Prof. Joachim Michael is a full professor for InterAmerican Studies and Romance Studies at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, since April 2014. He has been a visiting Professor at the Texas A&M International University, in Laredo, Texas, USA, and at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. He did his post-doctorate (Habilitation) in Romance Studies at the University of Hamburg, “Petrified History: Apocalypse and Literature in Mexico”. He received his doctorate in Romance Studies at the University of Freiburg (magna cum laude) with the dissertation: “Television and Cultural Rupture: Telenovelas in Latin America”. Joachim Michael is founding member of the Center for Advanced Latin American Studies - CALAS and has been a member of the steering committee until July 2019. Furthermore, he is co-coordinator of the Laboratory of Knowlodge "Visions of Peace. Transitions between Violence and Peace in Latin America."