Organization & History

The Heidelberg Center for American Studies was founded in 2004. It has been residing in the Curt-and-Heidemarie-Engelhorn Palais in Heidelberg’s Old Town since 2006. The first class of the Master program in American Studies enrolled in 2004. In 2006, the HCA added a structured doctoral program and in 2010 a Bachelor degree in American Studies to its teaching portfolio. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Detlef Junker was the founding director of the HCA. He was succeeded by Prof. Dr. Welf Werner in 2018. 

At the HCA, the America-related research and teaching of eight disciplines converges: Literary and cultural studies, economics, geography, history, law, political science, sociology, and theology. The six faculties that contribute to the HCA are represented on the HCA Board of Directors. It elects the HCA director and two deputy directors from its midst. The HCA Board of Trustees consists of six members, all of them supporters of the endeavor to sustain a leading center for American Studies and transatlantic exchange at Heidelberg University. The trustees meet at least once a year to discuss the institute's progress and to advise its future developments.