LETTER FROM THE CHAIR (summer 2026)
Dear Alums and Friends of German Studies:
Now that the vibrant excitement of the spring quarter has settled into the quiet of summer, I am pleased to share some of our latest news in German Studies. This spring saw a banner number of events in the German Studies Seminar Room (Denny 359) that echoed across the university and into the community, well beyond our corner on the third floor of Denny Hall.
We kicked off the quarter with a series of events around the Paramount Theater’s screening of Murnau’s Faust (1926): André Schütze gave a presentation on the filmmaker to a rapt audience before the show; I myself spoke at the Paramount and fielded questions in the Q&A afterwards; and we all came together for a seminar-style discussion about the film around the table a few days later. We hope you will join us for these quarterly departmental seminars in the future!
As Germanists, we have a responsibility to draw attention to and spread knowledge about the past, present, and possible futures of nationalism and rightest extremism. Two visiting speakers addressed the alarming rise of the New Right in open public fora: the annual Graduate Student Invited Speaker, Johannes von Moltke (University of Michigan), gave a talk on the rhetoric of the neo-nationalist media, and our Max Kade Visiting Professor, Ansgar Mohnkern (University of Amsterdam), spoke about German soccer fandom and the New Right. Finally, in a Memory Studies research series sponsored by the Simpson Center for the Humanities, Simone Stirner (Harvard University) offered a lively workshop and moving lecture on memory, poetry, and the Shoah.
We were especially proud to celebrate our students’ accomplishments during this year’s German Studies commencement celebration. We congratulate our graduating majors, minors, MA, and PhD, as well as the recipients of the Sammy McLean Awards and other prizes!
We’re happy to send our graduates out into the world, but goodbyes are always bittersweet. Upon the news of Professor Brigitte Prutti’s retirement, many testimonials to her impact as a teacher, adviser, and colleague flew in, and we’ve gathered some of them in a tribute that you can read in the link above. We wish Professor Prutti all the best in a well-deserved retirement!
To help these exciting events continue in the future, I am inviting you to make a donation to our fund, Friends of German Studies. Support for this fund is crucial, as it enables us to create innovative public events that impact communities within and beyond the university. The fund also supports students and faculty who present papers at conferences, guest speakers in courses, student awards, and many other activities that are so vital in a small department. We strive to create enriching and memorable experiences for our students, and it’s only your donations that make this possible.
Thank you so much for your new or continuing support of the Department and its programs.
Best wishes,
Click HERE to make a donation to our featured fund, Friends of German Studies.