German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on

German culture The culture of Germany has been shaped by its central position in Europe and a history spanning over a millennium. Characterized by significant contributions to art, music, philosophy, science, and technology, German culture is both diverse and ...

German history The concept of Germany as a distinct region in Central Europe can be traced to Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as ''Germania'', thus distinguishing it from Gaul. The victory of the Cherusci, Germanic tribes ...

, and

German politics Germany is a democratic and federal parliamentary republic, where federal legislative power is vested in the (the parliament of Germany) and the (the representative body of the , Germany's regional states). The federal system has, since ...

in addition to the language and literature component. Approaches to the discipline vary by country. Modern German studies is usually seen as a combination of two sub-disciplines: German linguistics alongside Germanophone literature and cultural studies. Common names for "German Studies" for the field within German-speaking countries are , , and . In English, the terms Germanistics or Germanics are sometimes used (mostly by Germans), but the subject is more often referred to as ''German studies'', ''German language and literature'', or ''German philology''. Academics who specialize in German studies are referred to as Germanists.

German linguistics

German linguistics is traditionally called

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

in Germany, though most German studies departments house linguists whose focus relates to German or Germanic language(s) in both their historic and present forms. The periods of German's philological development are roughly divided as follows: *

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

(''Althochdeutsch'') 8th–11th centuries *

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

(''Mittelhochdeutsch'') 11th–14th centuries *

Early New High German Early New High German (ENHG) is a term for the period in the history of the German language generally defined, following Wilhelm Scherer, as the period 1350 to 1650, developing from Middle High German and into New High German. The term is the ...

(''Frühneuhochdeutsch'') 14th–17th centuries *

Modern German New High German (NHG; ) is the term used for the most recent period in the history of the German language, starting in the 17th century. It is a loan translation of the German (). The most important characteristic of the period is the developme ...

(

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

, German dialectology) 18th–21st centuries In addition, the discipline examines German under various aspects: the way it is spoken and written, i.e., spelling; declination; vocabulary; sentence structure; texts; etc. It compares the various manifestations such as social groupings (slang, written texts, etc.) and geographical groupings (dialects, etc.).

German literature studies

The study of

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

is divided into two parts: ''Ältere Deutsche Literaturwissenschaft'' deals with the period from the beginnings of German in the early Middle Ages up to post-Medieval times around AD 1750, while the modern era is covered by ''Neuere Deutsche Literaturwissenschaft''. The field systematically examines German literature in terms of

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form may also refer to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter dat ...

, content, and motifs as well as looking at it historically by author and epoch. Important areas include edition philology,

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pie ...

, and textual interpretation. The relationships of German literature to the literatures of other languages (e.g. reception and mutual influences) and historical contexts are also important areas of concentration. German literature studies benefits from the particularly rich printing tradition of the German-speaking world. Given

Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg ( – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who invented the movable type, movable-type printing press. Though movable type was already in use in East Asia, Gutenberg's inven ...

and thus the modern printing press originates from German-speaking Europe, Germanic texts have historically enjoyed a heightened status among scholars. Other prominent historical figures, such as

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

have also marked the history of literature through his dissemination of the Bible and thereby an early and strong German-speaking reading culture compared to other European publics. Much like other literature-centered fields, German literature studies is concerned with

ecocriticism Ecocriticism is the study of literature and ecology from an interdisciplinary point of view, where literature scholars analyze texts that illustrate environmental concerns and examine the various ways literature treats the subject of nature. It wa ...

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. As necessary, hermeneutics may include the art of understanding and communication. ...

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

narratology Narratology is the study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect human perception. The term is an anglicisation of French ''narratologie'', coined by Tzvetan Todorov (''Grammaire du Décaméron'', 1969). Its theoretica ...

, psychoanalytic criticism,

postcolonialism Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and extractivism, exploitation of colonized pe ...

postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of Power (social and poli ...

, reader-response,

semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

sound studies Sound studies is an interdisciplinary field that to date has focused largely on the emergence of the concept of "sound" in Western modernity, with an emphasis on the development of sound reproduction technologies. The field first emerged in venu ...

