German studies explained

German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the language and literature component. Common German names for the field are German: Germanistik, German: Deutsche Philologie, and German: Deutsche Sprachwissenschaft und Literaturwissenschaft. 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.

Modern German studies is usually seen as a combination of two sub-disciplines: German linguistics and Germanophone literature studies.

German linguistics

German linguistics is traditionally called philology in Germany, as there is something of a difference between philologists and linguists. It is roughly divided as follows:

• Old High German (Althochdeutsch) 8th–11th centuries
• Middle High German (Mittelhochdeutsch) 11th–14th centuries
• Early New High German (Frühneuhochdeutsch) 14th–17th centuries
• Modern German (Standard German, 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 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, form, content, and motifs as well as looking at it historically by author and epoch. Important areas include edition philology, history of literature, 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. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory: Fourth Edition is printed in English but contains many German-language literary terms that apply cross-culturally in the field of literary criticism; quite a few of the in terms in the book originated in German but have since been adopted by English-language critics and scholars.

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:^[1]

• Linguistics of German (German: Sprachwissenschaft)
• German language and literature of up to about 1750 (German: Ältere Sprache und Literatur)
• German language and literature since approximately 1750 (German: Neuere Literaturwissenschaft)
• Specifics of the didactics of teaching German (German: Fachdidaktik)

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

History

As an unsystematic field of interest for individual scholars, German studies can be traced back to Tacitus' Germania. The publication and study of legal and historical source material, such as Medieval Bible translations, were all undertaken during the German Renaissance 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, and Karl Lachmann.

University departments and research institutions

Austria

• Institute for German Studies (Institut für Germanistik), University of Vienna

Bénin

• Département d'Etudes Germanique (DEG), Université d'Abomey-Calavi^[2]

Botswana

• Department of Education and Language Skills, Botho University

Canada

• Department of German Language and Literature, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario^[3]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto^[4]

China

• Department of German, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Haidian District, Beijing
• Institute of German and European Studies, Tongji University, Yangpu District, Shanghai

Czech Republic

• Department of German and Austrian Studies, Charles University in Prague^[5]
• Department of German Studies, Palacký University in Olomouc^[6]

India

• Jawaharlal Nehru University India^[7]

Ireland

• Department of Germanic Studies, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Ireland^[8]
• Department of German, National University of Ireland – University College Cork, Cork, Ireland^[9]

Israel

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^[11]
• Institut für deutsche Sprache und Literatur I & II, Albertus-Magnus-Universität zu Köln^[12]
• Institut für Germanistik I & II, Hamburg University^[13]
• Germanistisches Seminar, Heidelberg University Faculty of Modern Languages
• Institut für deutsche Philologie, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich^[14]
• Germanistisches Institut, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster^[15]
• Deutsches Seminar, Tübingen University Faculty of Modern Languages

Greece

• Faculty of German Language and Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens^[16]
• School of German Language and Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki^[17]

Russia

• Department of Area Studies, Moscow State University^[18]

South Africa

• School of Languages and Literatures, University of Cape Town^[19]
• Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French, University of the Free State^[20]
• School of Languages, North-West University^[21]
• Ancient Modern Languages Cultures, University of Pretoria^[22]
• School of Languages and Literatures, Rhodes University^[23]
• Department of Modern Foreign Languages, University of Stellenbosch^[24]
• Department of Foreign Languages, University of the Western Cape^[25]
• Department of Literature, Language and Media, University of the Witwatersrand^[26]

Spain

• Área de Filología Alemana, University of Salamanca^[27]

Uganda

• Department of European and Oriental Languages, German Studies, Makerere University^[28]

United Kingdom (UK)

• Department of German, University of Oxford
• Department of German, University of Cambridge
• Department of German, University of Manchester
• Department of German Studies, University of Warwick

United States of America (USA)

• Department of German Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson^[29]
• German Program of the Department of World Languages & Literatures, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville^[30]
• Department of German Studies, Brown University^[31]
• Department of German, University of California, Berkeley^[32]
• Department of Germanic Languages, University of California, Los Angeles^[33]
• Department of German Studies, University of Cincinnati
• Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO^[34]
• Department of Germanic Languages, Columbia University^[35]
• Department of German Studies, Cornell University^[36]
• Department of German Studies, Dartmouth College
• Department of German, Duke University
• Department of German, Georgetown University^[37]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University^[38]
• Department of Germanic Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL^[39]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign^[40]
• Department of Germanic Studies, Indiana University
• German and Scandinavian Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst^[41]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI^[42]
• Department of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch, University of Minnesota^[43]
• Department of German, New York University^[44]
• Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill^[45]
• Department of German, Northwestern University^[46]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio^[47]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pennsylvania^[48]
• Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania^[49]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literature, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania^[50]
• Department of German, Princeton University^[51]
• Department of Germanic Studies, University of Texas at Austin^[52]
• Department of Classical & Modern Languages, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri^[53]
• Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee^[54]
• Department of Germanic and Russian, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont^[55]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Virginia^[56]
• Department of Germanics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington^[57]
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri^[58]
• Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic, University of Wisconsin – Madison
• Department of German, Yale University^[59]
• Department of Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages, Michigan State University^[60]

