Katja Kurz earned her PhD at the University of Mainz, Germany, where she conducted research in the realm of a graduate group on “Life Writing” in the Department of English. As a lecturer, she has been the first to introduce the interdisciplinary study of human rights and life writing in the curriculum. For her dissertation, Miss Kurz is exploring how human rights organizations are making use of autobiographical accounts by witnesses, activists, and victims for their campaigns against human rights violations. She is particularly interested in the intersections between ethics and aesthetics that inform such campaigns. Before enrolling in the PhD program, Miss Kurz obtained an M.A. degree in English at Clark University in Worcester, and an M.A. degree in American Studies, Public Law, and Cultural Anthropology in Mainz. Miss Kurz is volunteering for a German NGO supporting education for township children in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.