, spatial theory,

speech acts Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

structuralism Structuralism is an intellectual current and methodological approach, primarily in the social sciences, that interprets elements of human culture by way of their relationship to a broader system. It works to uncover the structural patterns t ...

symbology A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise different concepts ...

, and

queer theory Queer theory is a field of post-structuralist critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of queer studies (formerly often known as gay and lesbian studies) and women's studies. The term "queer theory" is broadly associated with the study a ...

German Cultural Studies

The study of

encompasses issues related to

Holocaust studies Holocaust studies, or sometimes Holocaust research, is a scholarly discipline that encompasses the historical research and study of the Holocaust. Institutions dedicated to Holocaust research investigate the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinar ...

, national identity, German art,

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

, migration,

film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...

museum studies Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

memory studies Memory studies is an academic field studying the use of memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose o ...

German Literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

, and media. The sub-field is highly interdisciplinary drawing from both the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

to examine issues related to contemporary German-speaking countries. Such approaches are often focalized through the lens of the German-speaking nation at present. Thus, the study of countries such as Austria and Switzerland, as well as other German-speaking groups, are often focalized not only through their shared German linguistic and cultural heritage, but for their distinct national and diasporic contexts. German cultural studies therefore incorporates the historical areas of German influence across Europe and overseas as it relates to both migration and colonization. German cultural studies is most common in departments located outside of a German-speaking country, acting in many forms as a form of area studies related to the German

Sprachraum In linguistics, a sprachraum (; , "language area", plural sprachräume, ) is a geographical region where a common first language (mother tongue), with dialect varieties, or group of languages is spoken. Characteristics Many sprachräume are sep ...

. A heightened focus on German cultural studies became apparent following the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

in 1989 and has increasingly been tied to the field of

European Studies European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on the History of Western civilization and the evolution of Western culture, as well as on current developments in European integration. Some ...

DAAD Centers for German and European Studies

In the years following the fall of the wall, the

German federal government The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief Executive (government), executive body of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the Federal level (Germany), federal level. It consists of the Chancellor ...

established Centers for German and European Studies throughout North America. This effort sought to increase transatlantic political, cultural, and academic cooperation between the United States and post-Soviet Europe, with a strong focus on Germany's increased importance within the European Union as a reunified state. Sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD), thes
Centers for German and European studies
mark a distinct departure from traditional German studies programs and are often housed within broader internationally oriented departments dealing with international affairs, area studies, or public policy within North America. The DAAD Centers for German and European Studies in North America are listed as follows:
BMW Center for German and European Studies
at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Center for German and European Studies
at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Centers for German and European Studies
at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

and

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Center for German and European Studies
at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Joint Initiative in German and European Studies
at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Center for German and European Studies
at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

Le Centre Canadien d’Études Allemandes et Européennes
at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

The Program for the Study of Germany and Europe
at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

DAAD Centers for German and European Studies beyond North America include the following:
Institute of German and European Studies

Tongji University Tongji University is a public university located in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Tongji is one of the ...

, Yangpu District, Shanghai
Haifa Center for German and European Studies
–

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

European Forum at the Hebrew University
- at

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

Center of German and European Studies

Pontifical University of Rio Grande do Sul
and the

Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (, UFRGS) is a Brazilian Public university, public National university, federal research university based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. UFRGS is among the largest and highest-rated universities ...

Center for German and European Studies
at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

Center for German and European Studies
at Chung-Ang University in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

German teacher education

At least in Germany and Austria, German studies in academia play a central role in the education of German school teachers. Their courses usually cover four fields: *

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(') * German language and literature of up to about 1750 (') * German language and literature since approximately 1750 (') * Specifics of the

didactics A didactic method (from ''didáskein'', "to teach") is a teaching method that follows a consistent scientific approach or educational style to present information to students. The didactic method of instruction is often contrasted with dialecti ...

of teaching German (') Several universities offer specialized curricula for school teachers, usually called "'". In Germany, they are leading to a two step exam and certificate by the federated states of Germany cultural authorities, called the ' ("state exam").

