New Non-Thesis M.A. option in German

The department is pleased to announce that it will offer a new German studies degree option to its graduate students as of Fall Semester 2008. This option will allow students to replace the traditional M.A. thesis with a non-thesis requirements, consisting of a student portfolio and some additional course credit.

A substantial number of recent graduates of the department receiving their M.A. degrees have sought professional careers in government or private business or aimed to become teachers in secondary schools. In order better to serve this student population, we decided to introduce a non-thesis option as a way to obtain a Master’s degree in German Studies in our program, as we are convinced that these students would benefit more from completing additional course work and having additional exposure to the target language they are studying than from writing a thesis.

The thesis option will, of course, remain available for graduate students whose career aims are tied more closely to academic goals and for whom the completion of a thesis represents an important educational step toward achieving these goals.

While the written Master’s examination will continue to be required of all graduate students in the department, students selecting the non-thesis option in lieu of the conventional thesis will prepare a portfolio to be critiqued and evaluated in the oral exam. The portfolio will consist of research papers from at least three graduate seminars taken in the program, a reflective essay as to the research conducted, and materials related to the student’s achievements in research and/or teaching. Graduate students selecting the non-thesis option would also be required to complete an additional nine credit hours of course work in our program, amounting to a total of 33 hours in two years of study, excluding courses normally taken in connection with the thesis, such as GRMN 7000 Master’s Research or GRMN 7300 Master’s Thesis.

We are excited to be able to offer this option which has just received final approval by the University of Georgia system and will be available as of this Fall Semester.

For more details regarding the thesis and non-thesis M.A. options see the detailed outline of the M.A. program requirements or contact the department’s graduate coordinator, Prof. Alexander Sager at asager@uga.edu or 706.542-6211.

Franklin Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in German Studies

The Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies at the University of Georgia invites applications for a Franklin Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship at the rank of Visiting Assistant Professor, beginning August 2008. The area of specialization is 20th and 21st-century German literature, culture, and film. Interest in language pedagogy a plus. Candidates must have Ph.D. in hand by the time of the appointment but no earlier than 2005. Candidates should have proven excellence in teaching and possess native or near-native fluency in German. The Fellow will be expected to teach undergraduate courses at all levels as well as M.A. level graduate courses. Franklin Fellows teach five academic courses per year and are also involved in research and other scholarly activity. Fellows participate in a college-wide comprehensive program of instructional development intended to enhance teaching skills and overall potential as faculty members. Initial appointment of one year is renewable for up to two additional years. The position comes with full benefits.

Send application, including a cover letter, C.V., and three letters of recommendation to Franklin Fellow Search Committee, Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies, 202 Joseph Brown Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-6797. Application deadline is May 23, 2008. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but all applications received prior to May 23 will receive full consideration. The Franklin College of Arts & Sciences, its many units, and the University of Georgia are committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty and students, and sustaining a work and learning environment that is inclusive. The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution.

The A. G. Steer Professorship in Goethe Studies is sponsoring two guest scholars during the last week of April 2008: Katharina Mommsen of Stanford University , and Kamaal Haque of Pacific Lutheran University. This week-long event, featuring lectures, discussions, and poetry interpretations represents the conclusion of the Spring Semester Senior Seminar on "Goethe und der Islam," taught by Professor Max Reinhart.

Katharina Mommsen, Professor Emerita and holder of the Albert Guérard Endowed Chair for Literature at Stanford, is the world's foremost authority on the reception of Islam in Goethe's life and work. Her many books include Goethe und 1001 Nacht , Goethe und der Islam , Goethe und die arabische Welt , and a critical edition of Goethe's West-östlicher Divan . She has been a recipient of Guggenheim and Humboldt fellowships and among her many international honors are the German Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse and the Golden Goethe Medal in Weimar . She is a member of the International Advisory Board for the Publications of the English Goethe Society and the director of The Mommsen Foundation for the Advancement of Goethe Research, Palo Alto .

Dr. Haque (Ph.D. 2006, German and Comparative Literature, Washington University , St. Louis ) is a specialist in the literature and culture of the Age of Goethe as well as in Middle Eastern influences on German literature. He was the recipient of a year-long DAAD fellowship in Munich to research, among other things, the work of the 20 th -century Muslim poet Muhammad Iqbal, the so-called spiritual father of Pakistan, whose great work of 1923, Payam-i Mashriq (translated into German by Annemarie Schimmel as Botschaft des Ostens ) was inspired by and undertaken as an Islamic reply to Goethe's West-östlicher Divan .

Departmental Awards Luncheon - Thursday April 24, 2008 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.

All German, Russian, and Germanic & Slavic Majors, Graduate Students, Faculty and Staff as well as special guests are invited to attend the department's annual graduation and awards luncheon. If you are a major and have not received your invitation or if you are an alumnus and would like to attend, please contact Clodagh Phair-Miller at (706) 542-3663.

The awards luncheon will take place in the historic Georgian located at 247 East Washington Street between College Avenue and Jackson Street, two blocks over from the Arch. This downtown venue has no on-site parking available only metered parking around the building.

R.S.V.P. by Friday, April 18 to 542-3663 or german@uga.edu

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