German

Academic Year: 
2020-21
Department for Program: 
German
Address: 
East Pyne
Phone: 
609-258-4142
Website: 
Department of German
Program offerings: 
Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies
Brigid Doherty
Graduate Program Administrator
Lynn Ratsep

Overview

Princeton's graduate program in German has long been recognized as one of the leading programs of German studies. Students are offered the chance to participate in an intense intellectual community and to work with scholars whose expertise encompasses the breadth of German literary tradition as well as contemporary interdisciplinary and theoretical approaches to the study of German culture.

Each year the department admits a small number of highly motivated students to its Ph.D. program. The Ph.D. program is normally a five-year program. The department does not offer a program of study culminating in the terminal M.A.  Instead, an M.A. degree is awarded upon request after successful completion of the general examination. During at least one of the program's two years of coursework the student is expected to live in Princeton in fulfillment of the University's residency requirement.  Beyond the successful completion of coursework, the major formal requirements for the Ph.D. are the general examination and the dissertation. Students typically complete the first part of the general examination, the so-called "erudition exam," in the fall of the third year of study, after having completed twelve courses over four semesters, both within the German department and in other departments. The second part of the general examination, the so-called "special exam," is typically completed in the spring semester of the third year (either in the January/February or the April/May phd exam period. The dissertation prospectus colloquium generally takes place at the end of the third year or beginning of fourth.  Students who come to the program with previous graduate training in the field (e.g., an M.A.) may in some cases be permitted to reduce their coursework to three semesters and complete the general examination earlier, in the spring of the second year. Following the successful completion of the general examination and the dissertation prospectus colloquium, students’ individual courses of study vary, although most choose to go abroad during the fourth year to conduct dissertation research and then return to write the dissertation in the fifth and, if needed, sixth years.

Applying

Application Deadline: 
December 31 - 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time
Program Length: 
5 years
Application Fee: 
$95
Application Requirements: 
Statement of Academic Purpose
Resume/Curriculum Vitae
Recommendation Letters
Transcripts
Fall Semester Grades
Required Tests
English Language Tests
GRE : 
General Test optional/not required
Additional Departmental Requirements: 

Sample of written work. Applicants should be fluent in German.

Ph.D.

Ph.D. Requirements: 
Courses:

Students ordinarily complete twelve courses over the first two years. In addition, during the third year and while teaching, students must take a seminar on second language acquisition with the department’s language coordinator. Courses are conducted as small and informal seminars ranging typically from five to fifteen participants, and, depending on the material being discussed, will be offered in either English or German. Participants in the seminars frequently include students from neighboring departments, such as comparative literature, art history, architectural theory, classics, history, and music.

Additional opportunities and department life:
An important feature of the department's intellectual life is an annual graduate symposium that gives our graduate students an opportunity to present their work in a rigorous academic setting that still has some of the feeling of "home." In addition, graduate students in the German department have the chance to organize conferences that feature distinguished scholars as keynote speakers and provide an occasion for the presentation of papers - - by our own students and students from other institutions.

In addition to the regular visits of our two permanent faculty members Juliane Rebentisch, (Hochschule für Gestaltung, Offenbach/Main) and Joseph Vogl (HU, Berlin), the department enhances the offerings of its faculty by inviting distinguished guest professors for a term. Visiting professors have included Ann Marie Rasmussen, (Waterloo), Andreas Kilcher (Zurich), Jane Newman (Irvine), Niklaus Largier (Berkeley), Juliane Vogel (Konstanz), Rebecca Comay (Toronto), Gabriele Brandstetter (Berlin), Rudolph Stichweh (Bonn), Wilfried Barner (Tubingen), Dorrit Cohn (Harvard), Jochen Hörisch (Mannheim), Alice Kuzniar (University of North Carolina), Eberhard Laemmert (Berlin), Michael Steinberg (Cornell), Liliane Weissberg (University of Pennsylvania), David Wellbery (Chicago), Peter Fenves (Northwestern), Aleida Assmann (Konstanz), Winfried Menninghaus (Berlin), and Hent De Vries (Johns Hopkins). With the support of the Max Kade Foundation, the department also brings German artists and intellectuals to reside and teach at Princeton. Visitors have included Heiner Mueller, Peter Schneider, Monika Maron, Martin Walser, Hans-Joachim Ruckhaeberle, and Durs Grünbein. The annual departmental lecture series also offers students an opportunity to discuss the speaker's research with him or her in an informal setting following the lecture.

Language(s):

By the end of their second year, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in one additional foreign language other than English or German. In order to fulfill this requirement, students must pass one of the language examinations given by the appropriate department at Princeton. Students choosing to concentrate on literature before 1700 are advised to take Latin as their second foreign language.