History

As an unsystematic field of interest for individual scholars, German studies can be traced back to

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

' ''Germania''. The publication and study of legal and historical source material, such as Medieval

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

translations, were all undertaken during the

German Renaissance The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which developed from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and sciences ...

of the sixteenth century, truly initiating the field of German studies. As an independent university subject, German studies was introduced at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Georg Friedrich Benecke, the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

, and Karl Lachmann. The Nazi period, and immediate predecessor periods before and after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, left large parts of the field, which had drifted off more and more into race-biological thinking, greatly compromised and damaged, as major proponents on both the literature (e.g. Prof. Josef Nadler in Vienna) and the linguistics side (e.g. Prof. Eberhard Kranzmayer in Graz) were actively working for the Nazi Party (Kranzmayer, Höfler) and their racist goals (Nadler) While great efforts have been made in the denazification of the field, some biases are suggested by overseas Germanist to have remained. After all, post-war academia, with "Nazi party membership among university professors greatly exceed ngthat of the population at large," was not a complete restart, least of all, in German philology, where 90% of university teachers were

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

members.

University departments and research institutions

;Austria * Institute for German Studies (Institut für Germanistik),

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

* Institute for German Studies (Institut für Germanistik),

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

, the first ''Germanistik'' in Austria founded at the request of Anton Emanuel Schönbach in

1873 Events January * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the Unit ...

;Bénin *Département d'Etudes Germanique (DEG), Université d'Abomey-Calavi ;Botswana * Department of Education and Language Skills,

Botho University Botho University (formerly known as Botho College/NIIT) is Botswana's largest private tertiary educational provider, founded in 1997. The college offers certificates, diplomas and graduate degrees in accountancy and computer science. It is the f ...

;Brazil * Department of German Language and Literature Studies

University of São Paulo The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil. The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...

, Brazil ;Canada * Department of German Language and Literature,

Queen's University, Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...

, Ontario * Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures,

;China * Department of German,

Beijing Foreign Studies University Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. The Internation ...

Haidian District Haidian () is a northwest urban district of Beijing, bordering Xicheng, Beijing, Xicheng and Fengtai, Beijing, Fengtai. It is in area, making it the second-largest district in urban Beijing area (after Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang), and is home ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

;Czech Republic * Department of German and Austrian Studies,

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

* Department of German Studies, Palacký University in Olomouc ;India *

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

India ;Ireland * Department of Germanic Studies, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Ireland * Department of German, National University of Ireland – University College Cork, Cork, Ireland ;Germany "German studies" is taught at many German universities. Some examples are: * Germanistisches Seminar der Universität Bonn, Institut für Germanistik, vergleichende Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft,

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

* Institut für deutsche Sprache und Literatur I & II, Albertus-Magnus-Universität zu Köln * Institut für Germanistik I & II,

Hamburg University The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen''), the Hamburg Colon ...

* Germanistisches Seminar,

Heidelberg University Faculty of Modern Languages Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

* Institut für deutsche Philologie,

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

* Germanistisches Institut, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster * Deutsches Seminar, Tübingen University Faculty of Modern Languages ;Greece * Faculty of German Language and Literature,

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

* School of German Language and Literature,

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( AUTh; ), often called the University of Thessaloniki, is the second oldest tertiary education institution in Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, about east of Thessa ...

;Russia * Department of Area Studies,

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

;South Africa * School of Languages and Literatures,

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

* Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French,

University of the Free State The University of the Free State (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

* School of Languages,

North-West University The North-West University (NWU) is a public research university located on three campuses in Potchefstroom, Mahikeng and Vanderbijlpark in South Africa. The university came into existence through the merger in 2004 of the Potchefstroom Univer ...

* Ancient Modern Languages Cultures,

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

* School of Languages and Literatures,

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

* Department of Modern Foreign Languages,

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

* Department of Foreign Languages,

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC; ) is a Public university, public research university in Bellville, South Africa, Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the Politics of South Africa, South ...

