German Studies

Program Overview

Why study German? A relevant field for the 21st century, German Studies at Lawrence emphasizes the diversity and multiculturalism of the German-speaking world. German is an important language—not just in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland—but also globally. Our innovative and engaging courses combine language learning with the exploration of the German-speaking cultures at all levels of the curriculum. In our classes, students learn the German language, of course, but also engage with literature, film, television, history, comics, music, art and visual culture, politics, social media, fashion, and much more. Our department embraces cultural studies which means we view all of culture as “readable.” Certainly, you can read a book or a poem, but you can also read a music video or a piece of furniture. Lawrence’s German Studies courses approach language as part of a larger context, so even our beginning classes are also courses in cultural studies.

German Studies students flex their critical thinking skills. Our courses draw on many intellectual traditions, including literary studies, film studies, queer and trans studies, gender studies, history, critical ethnic and race studies, disability studies, and postcolonialism. This exciting mix provides you with access to the cultures and histories of a dynamic, diverse, and interdependent international community, a global community in which German continues to be important. German Studies can be a vital part of a liberal arts education and offers transformative learning experiences relevant to our students’ lives at Lawrence and beyond.

Learning Spaces

Many alumni have told us that a highlight of their time at Lawrence was participating in the annual Björklunden Language Immersion weekend. This is when the global language and cultures departments gather at Lawrence’s “Northern Campus” to participate in different activities in German (or whatever department they are part of), which culminates in a rousing international cabaret.

In addition to our long-standing commitment to interdisciplinary cultural studies, our department has a well-defined and socially relevant mission that integrates German cultural studies and the following intersecting areas of inquiry:

• Foregrounding approaches drawn from disability studies, ethnic and critical whiteness studies/critical race theory, gender studies, Indigenous studies, postcolonial studies, queer and trans studies
• A global approach beyond Austria, Germany, and Switzerland
• Examination of colonial and imperial histories, genocide, migration, and nationalism, and their continued presence in the Germanophone realm
• Emphasis on cultural texts by scholars and creators from marginalized and underrepresented groups

Our majors and minors gain linguistic and intercultural competencies. They can express themselves creatively, analytically, and conversationally in German. Our students situate knowledge and cultural production within social, historical, global, and political frameworks, and engage critically with readable “texts” (i.e., the variety of artifacts not limited to writing) through the application of multiple disciplinary methods and theoretical approaches.

Explore the German-speaking world from multiple perspectives. Engage history and culture through a variety of texts—fashion in turn-of-the-century Vienna, vampire poetry, queer life in the roaring 20s, Black German autobiography. Become part of a distinctive German Studies program with a global orientation, and do all of this using the German language!