Zimbabwe

• Department of Languages, Literature and Culture University of Zimbabwe^[61]

See also

• Area studies
• German National Honor Society (Delta Epsilon Phi) in the US
• German Studies Association
• Germanic philology
• Germanisches Nationalmuseum
• New Objectivity
• Sturm und Drang

Bibliography

Books

• Atlas Deutsche Sprache [CD-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. 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^[62]
• German Life and Letters^[63]
• German Studies Review
• The Germanic Review^[64]
• Germanistik^[65]
• Germanistik in Ireland
• The German Quarterly
• Goethe Yearbook^[66]
• Journal of Austrian Studies^[67]
• The Journal of English and Germanic Philology
• Journal of Germanic Linguistics
• Lessing Yearbook^[68]
• Modern Language Notes (German Issue)
• Monatshefte^[69]
• Michigan Germanic Studies
• New German Critique
• Oxford German Studies^[70]
• Publications of the English Goethe Society^[71]
• Seminar^[72]
• Teaching German (Unterrichtspraxis)^[73]
• Text+Kritik
• Transit^[74]
• Zeitschrift für interkulturelle Germanistik^[75]
• Zeitschrift für Germanistik^[76]

References

1. See e.g. the left navigation at the web page of one of the Cologne University German studies institutes at http://idsl1.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/
2. Web site: Deutschabteilung Benin. 16 May 2023.
3. Web site: Department of German Language & Literature. https://web.archive.org/web/20060209122045/http://www.queensu.ca/german/. dead. 9 February 2006. 9 February 2006.
4. Web site: Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto.
5. Web site: Katedra německých a rakouských st. IMS - Institut mezinárodních studií. 2021-02-21. ims.fsv.cuni.cz. cs.
6. Web site: Katedra germanistiky. 2021-02-21. Katedra germanistiky. cs.
7. Web site: Centre of German Studies. https://web.archive.org/web/20060404184643/http://www.jnu.ac.in/Academics/Schools/SchoolOfLanguage/GermanCenter.htm. dead. 4 April 2006. 4 April 2006.
8. Web site: German - Trinity College Dublin. university.
9. Web site: German - University College Cork. University College Cork.
10. Web site: אוניברסיטת חיפה - הפקולטה למדעי הרוח I המרכז ללימודי גרמניה ואירופה - Home. 2021-02-21. hcges.haifa.ac.il.
11. Web site: Germanistik Bonn. germanistik.uni-bonn.de.
12. Web site: Institut für deutsche Sprache & Literatur. 2021-02-21. idsl1.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de.
13. Web site: German Language and Literature. https://web.archive.org/web/20051210181301/http://www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/Stuplan/DeutSprachLit_eng.html. dead. 10 December 2005. 10 December 2005.
14. Web site: Institut für Deutsche Philologie - LMU München. germanistik.uni-muenchen.de.
15. Web site: Germanistik - Germanistisches Institut. Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germanistisches. Institut. uni-muenster.de.
16. Web site: Welcome Page . www.gs.uoa.gr . 14 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100902113508/http://www.gs.uoa.gr/en/en.htm . 2 September 2010 . dead.
17. Web site: Αρχική σελίδα. del.auth.gr.
18. http://www.ffl.msu.ru/en/about/structure
19. Web site: German Language and Literature at UCT. 16 May 2023.
20. Web site: Division German. 16 May 2023.
21. Web site: NWU German. 16 May 2023.
22. Web site: UP German. 17 May 2023.
23. Web site: German Studies - What, why how? . 16 May 2023.
24. Web site: Stellenbosch German Studies Programme. 16 May 2023.
25. Web site: UWC German. 16 May 2023.
26. Web site: Wits, Why study German?. 16 May 2023.
27. http://www.usal.es/aleman
28. Web site: German Courses @ MAK. 16 May 2023.
29. Web site: Department of German Studies - University of Arizona. Department of German Studies - University of Arizona.
30. Web site: German at the UofA - University of Arkansas. german.uark.edu.
31. Web site: Department of German Studies - German Studies. brown.edu. 29 April 2024 .
32. Web site: German Department, University of California, Berkeley. https://web.archive.org/web/20060208194909/http://german.berkeley.edu/index.php. dead. 8 February 2006. 8 February 2006.
33. Web site: Home - Germanic Languages - UCLA. Germanic Languages - UCLA.
34. Web site: Germanic & Slavic Languages & Literatures. Germanic & Slavic Languages & Literatures.
35. Web site: Department of Germanic Languages. 2021-02-21. germanic.columbia.edu.
