Taking Stock of German Studies in the United States: The New Millennium ed. by Rachel J. Halverson and Carol Anne Costabile-Heming (review)

After a short review of previous assessments of the field of German Studies in the United States, Halverson and Costabile-Heming open their anthology by stating their “wish to continue the dialogue from a decidedly positive perspective” (8). As most educational institutions have been facing funding restrictions, declining enrollments, and faculty attrition, such a perspective is welcome and appropriately honors the contributions made over twenty-six years by Helene Zimmer-Loew, to whom the volume is dedicated.

“Curriculum,” “Initiatives,” “Research,” and “The New Millennium” are the section headers under which thirteen essays are arranged. As part of the introduction, Frank Trommler reviews German Studies from 1985 to 2012, sketching the various shifts of the discipline, from Germanistik dominated by German expats to the more Americanized interdisciplinary approach of German Studies fuelled by the renewed interest of a younger generation of mostly American-born professionals. The impact of technology leading to broad and easy availability of materials, and the relegation of literature to being just one of many forms of cultural documents among the nowomnipresent visual media have also shaped the field in the new millennium.

Discussing her “Freshman Focus Program” on “Nationalism and Identity: The Making of Modern Europe” (1789–1914), Lynne Tatlock provides a supreme example of a truly interdisciplinary collaboration across German, French, history, and art history with a measurable impact on students’ strategic choices of courses within their curricula and beyond. Cultural studies courses taught in English linked with instruction in the two languages and an optional and highly popular two-week trip to Paris and Berlin not only taught students to see meaningful connections between historical, political, and cultural issues such as national identity, its artistic expressions in monuments, and the study of a foreign language, but also led to outcomes such as continued foreign language study beyond the program’s requirements, a 10-15% increase of German majors, a high percentage of students studying abroad (69.3%), and a 98.5% undergraduate degree completion rate among the program’s ten cohorts. As she correctly states, this program, started in 2002, in many ways anticipated and realized the curricular initiatives that would then be suggested in the 2007 MLA report on “Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World.”

Making a case for the relevance of medieval studies in today’s academic programs despite their heavy focus on recent history since 1945 (“presentism,” 63), Albrecht Classen demonstrates how he teaches medieval literature by focusing on the timeless themes and messages of these texts as well as their metaphoricity.

Opening the section on “Initiatives” and suggesting how to thrive “in the New Normal,” Kathleen Condrey addresses challenges such as resource-restricted institutional environments, faculty attrition, and enrollments. Providing concrete examples from her home institution, she discusses curriculum development (including study abroad and internship opportunities), the crucial role of broad-based advocacy for your German program, and collaboration across disciplines on campus as well as with high schools.

In his article on “Responding to a Changing Profession,” Gregory Wolf presents a convincing critique of the above-mentioned 2007 MLA Report which called for increasing cultural studies and interdisciplinarity within our curricula but did so at the expense of attention to the linguistic component and proficiency standards that would help our students reach the advanced levels necessary for many professional uses. An assessment of AATG initiatives and practical suggestions for advocacy, articulation, outreach, and program building that can help small German programs, in particular, conclude his essay.

Two reports from professional development seminars round out the section on initiatives. In the first one, Rachel Halverson explores the impact of a seminar on teaching intercultural competence and how it allowed her to connect theory and practice. In the second one, Regina Braker delves into the difficult task of aligning the eleven levels of the ACTFL...