Program Overview
The German program at the Johns Hopkins University is among the most distinguished in North America. It has been a leading force in literary criticism and is internationally recognized for its strength in German and Yiddish literature from the Enlightenment to the present as well as interdisciplinary approaches to the humanities. Since the 1980s the faculty members have spearheaded efforts to study the interface of literature with philosophy, psychoanalysis, religion, and science. The interdisciplinary orientation of the faculty has put the program at the forefront of the field in North America and abroad. Scarcely a debate in literary theory has occurred in the last twenty-five years that has not involved one or more members of the German faculty.
The German program is committed to the study of the hermeneutic tradition and its critique. It is also home to the Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture offerings at Johns Hopkins. In addition to its own distinguished faculty, the program hosts regular visitors from European universities who offer seminars at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The section has active graduate exchange programs with the Humboldt Universität Berlin, Universität Konstanz, and Universität Hamburg. In collaboration with international partners, the program has recently hosted conferences on "Rethinking Form" and "Hannah Arendt and the Exile of Writing."
Recent graduates of the PhD program in German have received appointments at Columbia, Harvard, New York University, Yale, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of North Carolina, University of Notre Dame, and Wesleyan University.
The German language program includes a wide range of courses from introductory German to advanced composition and conversation as well as classes focused on cultural topics, business, and the language of science.
As a further incentive for undergraduate majors and minors, the department participates with six other prestigious universities in the Berlin Consortium. Undergraduates can study there for a semester or a year.
Current Projects
The German section is proud to participate in the Freedom Without Walls project sponsored by the German Embassy. Please visit the project's website at http://jhuwithoutwalls.com.
Faculty
Rochelle Tobias, Section Chair
Professor
Modern German literature and thought; German-Jewish culture; twentieth-century poetry; theory of the novel
Marc Caplan Assistant Professor
Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture
Katrin Pahl, Berlin Consortium Academic Director, 2009-2010
Assistant Professor
Modern German Thought and Literature
Elisabeth Strowick, Director of Graduate Studies, Director of Undergraduate Studies
Associate Professor
Modern German Literature and Thought, Literary Theory, Poetics of Knowledge
Eckart Förster, Joint Appointment with Philosophy
Professor
Metaphysics, History of Philosophy, Kant and German Idealism
Language Program
Deborah McGee Mifflin, Director, German Language Program
Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of German Language Instruction
Pedagogy of language teaching, theories of second language acquisition
Beatrice Caplan, Lecturer, Yiddish Language
Heidi Wheeler, Coordinator, Intermediate German
Lecturer, German Language, Culture and Literature
Other Affiliated JHU Faculty
Peter Jelavich, Department of History
Hent deVries, Humanities Center
Sue Waterman, Resource Librarian
Visiting Professors
Michael Brenner (Fall 2009)
Rolf-Peter Horstmann (Spring 2010)
Andrea Krauss, Universität Zürich (Spring 2009-Spring 2010)
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