* Department of Literature, Language and Media,

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

;Spain * Área de Filología Alemana,

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

;Uganda * Department of European and Oriental Languages, German Studies,

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

;United Kingdom (UK) * Department of German, University of Oxford * Department of German, University of Cambridge * Department of German,

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

* Department of German Studies,

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

;United States of America (USA) * Department of German Studies,

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, Tucson * German Program of the Department of World Languages & Literatures,

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, Fayetteville * Department of German Studies,

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

* Department of German,

* Department of Germanic Languages,

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

* Department of German Studies,

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

* Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures,

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, Boulder, CO * Department of Germanic Languages,

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

* Department of German Studies,

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

* Department of German Studies,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

* Department of German,

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

* Department of German,

* Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures,

* Department of Germanic Studies,

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

, Chicago, IL *Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

*Department of Germanic Studies,

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

* German and Scandinavian Studies,

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

* Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures,

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Ann Arbor, MI * Department of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch,

* Department of German,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

* Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures,

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

* Department of German,

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

* Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures,

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, Columbus, Ohio * Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures,

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

* Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages,

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, Pennsylvania * Department of Germanic Languages and Literature,

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, Pennsylvania * Department of German,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

* Department of Germanic Studies,

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

* Department of Classical & Modern Languages,

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a Public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Kirksville, Missouri, United States. It had 3,664 enrolled students in the fall of 2024 pursuing degrees in 55 undergraduate ...

, Kirksville, Missouri * Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages,

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, Nashville, Tennessee * Department of Germanic and Russian,

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

, Burlington, Vermont * Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures,

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

* Department of Germanics,

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, Seattle, Washington * Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures,

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, St. Louis, Missouri * Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic, University of Wisconsin – Madison * Department of German,

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

*Department of Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages,

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

;Zimbabwe *Department of Languages, Literature and Culture University of Zimbabwe

Bibliography

Books

* ''Atlas Deutsche Sprache'' D-ROM Berlin: Directmedia Publishing. 2004. * ''Die Deutschen Klassiker'' (CD-ROM). * Berman, Antoine: ''L'épreuve de l'étranger. Culture et traduction dans l'Allemagne romantique: Herder, Goethe, Schlegel, Novalis, Humboldt, Schleiermacher, Hölderlin''. Paris: Gallimard, 1984. . * Beutin, Wolfgang. ''Deutsche Literaturgeschichte. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart''. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler, 1992. * Bogdal, Klaus-Michael, Kai Kauffmann, & Georg Mein. ''BA-Studium Germanistik. Ein Lehrbuch''. In collaboration with Meinolf Schumacher and Johannes Volmert. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 2008. * Burger, Harald. ''Sprache der Massenmedien''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1984. * Ernst, Peter. ''Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft''. Vienna: WUV, 2004. * Fohrmann, Jürgen & Wilhelm Voßkamp, eds. ''Wissenschaftsgeschichte der Germanistik im 19. Jahrhundert''. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler, 1994. * Hartweg, Frédéric G. ''Frühneuhochdeutsch. Eine Einführung in die deutsche Sprache des Spätmittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit''. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 2005. * Hermand, Jost. ''Geschichte der Germanistik''. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1994. * Hickethier, Knut. ''Film- und Fernsehanalyse''. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler, 1993. * Hickethier, Knut, ed. ''Aspekte der Fernsehanalyse. Methoden und Modelle.'' Hamburg: Lit, 1994. *

Hohendahl, Peter Uwe Peter Uwe Hohendahl (born 1936) is an American literary and intellectual historian and theorist. He served as the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of German Studies at Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private ...