General Exam:

The first part of the general examination, which is typically taken in the fall of the third year and is called the "erudition exam," is designed to ensure that students have a strong foundation in the canon of German literature, philosophy, social theory, and film. When new students enroll in the program, they are given a list of works upon which this first exam will be based and are expected to devote time during the first two years working through this list.

The second part of the general examination, which is typically taken in the January/February or April/May general examination period of the third year and is called the "special exam," is devoted to a series of specific topics developed by the student in consultation with the examination committee, and is conceived as preparation for work on the dissertation.

Students who fail a part of the general examination a first attempt may on the recommendation of the department stand for reexamination of that part within a year. Students who fail the general examination a second and final time have their Ph.D. candidacy and enrollment terminated at the first of the month following that in which the examination was retaken.

Students should be aware of the following Graduate School policy:  No student should be readmitted to a fourth year (seventh term) of graduate study without having successfully completed the general examination. Depending on when the first failure takes place, this may mean that students will have less than a year for a retake. For the full Graduate School policy on General examinations, see https://gradschool.princeton.edu/academics/degree-requirements/phd-advising-and-requirements/general-examination

Qualifying for the M.A.:

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is normally an incidental degree on the way to full Ph.D. candidacy and is earned after a student successfully completes both parts of the general examination. It may also be awarded to students who, for various reasons, leave the Ph.D. program, provided that the following requirements are met:

  •  Successful completion of all pre-generals requirements.
  •  No INCs (incompletes) on the transcript.
  •  EITHER 1) A pass of the Erudition exam sufficient for an M.A., but not for proceeding to Ph.D.candidacy OR 2) Completion of an M.A. thesis (approximate length of 30-40 pages). The thesis should be an expansion of a previous seminar research paper. The advisor for this paper would be the faculty member for whom the initial seminar paper was written. The thesis must be approved by the adviser and a second reader from among the faculty.
Teaching:

Students are required to teach one year of German Language (usually 101-102). Teaching typically begins in the third year and is preceded by a one-week pedagogy workshop led by the department’s Language Coordinator, along with the AI Orientation given by the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning.

Concurrent with teaching 101-102, students must enroll in GER 506 (Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy), taught by the department’s Language Coordinator.

Students are required to teach the second-year sequence (105-107) in order to receive sixth-year funding. For students who enrolled prior to 2020, this assignment must take place during the sixth year itself.

Post-Generals Requirement(s):

Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium:
Upon successfully completing both parts of the Generals Examination, the student will select a committee of three faculty that includes the dissertation advisor or advisors and one or two other faculty members with expertise in the field. With approval, the latter faculty may be drawn from outside the department or, on occasion, beyond Princeton. Working closely with the committee of three faculty, the student will craft a dissertation prospectus. The dissertation prospectus is intended to help the student set out on the best path toward successful completion of the dissertation in a timely fashion. It is generally between 15 and 25 pages in length, sets out the major question(s) the dissertation will explore, and includes a preliminary bibliography, formatted in either MLA or Chicago style. It may include an articulation of chapters or even a sample part of a chapter. The precise expectations for the prospectus, including its length, should be discussed in detail with the adviser(s) upon completion of the Special Examination.

At least two weeks prior to the date of the Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium (generally held in April or May), third-year students are required to submit the final draft of the dissertation prospectus, which will be circulated to all members of the German department. The Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium is a departmental event that entails a concise presentation of the dissertation topic by the student followed by a discussion of the proposed research with the entire faculty and graduate community. Together with the faculty and students, the committee will make recommendations concerning the direction of the research and the feasibility and scope of the dissertation project. Students should work with the Graduate Administrator, Lynn Ratsep, and the coordinators of the departmental “Works in Progress” series to set up a date, time, and place for the Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium (typically with two prospectus presentations per session). In certain circumstances the Prospectus Colloquium can be scheduled for the fall of a student’s fourth year.

Dissertation and FPO:

Final Public Oral (FPO) Examination
The Ph.D. is awarded after the candidate’s doctoral dissertation has been accepted and the final public oral (FPO) examination sustained.  During the FPO, which lasts up to two hours, the candidate presents a brief summary of the dissertation and then defends the work before faculty (including the readers and examiners appointed by the department, according to Graduate School rules), peers, and other members of the university community.

