News

CfP: Decentering German Cinema (November 13-14, 2020)

Keynote address by Dr. Sabine Hake (The University of Texas at Austin)

1n 1996, Marc Silberman asked, “What is German in the German cinema?” In challenging the easy definition of national cinemas based on linguistic or geo-political borders, he illustrated the difficulty of pinpointing exactly what is “German” cinema, especially when taking into account the often multi- and transnational aspects of its history. His conclusion that “the form of the question tends to determine the way it is answered” suggested that the way German cinema was understood largely owed to the limitations scholars put on it in the framing of their own scholarship. The categories of German cinema, then, are self-defined and, thus, self-limiting. Similarly, both Anton Kaes and Sabine Hake have wrestled with how to define German cinema, both issuing calls to action to develop case studies (Sabine Hake) and “new cinema history” (Anton Kaes) to explore new ways of approaching and defining the what and who that comprise German cinema.  

Spend May and June 2020 in Germany!

Applications for the Canadian Summer School in Germany (CSSG) are now being accepted!

CSSG offers Intermediate and Advanced German Language & Culture CoursesGerman Immersion Community Service Learning Courses

Dates: May 3 – June 20, 2020
Cost: $1,726 tuition & approx. $2850 - 2950 program fee (plus airfare)

Undergraduate European Studies Conference, University of Guelph (Ontario)

November 23, 2019

This one-day conference will give students an opportunity to present their research, with faculty members and graduate students serving as moderators.

Students will also have the possibility of working with graduate student mentors while preparing their papers. They will have 15 minutes to present their work and a short discussion period will follow.

Oktoberfest: The History of Germany's Most Famous Festival (Friday, October 4, 2019)

Enjoy Oktoberfest-inspired appetizers and a drink from the keg before attending Professor James Skidmore's lecture on the history of Germany's most famous festival. The event concludes with an Oktoberfest dinner with all the fixings – including schnitzel, potato salad and apple strudel.

Check out our Fall 2019 Lectures on our events page

Printable poster

Weimar in 20/20 Der Glanz der leeren Mitte ~ The Glamour of the Empty Centre

CfPs Interdisciplinary Symposium May 27-29, 2020
 
King’s University College at Western University invites abstract submissions for an interdisciplinary symposium aimed at researchers engaged in the political, cultural, and social legacies of the Weimar Republic.
 

University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Organizers: Dr. Kyle Frackman and Dr. Ervin Malakaj
Dates: April 24–26, 2020

This symposium seeks to build on this exciting and extensive archive of scholarship on queer German studies by bringing together researchers at different stages of their academic careers and from different institutions to share their current research. While dedicated to contemporary approaches to queer German studies, the symposium additionally aims to facilitate discussion about the disciplinary history of queer German studies. Which developments shaped contemporary queer German studies and what futures lie ahead of it? 

Transverse Disciplines: 

Working across and beyond Academic Communities

Edited by: Simone Pfleger (University of Alberta) and Carrie Smith (University of Alberta)

WCGS has published its annual year in review, check it out here.