. ''German Studies in the United States: A Historical Handbook''. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003. * Kanzog, Klaus. ''Einführung in die Filmphilologie''. Munich: Schaudig, Bauer, Ledig, 1991. * Muckenhaupt, Manfred: ''Text und Bild. Grundfragen der Beschreibung von Text-Bild-Kommunikation aus sprachwissenschaftlicher Sicht''. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1986. * Prokop, Dieter: ''Medienprodukte. Zugänge – Verfahren – Kritik''. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1981. * Schneider, Jost, ed. ''Methodengeschichte der Germanistik''. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2009. * Schumacher, Meinolf. ''Einführung in die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters''. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2010. * Shitanda, So. "Zur Vorgeschichte und Entstehung der deutschen Philologie im 19. Jh.: Karl Lachmann und die Brüder Grimm", in ''Literarische Problematisierung der Moderne. Medienprodukte : Zugänge-- Verfahren-- Kritik'', ed. by Teruaki Takahashi. Munich: Iudicium, 1992. * Van Cleve, John W. and A. Leslie Willson. ''Remarks on the Needed Reform of German Studies in the United States''. Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1993.

Journals

* '' Acta Germanica'' *''Arbitrium'' *''German Life and Letters'' *'' German Politics and Society'' * '' German Studies Review'' *''

The Germanic Review ''The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Routledge covering German studies, including German literature and culture, as well as German authors, intellectuals, and artists. The e ...

'' *''Germanistik'' *'' Germanistik in Ireland'' *'' The German Quarterly'' *''

Goethe Yearbook The Goethe Society of North America (GSNA) was founded in December 1979 in San Francisco as a non-profit organization dedicated to the encouragement of research on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) and his age. The Goethe Society has allied ...

'' *''Journal of Austrian Studies'' * ''

The Journal of English and Germanic Philology The ''Journal of English and Germanic Philology'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of medieval studies that was established in 1897 and is now published by University of Illinois Press. Its focus is on the cultures of English, Germani ...

'' * '' Journal of Germanic Linguistics'' *''Lessing Yearbook'' *''

Modern Language Notes ''Modern Language Notes'' (''MLN'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1886 at the Johns Hopkins University, with the intention of introducing continental European literary criticism into American scholarship. The journal is publis ...

(German Issue)'' *''Monatshefte'' *''Michigan Germanic Studies'' *'' New German Critique'' *''Oxford German Studies'' *''Publications of the English Goethe Society'' *''Seminar'' * ''Teaching German (Unterrichtspraxis)'' *'' Text+Kritik'' *''Transit'' *''Zeitschrift für interkulturelle Germanistik'' *''Zeitschrift für Germanistik''

References

External links

* BUBL Link (UK-based
Catalogue of Internet Resources Concerning the German Language
(well organized; covers many aspects of the language and the study of it)

* http://www.dartmouth.edu/~wess/wesslit.html (Dartmouth's German-Studies Web links, annotated and arranged by topic) * https://web.archive.org/web/20051104142631/http://libadm87.rice.edu/ref/german.cfm (Rice University's guide to German studies, including printed literature and links to German newspapers and magazines) * http://www.germanistik.net/ germanistik.net (tries to get the user straight to the best sources of help; in German) * Germanistik im Netz – Erlanger Liste (The 'Erlanger Liste' is currently the largest collection of links to the various aspects of G***, including such archives, publishers, etc.; in German) * Literaturwissenschaft online ("Literaturwissenschaft online" Kiel University's e-learning site with live and archived lectures; free of charge; in German.)
Bibliographie der Deutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft
("BDSL Online" is the electronic version of the largest bibliography in the field of German language and literature studies. Access to report years 1985–1995 is free of charge.) * https://web.archive.org/web/20060418211215/http://www.doaj.org/ljbs?cpid=8 (DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals, Literature and Languages) * https://web.archive.org/web/20060411030830/http://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/Medienprojekt/Literatur/9.med.analy.html (University of Hamburg site with media studies bibliography)

Departmental Ratings
(USA)
Directory of some German resources in libraries and research centers throughout California

American Library Association German Studies Web
;Library guides
University of Leeds German, Russian and Slavonic Studies

University of Wisconsin-Madison German-language Humanities
{{Authority control Culture of Germany European studies Germanic philology Humanities Germanic studies

German linguistics

German literature studies

German Cultural Studies

DAAD Centers for German and European Studies

German teacher education

History

University departments and research institutions

See also

Bibliography

Books

Journals

References

External links