Nate Wagner

Nate Wagner is a PhD candidate currently writing a dissertation on post-reunification German-language literature, film, and music that takes Bakhtin’s chronotope both as a starting point for theorizing aesthetic representations of time and space across these distinct media and also as a means of connecting these artistic works to a broader set of social texts that share an interest in exploring the dynamics and dilemmas of contemporary life.

Prior to beginning his studies at Columbia, Nate earned his B.A. in German at UNC-Chapel Hill, writing a bachelor’s thesis on the intriguing prevalence of German musician-authors. Working with figures from pop, punk, and phenomenological traditions, the thesis explores the linkages and discontinuities in how literature and music think about the formation of political subjects in post-war German society. He also appears in print as a contributor to Difference and Orientation, a volume of Kluge translations edited by Richard Langston. 

Alongside his academic pursuits, Nate maintains as much of a presence as possible in the world of music, performing in various musical acts of little to no repute and running a private-press cassette label focused on experimental electronic and minimalist ambient music.