Students in the Department of German Studies benefit from belonging to a small, supportive learning community with ample opportunities to engage in research, critical thinking, and special projects.
You are here
An Outstanding Student Experience
Student Success Stories
October 20, 2021
When I started working at Freie Universität Berlin in 2019, I was tasked with setting up a translation office that could provide language services for the entire university. That was quite a tall order, but things quickly got rolling during my first year in the new position: We implemented a translation software package to manage projects. I was able to advertise two positions for staff translators. Requests for translations were coming in from all corners of the university.
Then, the pandemic... Read more
October 13, 2021
The University of Washington’s German Club is organizing weekly meetups (Stammtisch) for students to hang out, practice their language skills, and play some German board games. Recently, they facilitated a ‘Study Slam’ to help prepare 100 and 200 level language students for their final exams.
German Club will continue to meet for Stammtisch every Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30pm, starting the second week of the autumn quarter 2021 at Denny Hall, Room 359. Come and join... Read more
September 22, 2021
Looking for some good German tunes to practice your language skills while rocking out? Check out these playlists from students in German 307 (spring 2021)! Warning: you're likely to catch an Ohrwurm!
In this conversation and translation course, we practiced German by listening to and talking about music. Much of the course material was chosen by students, as they discovered and shared German songs... Read more
September 22, 2021
Incoming Freshmen in Early Fall Start studied Revolutions and their Art (Aug-Sept 2021). Students were located across the world in this remote learning course taught by German Studies professor, Ellwood Wiggins. In class, they discussed representations of revolutions from antiquity to today, including the American Revolution (Hamilton: a... Read more
May 20, 2021
Convocation Program
Thursday, June 10, 2021
3:00 p.m.
Online Meeting Link
Welcome Professor Sabine WilkeDepartment Chair
Graduation Address Elena SimmsDeputy Consul of Germany, SF Consulate General
Graduation of Class of 2021 Professor Jason Groves
Graduation of MAs and PhDs Professor Ellwood... Read more
May 18, 2021
This academic year was one of milestones. In March, I successfully completed my Ph.D. exams and defended my prospectus. I am now starting the hard part of writing the first chapter of my dissertation, which examines how authors from former Yugoslavia use foreign words when writing in German about the traumatic experiences of their communities, to give a voice to those communities who had previously been ignored by those in power. I am excited to continue working with Prof. Jason Groves on this... Read more
May 17, 2021
I miss Seattle!
As a graduate student who will be graduating this June, I only spend one year’s time at Seattle due to the pandemic, now I am having online classes in my home country and I really miss everything in Seattle now.
Studying at the University of Washington is something I did not expect to happen in my life. I feel grateful that the Germanics Department offers me the fellowship to support my dream and the teaching opportunity enriches my own career development, I have so many... Read more
May 17, 2021
This year I am excited to be able to present some of my recent research at the upcoming GSA conference, which will be held in a hybrid format in Indianapolis, Indiana. As part of a panel exploring modes of nonhuman subjectification, I look forward to giving a talk entitled “Infectious Identities: Mensch, Mücke, and the Sanguine Sisterhood of Carmen Stephan’s Mal Aria (2012).” Stephan’s novel (which I can wholeheartedly recommend!), is notable not least of all for... Read more
May 17, 2021
This year I was the recipient of the Antoinette Wills Endowed Fund for Graduate Students, a scholarship that has provided me the opportunity in an all too difficult year to make progress in my scholarly work. Most importantly, I have developed further the second chapter of my dissertation, which delves into one of Goethe’s most famous works, Faust. First and foremost, I define Goethe’s concept of catastrophe, characterizing it as, in the words of Fritz Breithaupt, an “event-that-should... Read more
May 17, 2021
After spending a year teaching English language and culture courses at the Westfällische-Wilhelms Universität Münster, Jeffrey returned to the University of Washington to continue his PhD. In the past year, he has taught courses at the WWU and UW, finished his prospectus, co-organized an interdisciplinary conference, advised the department’s German Club, and is currently participating in an ongoing graduate student workshop on Romanticism studies.
Jeffrey was able to continue remotely teaching... Read more