285942da1bf1b114227f84ccdd4bcbf7Copyright Doug Chayka (2015)Internationally recognized for its cutting-edge research and teaching, the German Department at Rutgers has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years: We emphasize interdisciplinary modes of inquiry and foster excellence in research and pedagogy at all levels of instruction. Our internationally recognized faculty offers a wide range of expertise in German intellectual history from the 18th to the 20th century; the Age of Goethe; Romanticism; Realism; German Jewish Studies; film and media studies; psychoanalysis; gender studies; 20th century avant-gardes; Frankfurt School; Holocaust studies and the poetics of witnessing; 21st century literature, pop literature, and contemporary German theater. Faculty research is complemented by regular distinguished visiting professors and scholars-in-residence. Our graduate students cover a wide range of topics in their classes, and this variety is reflected in the breadth of their dissertations, which combine ethnography, postcolonialism, hybridity, visual culture, and the fluidity of gender roles with the analysis of literary texts. Students regularly host conferences; their foci in recent years have included “Ecstasy – Ekstase - Rausch,” “Shock,” “Apocalyptic Narratives,” “Economic HiStories,” and “Intermediality”; they invite fellow graduate students from neighboring universities in order to foster exchange and collaborations; they participate at the Festival for New Literature, an event that brings together Swiss, German, and Austrian writers of contemporary fiction with American audiences; and they have made good use of Rutgers’ membership in the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium, building their network to faculty at Princeton, Columbia, NYU and the University of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, students strengthen their teaching portfolio by assisting in large content courses taught by faculty and in the FUBIS summer program in Berlin. Since 2018, the German Department and the Ruhr-Universität-Bochum offer a joint Summer Academy on “Media Philology” for graduate students and faculty from both Departments as well as selected guest speakers.

 2024 Call For Applications

For further information , please contact Graduate Director Prof. Nicola Behrmann at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For the December 6th Info Session click here