Gideon Kiptoo is a Master’s student in German Studies at the University of Arizona, specializing in the Literature, Culture, and Pedagogy track. He earned his Bachelor of Education Arts in German and Christian Religious Education from Kenyatta University in Kenya. Gideon also participated in the UNESCO-Kulturweit tandem program in Renchen-Ulm, which aimed to foster the inclusion of minoritized groups in social institutions.
His research interests focus on discourses surrounding Heimat, identity, nostalgia, and remembrance in Afrikaromane. Additionally, he is engaged in Black German Studies and critical discourse analysis. His current master’s thesis uses corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis to unveil the ideologies present in German media reporting of homosexuality in Kenya. Beyond his research, Gideon is passionate about teaching German. His pedagogical approach is informed by social justice principles in modern language teaching, aiming to address and celebrate the diverse identities of students in the classroom.