologies, encouraging them to think across borders and boundaries.

Recent Courses Taught

Topics in German Language and Literature
From Cybernetics to AI

Research Interests

German and European studies, European film history and theory, art history, photography, media studies, postcolonial studies, science and technology studies

Distinctions

• Dissertation Year Award, University of California, Los Angeles, 2025?2026
• Harry and Yvonne Lenart Graduate Travel Fellowship, UCLA, 2025?2026
• Hessen Film & Medien film production award, 2024
• Programa de Apoyo a la Investigaci?n, Centro de Estudios y Documentaci?n MACBA, Barcelona, 2019
• Deutschlandstipendium (Germany Fellowship), Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 2014?2015

Selected Publications

Book Chapters

• “Cell Cultures and German Nationalism: A Visual Investigation,” in Heather Perry, Kirsten Hetrick, and Charles Vannette (eds.), Medical Humanities in German Studies, Bern: Peter Lang, forthcoming.
• “Über Ökosysteme und verkabelte Kartoffeln im Argentinien der 1970er Jahre,” in Michael Rottmann (ed.), Theorie und Praxis der Maschinenku?nste im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert: Prozesse – Medien – Kreativität, Berlin: De Gruyter, forthcoming.
• “Biopolitics and Superstition in Barbara Albert’s Film Böse Zellen,” in Sophie Duvernoy, Karsten Olson, and Ulrich Plass (eds.), Representing Social Precarity in German Literature and Film: New Directions in German Studies, New York: Bloomsbury, 2023, pp. 254-276.

Journal Articles

• “The Potential of Free Play: Adventure Playgrounds through the Lens of Ursula Schulz-Dornburg,” in Getty Research Journal (abstract accepted, in progress)
• “Opening the Cage at Hungría 74: Hungarian Artists in Argentina and Their Critical Take on the Dematerialization of Art Objects,” in Laura Petrauskait? (ed.), Give My Regards to Those You Connect! Cultural Interactions Between South America and Eastern Europe, Vilnius: Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis (AAAV), 2022, pp. 141-168.

Professional Affiliations

Modern Language Association
German Studies Association
German Society for Media Studies (Gesellschaft f?r Medienwissenschaft)

Appointed to the Faculty

Educational Background

Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
M.A., University of California, Los Angeles
M.A., Goethe University, Frankfurt
Vocational training as chemical laboratory assistant, Industrial Park Gersthofen, Germany