Faculty

Chair

  • Devin A. Fore

Director of Graduate Studies

  • Brigid Doherty

Director of Undergraduate Studies

  • Johannes Wankhammer

Professor

  • Devin A. Fore
  • Michael W. Jennings
  • Nikolaus Wegmann

Associate Professor

  • Brigid Doherty
  • Thomas Y. Levin
  • Sara S. Poor

Assistant Professor

  • Joel B. Lande
  • Barbara N. Nagel
  • Johannes Wankhammer

Senior Lecturer

  • Adam Oberlin
  • James W. Rankin
For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

Courses

Permanent Courses

Courses listed below are graduate-level courses that have been approved by the program’s faculty as well as the Curriculum Subcommittee of the Faculty Committee on the Graduate School as permanent course offerings. Permanent courses may be offered by the department or program on an ongoing basis, depending on curricular needs, scheduling requirements, and student interest. Not listed below are undergraduate courses and one-time-only graduate courses, which may be found for a specific term through the Registrar’s website. Also not listed are graduate-level independent reading and research courses, which may be approved by the Graduate School for individual students.

ART 553 Seminar in Central European Art (also
GER 553
) Topics in the art and culture of the central European region from 1500 to 1800.
COM 535 Contemporary Critical Theories (also
ENG 528
/
GER 536
) Criticism as an applied art and as an autonomous discipline. Exploration of its place in intellectual history and a theoretical analysis of its basic assumptions. [Topics vary each year.]
COM 565 Studies in Forms of Poetry (also
ENG 544
/
FRE 565
/
GER 565
) This seminar explores the intricate relations of poetry to history and memory in the troubled 20th century. Individual poets are closely studied for their intrinsic interest but also for their (known and still to be discovered) connections with each other. The poets are Eugenio Montale, René Char, Paul Celan, and Anne Carson, but other writers will also be called on from time to time. Questions of war and resistance are important, and above all the course attends to what one might think of as the fate of language under pressure.
GER 506 Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy The course provides an introduction to research on second-language acquisition and to the teaching of German as a foreign language.
GER 508 Middle High German Literature (also
MED 508
) Based on one specific text, the first term provides an introduction to language, metrics, manuscript tradition, and textual criticism. The second term deals with special topics in German literature between 1150 and 1450 or interdisciplinary topics such as orality and literacy, word and image.
GER 509 Middle High German Literature II (also
MED 509
/
GSS 510
/
COM 504
) Based on one specific text, the first term provides an introduction to language, metrics, manuscript tradition, and textual criticism. The second term deals with special topics in German literature between 1150 and 1450 or interdisciplinary topics such as orality and literacy, word and image.
GER 511 German Literature in the 17th Century German literature in the Counterreformation period, with attention to neighboring literatures. In addition to drama, lyric, and prose narratives, other, more overtly "occasional" forms are examined. Themes include courtliness and self-display, cultural styles, and the relationship of generic to moral intentions.
GER 512 German Literature in the 18th Century A study of changes in the philosophical and literary discourses of major movements from the Enlightenment to Sturm und Drang, along with special issues, problems, and works of the century.
GER 514 Topics in German Romanticism A study of representative texts in the context of general Romantic thought and culture.
GER 515 Studies in 19th-Century Literature and Culture Representative writers and literary movements from 1830 to 1890, with special attention given to the political, social, and cultural background of a specifically German version of Realism.
GER 516 Topics in 20th-Century Literature Course examines a wide range of literary forms and problems in the modern era and in the years following its demise. Topics include the modern German novel, modernist literature and photography, Viennese modernism, politics and avant-garde in the 1960's, and contemporary literature.
GER 517 Modernism and Modernity (also
MOD 535
/
FRE 554
) Explores the rise of modernism in the arts in the German-language world. Emphasis on the intellectual sources of the modernist movement in such thinkers as Nietzsche and Freud and such theorists of modernity as Weber, Simmel, Andreas-Salomé, and Benjamin.
GER 519 German Literature after 1945 The course is a study of representative works and writers, with special attention given to the intellectual, cultural, and social context.
GER 520 Topics in Literary and Cultural Theory Course treats a wide range of theoretical and historical issues concerning the interpretation of literary and cultural materials. Topics include psychoanalytic approaches to literature, the Frankfurt School and its legacy, feminist theory, German-Jewish Acculturation, relations between literature and the other arts, theories of literary reception, and fascism and culture.
GER 521 Topics in German Intellectual History (also
COM 580
) The course examines in their entirety mostly short texts that advance solutions to the intellectual problems preoccupying major German religious thinkers, writers, and philosophers, viz. justification, selfhood, theodicy, play, contingency, asceticism, estrangement, malaise, authenticity.
GER 525 Studies in German Film (also
MOD 510
/
COM 524
) Course explores movements in German cinema, with attention given to the cultural and ideological contexts as well as recent debates in contemporary film theory. Attention may focus on such pivotal topics as Weimar or the New German cinema, issues in German film theory, questions of film and Nazi culture, or avant-garde cinema, and on genres such as the "Heimatfilm," the "Street Film," and works by women and minority filmmakers.
GER 526 Topics in German Literature The Faust Theme in German Literature, Hölderlin and His Critics, and Uses of the Past in Postwar German Literature are all courses that have been previously offered.