Christian Straubhaar received a BA in German literature with a minor in English from Brigham Young University in Utah in 2009. He participated in three study abroad programs, one in Vienna, Austria, and two traveling throughout the UK, studying everything from Opera to Arthurian Literature. For his undergraduate honors thesis he did an analysis of visionary symbolism and the fluidity of gender in the works of Hadewijch, a 13th century Dutch mystic and poet. After graduating, he taught German and Creative Writing at a charter school in Springville, Utah for one year. He continues to be interested in questions of gender and medieval texts, but he has also enjoyed working with a variety media and periods, including film studies, and hopes to continue exploring these research interests in the CarolinaDuke program.