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

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

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 ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

cultural studies Cultural studies is an academic field that explores the dynamics of contemporary culture (including the politics of popular culture) and its social and historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers investigate how cultural practices rel ...

, and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

who study

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 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 university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. He also served as the first editor of the association's scholarly journal, the '' German Studies Review'', which was first published in 1978. The executive director's position is currently held by Professor Margaret Menninger 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, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 20 ...

. 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 Ronald Smelser (born 1942) is an American historian, author, and former professor of history at the University of Utah. He specializes in modern European history, including the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, and has written several ...

(1989–90) *

Gerhard Weinberg Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg (born 1 January 1928) is a German-born American Diplomatic history, diplomatic and Military History, military historian noted for his studies in the history of Nazi Germany and World War II. Weinberg is the William Rand Ke ...

(1997–98) *

Henry Friedlander Henry Egon Friedlander (24 September 1930 – 17 October 2012) was a German-American Jewish historian of the Holocaust who was noted for his arguments in favor of broadening the scope of casualties of the Holocaust. Born in Berlin, Germany, to a ...

(2001–2002) *Patricia Herminghouse,

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

(2003-2004) * Katherine Roper,

St. Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs with a total stud ...

(2005-2006) * Sara Lennox,

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 ...

(2007-2008) *Celia Applegate,

(2009-2010) *Stephen Brockmann,

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

(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 California, ...

(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 Member organizations of the American Council of Learned Societies

History

Presidents

See also

References

External links