German in the World: The Transnational and Global Contexts of German Studies

Weighs the value of Germanophone culture, and its study, in an age of globalization, transnationalism, and academic change. The study of German-language culture has been rapidly diversifying to express the vibrant multiplicity of what it is now possible to research, and teach, under the rubric of "German Studies." Responding to these developments, German in the World explores what happens when the geographic, linguistic, and temporal boundaries that have traditionally been used to define German-language culture are questioned, and are placed alongside more global perspectives. Chapters consider the transformation of the German-language cultural canon through its engagement with the world, trace the value of German Studies as an interdisciplinary subject practiced across different global locations, and investigate the impact of both on the work of organizations and practitioners entirely beyond the academy. In questioning where German-language culture can be found across these different "worlds," German in the World thus uncovers the continued value of German Studies as a field of critical cultural discourse within a globalized public sphere, placing that culture at the heart of debates on Transnational and World Literature. Ultimately, the contributions to this innovative volume demonstrate how attempts to locate German Studies in its wider geographic and social contexts result not in a discipline undone, but in a discipline reinvigorated and transformed.