"Language is Also a Place of Struggle": The Language of Feminism and the Language of American Germanistik

In an effort to probe some of the causes for the problematic relationship between feminist inquiry and American Germanistik, the essay suggests a possible origin in the attitudes of those who saw a need in the post-World War II era either to depoliticize German language and literature or to view the future in a sort of entrenched pessimistic light. The gendered aspects of such perspectives are discussed and the hypothesis is offered that such pessimism and depoliticization did/do not bode well for an optimistic, political feminist movement. The particularly American aspects of our field are stressed, especially in terms of American feminism and how it can enhance our own work as American Germanists. (R.-E.B.J.)