Category Archives: Programs

German & Slavic Studies Becomes German & Russian Studies on 7/1

On July 1, 2015, the Department of German and Slavic Studies will have a new name: German and Russian Studies.  “This name change highlights our emphasis on Russian literature, film, and culture and on Russian as a critical language. With our new hire, Dr. Irina Erman, joining us as a tenure track assistant professor of Russian this fall, we are poised to build on the stellar work of our retiring colleague Professor Raisa Gomer and continue to offer our students an excellent Russian Studies program,” observes Dr. Morgan Koerner, Department Chair-Elect.

“The Not-Word: German-Jewish Poetry after the Holocaust” March 12th, 6pm, Addlestone 227

“The Not-Word: German-Jewish Poetry after the Holocaust”

March 12th, 6pm, Addlestone 227

What does it mean to write in German as a Jewish author after the Holocaust? Can poetry recover, reclaim, and renew language after unspeakable trauma? How do we translate poetry written on the edge of silence? Johannes Wich-Schwarz (Maryville University) will explore these questions in a presentation on German-Jewish poetry written after 1945. The presentation offers an introduction to poets who reconfigured the aesthetic landscape of post-war Germany and demonstrated the importance of poetry after Auschwitz, including internationally renowned authors Paul Celan and Nelly Sachs as well as the influential German language poets Rose Ausländer, Hilde Domin, and Erich Fried. Professor Wich-Schwarz is the author of Transformation of Language and Religion in Rainer Maria Rilke and is currently completing a volume of English translations of German-Jewish poetry.

Welcome to the Department of German and Slavic Studies’ News Blog!

In weeks and months ahead, all significant news related to our department’s students, faculty and German and Russian programs will be posted here.  Wish to post something newsworth?  Please post it at our Facebook page and we’ll take it from there!  Please also “Like” us on our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/CofCGermanSlavic.