Christiane Harzig

Christiane Harzig passed away on November 6, 2007, in Tempe, Arizona, after a struggle with cancer. Chris served as an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University. She arrived at ASU in 2006, joined many communities of scholars, and changed them, inspiring them to greater collegiality and common purpose. She lived here briefly but will be sorely missed. The marriage of firm assertion and generous spirit in Chris made her a beloved member in the many communities-scholarly, activist, and personal-in which she lived and worked. Like the women and men she made alive in her publications and teaching, Chris was a migrant, living her professional life in Germany, Canada, and the United States. Born in 1952 in Berlin, Germany, Chris received the Ph.D. from the Technical University of Berlin in 1990 and completed her Habilitation in 2001 at the University of Bremen. She taught at Bremen and the University of Erfurt, and was a visiting fellow at the University of British Columbia, York University, and the State University of New York at Buffalo. In her work, Peasant Maids, City Women, Chris made a notable contribution to migration studies. The book very quickly became a standard text in immigration courses. She published extensively, in German and English, on diverse subjects. She was a dedicated advocate of Canadian studies and a committed interpreter of the transnational and multicultural aspects of migrant life. She shared her life with her husband, Dirk Hoerder; her daughter and son-in-law, Anna and Rolf Hoerder-Suabedissen, with her new grandson, Kiran; and her brother, Rainer Harzig. In lieu of flowers donations may be given, through the history department at ASU, to the Emma Goldman Fund, which will award travel monies to students doing work in women's history and/or migration studies. A reception to honor Chris will be held on Monday, November 12, at her home, 2811 S. Kenneth Place, Tempe, starting at 4 pm. Arrangements by Tempe Mortuary.