About Us
The Department of German Studies is a part of the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages.
The German Studies Department provides students with the linguistic and analytic ability to explore the significance of the cultural traditions and political histories of the German-speaking countries of Central Europe. At the same time, the interdisciplinary study of German culture, which can include art, economics, history, literature, media theory, philosophy, political science, and other fields, encourages students to evaluate broader and contradictory legacies of the German past. Building on this is an examination of the rapid modernization and status of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland today.
The German experience of national identity, political unification, and integration into the European Union sheds light on broader issues of cultural cohesion and difference, as well as on the causes and meaning of phenomena such as racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust. In general, education in German Studies encourages the student to consider the impact of German-speaking thinkers and artists and provides a lens through which the contours of the present and past, in Europe and elsewhere, can be evaluated.
The department offers students the opportunity to pursue coursework at all levels in the languages, cultures, literature, and societies of German-language traditions. Whether interested in German literature, the influence of German philosophy on other fields in the humanities, or the character of German society and politics, students find a broad range of courses covering language acquisition and refinement, literary history and criticism, cultural history and theory, history of thought, continental philosophy, and linguistics.
By carefully planning their programs, students may fulfill the B.A. requirements for a double major in German Studies and another subject. A coterminal program is offered for the B.A. and M.A. degrees in German Studies. Doctoral students may elect Ph.D. minors in other disciplines, such as Comparative Literature, Humanities, Linguistics, and Modern Thought and Literature.
Special collections and facilities at Stanford offer possibilities for extensive research in German Studies and related fields pertaining to Central Europe. Facilities include the Stanford University Libraries and the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. Special collections include the Hildebrand Collection (texts and early editions from the 16th to the 19th century), the Austrian Collection (with emphasis on source material to the time of Maria Theresa and Joseph II, the Napoleonic wars, and the Revolution of 1848), and the Stanford Collection of German, Austrian, and Swiss Culture. New collections emphasize culture and cultural politics in the former German Democratic Republic. The Hoover Institution has a unique collection of historical and political documents pertaining to Germany and Central Europe from 1870 to the present. The department also has its own reference library.
German Studies hosts visitors sponsored annually by the Gerda Henkel Foundation. These visitors teach courses in their area of expertise and are available for discussion and consultation with graduate students and undergraduates regarding their various research projects. A Mellon Fellow is often also hosted by the department. The resident Mellon Fellow teaches courses and consults with the faculty and students while completing a project in their area of expertise.
A monthly guest lecture, offered by invited visitors to the campus, enhances the vibrant intellectual climate of German Studies at Stanford.
People
Browse the people that work for Stanford's Department of German Studies.
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Lea Pao
Director of Graduate Studies: Elizabeth Bernhardt
Connect with Us
Use these channels to learn more about our department and reach out to us.
Visit our website: https://dlcl.stanford.edu/departments/german-studies
Email us: germanstudies@stanford.edu
Call our main office: (650) 723-3266
Fax our main office: (650) 725-9306
Find Us on Campus or Send Us Mail
Department of German Studies
Pigott Hall, Bldg 260, Rooms 127-128
450 Jane Stanford Way
Mail Code: 2030
Stanford, CA 94305