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Department of Modern Languages
The University of Mississippi

Susanna Cassisa – Alumna Spotlight

Susanna Cassisa Graduate Student in German Studies, University of British Columbia

 

Hometown: Oxford, MS
BA in German and International Studies (2021)
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“I took four years of German in high school and had an amazing teacher who encouraged me to pursue many opportunities. The summer before my senior year, I was funded by the German government to study abroad for a month in the small town of Kulmbach, Germany. While there, I lived with a host family which gave me new appreciation for the German language and culture and ultimately helped me make my decision to study German in college.”

Cassisa was a student in the Croft Institute for International Studies and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.  She received the honor of Outstanding German Student in the advanced courses from the Department of Modern Languages.  She spent more time in Germany – a summer and semester combined – during her junior year as she prepared for her honors/Croft thesis project.  Her thesis focused on queer activism in 1970s East Germany, and was awarded Best Thesis on a European Topic from the Croft Institute for International Studies.

She has been pursuing a Master’s degree in Germanic Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include media studies, gender and sexuality studies, and East German studies. Her  MA thesis topic is an analysis of antiqueer rhetoric in East German print media of the early 1950s.

Why study German at UM?
“I am so happy with my choice to study German at UM. I love how my German classes are small and personal so I get plenty of opportunities to speak with and receive feedback from my professors.”