36. Web site: German Studies German Studies Cornell Arts & Sciences. 2021-02-21. german.cornell.edu.
37. Web site: Home Page . 2024-02-07 . Department of German . en-US.
38. Web site: DEPARTMENT OF GERMANIC LANGUAGES & LITERATURES. fas.harvard.edu.
39. Web site: Germanic Studies - University of Illinois at Chicago - UIC. lcsl.las.uic.edu.
40. Web site: Home « Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . ATLAS - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . www.germanic.illinois.edu .
41. Web site: German & Scandinavian Studies - LLC - UMass Amherst. umass.edu.
42. Web site: Germanic Languages and Literatures - U-M LSA Germanic Languages and Literatures. lsa.umich.edu.
43. Web site: German, Scandinavian & Dutch Department. 2021-02-21. German, Nordic, Slavic & Dutch College of Liberal Arts. en.
44. Web site: Department of German. New York University.
45. Web site: Department of Germanic & Slavic Languages and Literatures. 2021-02-21. en-US.
46. Web site: Department of German - Northwestern University. german.northwestern.edu.
47. Web site: Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures.
48. Web site: Germanic Languages and Literatures. ccat.sas.upenn.edu.
49. Web site: Welcome! Willkommen! Добро пожаловать! Вітаємо! Witamy! — German. german.la.psu.edu.
50. Web site: University of Pittsburgh: Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. https://web.archive.org/web/20080210144149/http://www.pitt.edu/~germanic/. dead. 10 February 2008. 10 February 2008.
51. Web site: Department of German. german.princeton.edu.
52. Web site: Germanic Studie Website Redirect . 17 March 2006 . 14 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150114084322/http://www.utexas.edu/depts/german/main.html . dead .
53. Web site: Modern Language Major. 2020-07-15. Truman State University.
54. Web site: Home. 2021-02-21. Department of German, Russian and East European Studies. en.
55. Web site: Department of German and Russian. 2021-02-21. www.uvm.edu. en.
56. Web site: german.virginia.edu -. virginia.edu.
57. Web site: Department of Germanics - University of Washington. depts.washington.edu.
58. Web site: Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures - Washington University in St. Louis. german.wustl.edu.
59. Web site: Welcome . Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. Yale University.
60. Web site: German. 2020-11-12. Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages. en-US.
61. Web site: German Programs.
62. Web site: Arbitrium . De Gruyter . September 6, 2022.
63. Web site: German Life and Letters . Wiley Online Library . September 6, 2022.
64. Web site: Journal overview . The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture and Theory . September 3, 2022.
65. Web site: Germanistik . De Gruyter . September 6, 2022.
66. Web site: GOETHE YEARBOOK . Goethe Society of North America . September 3, 2022.
67. Web site: Journal of Austrian Studies . Project Muse . September 6, 2022.
68. Web site: Lessing Yearbook/Jahrbuch . Lessing Society.
69. Web site: Home: Monatshefte . UW Press Journals Division . September 3, 2022.
70. Web site: Oxford German Studies . Taylor & Francis . September 6, 2022.
71. Web site: Publications of the English Goethe Society . English Goethe Society . September 6, 2022.
72. Web site: Seminar . Project Muse . September 6, 2022.
73. Web site: Teaching German (Unterrichtspraxis) . Wiley Online Journal . September 6, 2022.
74. Web site: Transit . Berkeley.
75. Web site: About this journal . De Gruyter . September 3, 2022.
76. Web site: Zeitschrift für Germanistik . Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin . September 3, 2022.

External links

• BUBL Link (UK-based) Catalogue of Internet Resources Concerning the German Language: https://web.archive.org/web/20060218094937/http://bubl.ac.uk/link/g/germanlanguage.htm (well organized; covers many aspects of the language and the study of it)
• https://web.archive.org/web/20050718171402/http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/hum/german/german_net.html (University of Adelaide's categorized guide to German Area Studies online)
• 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)
• Categorical list of German Departments around the world
• 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