Dr Mark Fenemore

Who am I?

Aside from the societies and cultures of cold war Germany, I share an appreciation of classic 1960s soul. My passion, apart from history, is for European cinema.

Why do I teach?

As Descartes didn't say, 'I teach therefore I am.'

Words of wisdom

On social media there was recently some really good advice by graduates to their younger selves. These are some of their most pertinent points:

• Go to office hours and start making connections. These will help with references down the road.
• Get involved with different clubs and crowds. Don’t stick to one group. Diversify.
• Pick housemates you can actually tolerate not just people who are fun to party with.
• Depression and anxiety are super-common. Use any counselling services available.
• Marks aren’t as important as you think they are. Build connections.
• Above all else, get plenty of sleep.

How I’ll teach you

A mixture of 'death by powerpoint', document analysis, small group seminar work and (fingers crossed) lively debates.

Academic and professional qualifications

BA (History) Newcastle, MA (Modern European History) University of East Anglia, PhD (German Studies) University College London.

Previous employment

Languages

French and German.

Why study ?

Undergraduate courses

Nazi State and Society.
Cold War Mentalities.

In the past I have taught units on the history of twentieth-century French society and culture and 'Sex, Violence and Film in the Weimar Republic'.

Postgraduate supervision (completed/in progress)

I am happy to discuss PhD projects on the history of the cold war, postwar Germany, the history of policing and/or sexuality. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research plans.

Publications

• Books (authored/edited/special issues)

  M. Fenemore (2023). Dismembered Policing in Postwar Berlin The Limits of Four-Power Government. Bloomsbury Publishing.

  M. Fenemore (2007). Sex, thugs and rock 'n' roll: Teenage rebels in cold-war East Germany.

• Journal articles

  M. Fenemore (2012). Distorting Mirror for Society or Mosaic Stones of a Fragmented Self: The Writings of Franz Goll. German History. 30(2), pp.283-290.

  M. Fenemore (2009). The recent historiography of sexuality in twentieth-century Germany. Historical Journal. 52(3), pp.763-779.

  M. Fenemore (2005). Book Review: Germany's Cold War. The Global Campaign to Isolate East Germany, 1949-1969. German History. 23(1), pp.136-137.

  M. Fenemore (2004). Book Review: Laindliche Gesellschaft in der kommunistischen Diktatur. Zwangsmodernisierung und Tradition in Brandenburg 1945-1963; Blockpartei und Agrarrevolution von oben. Die Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschlands 1948-1963. German History. 22(2), pp.147-149.

• Chapters in books

  M. Fenemore Sensual Sirens: Gendering Berlin’s Cold War Telephony. In: Sensory Warfare in the Global Cold War. Partition, Propaganda, Cover Operations. Pennsylvania State University Press,

  M. Fenemore (2009). Shaping Sexual Knowledge. L. Sauerteig, R. Davidson. In: Shaping Sexual Knowledge. Taylor & Francis,

  M. Fenemore (2008). Shaping Sexual Knowledge. L. Sauerteig, R. Davidson. In: Shaping Sexual Knowledge: A Cultural History of Sex Education in Twentieth Century Europe. Routledge, pp.71-90.

• Other

  M. Fenemore (2014). Vorwarts zum neuen Menschen? Die sozialistische Erziehung in der DDR (1949-1989). German History. 32, 504-505.

  M. Fenemore (2013). State and Minorities in Communist East Germany. LABOUR HISTORY REVIEW. 78, 231-233.

  M. Fenemore (2013). After The History of Sexuality: German Genealogies With and Beyond Foucault. GERMAN HISTORY. 31, 291-293.

  M. Fenemore (2012). Within Walls: Private Life in the German Democratic Republic. CULTURAL & SOCIAL HISTORY. 9, 627-628.

  M. Fenemore (2012). Life among the Ruins: Cityscape and Sexuality in Cold War Berlin. AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW. 117, 1315-1315.

  M. Fenemore (2012). Surviving Hitler's War: Family Life in Germany, 1939-48. JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HISTORY. 47, 656-658.

  M. Fenemore (2011). Death in Berlin: From Weimar to Divided Germany. GERMAN HISTORY. 29, 681-U156.

  M. Fenemore (2011). The Plans that Failed: An Economic History of the GDR. CENTRAL EUROPEAN HISTORY. 44, 766-768.

  M. Fenemore (2011). Socialist Cities between Domination and Self-Assertion. Local Politics, Urban Planning and Everyday Life in the GDR. GERMAN HISTORY. 29, 167-169.

  M. Fenemore (2010). Synthetic Socialism: Plastics and Dictatorship in the German Democratic Republic. GERMAN HISTORY. 28, 393-394.

  M. Fenemore (2010). Youth Politics in East Germany: The Free German Youth Movement 1946-1968. CENTRAL EUROPEAN HISTORY. 43, 206-208.

Grants

PhD funding from the British Academy.

Travel Grants from the DAAD, Scouloudi foundation and the German Historical Institute London

Projects and initiatives

Exploring the limits of the cold war (a blog)

Useful links for studying the cold war on the home front.

Media appearances or involvement

See the Guardian article talking about my book.

Embarrassing though it is, footage survives of me being roped into an obscure and experimental Eastern European film production with subtitles.

Other distinctions

Kluge Fellowship at the Library of Congress, Washington DC.

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Limerick.

Isobel Thornley Fellowship at the Institute of Historical Research.