Germanic Languages and Literatures

Adjacent to Halsey Hall
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400125
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4125
(434) 924-3530 Fax: (434) 924-6700
www.virginia.edu/german

Overview The study of Germanic languages and literatures is a human or cultural science that attempts to apply the concept of “criticism,” in the broadest sense of the term to language, literature, culture, film, intellectual history, philosophy, and theory of the German speaking countries. As this wide range indicates, the field is interdisciplinary in nature. German majors are encouraged, therefore, to take courses in such humanistic disciplines as history, philosophy, other foreign languages, criticism, theory, film studies, feminist theory and criticism, comparative literature, and religious studies.

Although the undergraduate program stresses literary and cultural studies, the department is also actively concerned with assisting students whose interests are non-literary: students who are primarily interested in, for example, the structure and history of the language of film.

Faculty According to national rankings, the department is one of the nation’s most prestigious. This is in part due to the diverse nature of the interests and expertise of the twelve faculty members who comprise the department. From medieval courtly romance to postmodern literature and literary theory, the department attempts to provide a range of course work that is both challenging and far reaching. Some of the more nationally prominent faculty have published several influential books. Their scholarship explores a wide expanse: 18th- and 19th-century German literature and literary theory, 20th-century German writers and thinkers, Freud, existentialism, German expressionism, the theory and history of drama, postwar German literature, feminist literary theory, narrative theory, lyric poetry, and film studies. Faculty members have also concentrated their work on the lives, philosophies, and literature of several prominent German writers and thinkers: Kafka, Musil, Rilke, Hofmannsthal, and Brecht.

Students The department has approximately thirty-five majors and twenty minors. Of the thirty-five majors, approximately one-half are double majors. German and English, German and mathematics, German and history, German and foreign affairs, German and French, and German and economics are most popular double majors. Outstanding undergraduates have undertaken graduate study at other leading German departments. Others have chosen law or medical school, or pursued careers in business, economics, and foreign affairs.

Class size typically ranges from ten to sixty students; the larger courses are German in translation courses, popular because of the nationally ranked faculty who teach them. With the exception of introductory and intermediate level language courses, all classes are taught by faculty.

Special Resources

Study Abroad The department encourages its students to spend a summer, semester, or a full academic year abroad. The University has a program available to undergraduates at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena and at the Universität Dortmund.

The German House The department currently maintains a German House in which twelve students can reside with a native speaker. The house is located near the University Grounds and is a meeting place for undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. It also serves as a site for colloquia and discussion groups.