Undergraduate Research
German Studies faculty are active researchers. Our work reflects the work currently conducted in the field globally. We bring our own research and scholarship into the classroom at all levels.
One of the main goals of the German Studies program is to encourage mentored, independent research. Student research is a part of all our level classes above GRMN 207. In these courses, we will work closely with you to formulate and explore your own research questions.
In addition to the research opportunities in regularly offered classes, you may also
- take German Studies Senior Seminar (GRMN 408). In this course, you undertake a significant research project with the guidance of their professor
- enroll in GRMN 411, Independent Study. You may take this course multiple times during your career, provided you explore different topics each time.
- undertake a year-long project through the Honors Program in German Studies, if you are elegible.
- pursue independent research while studying abroad in Potsdam.
There are sources for funding available to students who wish to engage in research. Funding is available through the Charles Center. Judaic Studies also offers scholarships for summer study and research on topics directly related to Jewish Studies. The German Studies program awards a few of scholarships for research in German through our J. Richard Guthrie Scholarship.
Here are some examples of research projects recently completed by German Studies students:
- Daisy Garner, "Mehr als ein Spiel: Far-Left and Far-Right Football Subcultures in Germany," (Honors Thesis in German Studies, Spring 2021).
- Manasi Deorah, "Schieß, Bruder: Turkish-German Rap and Threatening Masculinity," (Honors Thesis in German Studies, Spring 2020).
- Jordan Wyner, "Narrating Public Space: Franz Kafka in Nationalized Prague," (Honors Thesis in German Studies, Spring 2019).
- Lilian Merrill, "Gestern willkommen, heute illegal: Die paradoxe Behandlung vietnamesischer Vertragsarbeiter zur Zeit der Wiedervereinigung," (Independent Study, Potsdam 2017).
- Shihao Du, "Erschaffung interkultureller Identität durch Sprachkontakte in den Texten von Yoko Tawada," (Honors Thesis in German Studies, Spring 2017).
- Gabrielle Hibbert, "Alternative Notions of Dissent: Punk Rock’s Significance in the
Soviet Union and East Germany," (Honors Thesis in German Studies, Spring 2017). - Reynolds Hahamovitch, "Molded from Clay: The Portrayal of Jews through the Golem in Yudel Rosenberg’s The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague and Gustav Meyrink’s Der Golem," (Honors Thesis in Interdisciplinary Studies, 2016).
- Mike Crumplar, "Das Echo des Heldenplatzes: Musikalität und Sprache bei Thomas Bernhard," (German Senior Seminar, 2015).
Our study abroad programs offer research opportunities for advanced German Studies students. Periodically, we also organize heavily subsidized study and research trips to German-speaking countries. Here are two examples of such trips:
- Jewish Cultural and Social Pathways in the Upper Rhine Valley Spring-Break Study-Research Trip in Judaic and German Studies, led by Rob Leventhal, Associate Professor of Gerrman Studies, March 5-15, 2015
- Community, Memory, and Shifting Jewish Identities in Post-Wall Germany: The Case of Munich Spring-Break Study-Research Trip in Judaic and German Studies led by Rob Leventhal, Associate Professor of German Studies, March 3-13, 2008.
