The German Studies Association (GSA) is an international organization of scholars in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

, cultural studies, and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

who study

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and Switzerland. The organization began in 1976 as the Western Association for German Studies, and was renamed as the GSA in 1983 after transforming itself into first a North American organization, and then an international one. The association awards the annual ''Sybil Halpern Milton Memorial Book Prize''.

History

The founder and long-time executive director of the GSA was Professor Gerald R. Kleinfeld of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

. He also served as the first editor of the association's scholarly journal, the ''

German Studies Review ''German Studies Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal and an official publication of the German Studies Association that is published triannually. It was established in 1978 and publishes articles on the history, literature, culture, and p ...

'', which was first published in 1978. The executive director's position is currently held by Professor

Margaret Menninger Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

of Texas State, while the ''German Studies Review'' is edited by Professor Sabine Hake of the

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. The association is governed by a Board elected by the members in accordance with the GSA by-laws. The GSA holds an annual conference each autumn in a North American location.

Presidents

The presidents of the association included: * Ronald Smelser (1989–90) *

Gerhard Weinberg Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg (born 1 January 1928) is a German-born American diplomatic and military historian noted for his studies in the history of Nazi Germany and World War II. Weinberg is the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Histo ...

(1997–98) * Henry Friedlander (2001–2002) *Patricia Herminghouse,

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

(2003-2004) * Katherine Roper,

St. Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

(2005-2006) * Sara Lennox,

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

(2007-2008) *Celia Applegate,

(2009-2010) *Stephen Brockmann,

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

(2011-2012) *

Suzanne L. Marchand Suzanne L. Marchand (born 1961) is an American intellectual and cultural historian of modern Europe. She is the Boyd Professor of European Intellectual History at Louisiana State University. Life After earning a B.A. at University of Californi ...

(2013–2014) * David E. Barclay

References

External links

The German Studies Association web site

On the history of the GSAGerald R. Kleinfeld web site
{{Authority control Cultural organisations based in Germany Humanities organizations Germanic philology

History

Presidents

See also

References

External links