On Nov. 25, Brett Sterling, associate professor of German, was invited to serve as an expert opponent for a dissertation defense at the University of Turku, Finland. In the Finnish academic system, outside scholars (opponents) are enlisted to scrutinize dissertations for errors, to provide written critique and to question doctoral candidates in a formal public defense.

The dissertation, written by Anna Vuorinne and titled Understanding Abuse and Justice through Genres: Migration and Human Rights in Contemporary German Comics, explores how genres help understand the way that issues of human rights and refugee experiences are represented in the visual and narrative medium of comics.

The dissertation also asks timely questions about the ethical implications of representing refugees and victims of abuse, as Sterling noted in his assessment.

Sterling was selected for the task because of his expertise in the history and analysis of German-language comics, which he has developed during his 10 years of service at the U of A and as the co-founder of the Comics Studies Network in the German Studies Association. His current book project on the subject, Contemporary German-language Comics: A History, is under contract with the Ohio State University Press.