Dr. Erika Hughes

Professional Background

Erika Hughes is a recent Ph.D. recipient in theater and drama at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she also received an MA in theater and drama. For her Leon Milman Memorial Fellowship, Dr. Hughes conducted research for her project, “Youth Holocaust Drama.”

Dr. Hughes is the author of several publications, including “Brecht’s Lehrstücke: Educational Theater” in editor Shifra Schonmann’s Key Concepts in Theater Drama Education (2010), “Art and Illegality on the Weimar Stage: The Dances of Celly de Rheydt, Anita Berber and Valeska Gert” in the Journal of European Studies (September 2009), and “Ab heute heißt du Sara: German and Israeli Identity Construction Onstage and in the Public Sphere” in Forschungsberichte aus dem Duitsland Instituut Amsterdam (March 2007). She has presented her research at numerous conferences in the United States, Europe, and Israel. She is the recipient of the George L. Mosse Fellowship at the Hebrew University and the University of Wisconsin (2007-2009), the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität Bonn /DAAD Graduate Fellowship (2006-2007), and the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) Intensive Language Grant (2006).

Fellowship Research

During her tenure at the Center, Dr. Hughes researched how the Holocaust is portrayed in dramas produced in different countries. The diverse canon of plays she examined reflect different ideas of what the Holocaust was, who it affected, how it should be remembered, and why it should serve as a warning for the future. As theater is a medium often used to teach the Holocaust, she sought to explore why theater is so well-suited to Holocaust pedagogy, why the Holocaust lends itself to dramatic exploration on youth stages, and what diverse youth Holocaust dramas aim to accomplish. As part of her research Dr. Hughes observed various educator events, exhibits, and tours conducted at the Museum.

Dr. Hughes was in residence at the Mandel Center from September 1, 2010 to January 30, 2011.