German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents, and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the language and literature component. Common German names for the field are Germanistik, Deutsche Philologie, and Deutsche Sprachwissenschaft und Literaturwissenschaft. In English the terms Germanistics or Germanics are sometimes used, but the subject is more often referred to as German studies, German language and literature, or German philology. For other uses, see Humanities (disambiguation). ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... German literature comprises those literary texts originating within Germany proper and written in the German language. ... German culture (German: Deutsche Kultur) is a term that refers to the heritage and weltanschauung of the people from the German-speaking world, or Deutschsprechende Welt. ... The history of Germany is, in places, extremely complicated and depends much on how one defines Germany. ... The Federal Republic of Germany (in German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is a federal representative democracy. ...

Modern German studies is usually seen as a combination of two sub-disciplines: German linguistics and Germanophone literature studies.

German linguistics

German linguistics is traditionally called philology as in Germany, as there is something of a difference between philologists and linguists. It is roughly divided as follows: Philology, etymologically, is the love of words. It is most accurately defined as an affinity toward the learning of the backgrounds as well as the current usages of spoken or written methods of human communication. The commonality of studied languages is more important than their origin or age (that is...

• Old High German (Althochdeutsch) 8th - 11th centuries
• Middle High German (Mittelhochdeutsch) 11th - 14th centuries
• Early New High German (Frühneuhochdeutsch) 14th - 17th centuries
• Modern German (Standard German, German dialectology) 18th - 21st centuries

In addition, the discipline examines German under various aspects: the way it is spoken and written, i.e. spelling; declination; vocabulary; sentence structure; texts; etc. It compares the various manifestations such as social groupings (slang, written texts, etc.) and geographical groupings (dialects, etc.). The (Late Old High) German speaking area of the Holy Roman Empire around 950. ... Middle High German (MHG, German Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. ... Early New High German, or Early Modern German, is the direct ancestor of the modern German language, and was used from 1350 to 1750. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... Standard German is the prescriptive norm variant of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas. ... By the High German consonant shift, the map of German dialects is divided into Upper German (green) and Central German (blue), and the Low Saxon (yellow). ...

German literature studies

Literary studies is divided into two parts.^{[citation needed]} Ältere Deutsche Literaturwissenschaft deals with the period from the beginnings of German in the early Middle Ages up to post-Medieval times around AD 1500, while the modern era is covered by Neuere Deutsche Literaturwissenschaft. The field systematically examines German literature in terms of genre, form, content, and motifs as well as looking at it historically by author and epoch. Important areas include edition philology, history of literature, and textual interpretation. The relationships of German literature to the literatures of other languages (e.g. reception and mutual influences) and historical contexts are also important areas of concentration. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory: Fourth Edition (ISBN 0-14-051363-9) is printed in English but contains many German-language literary terms that apply cross-culturally in the field of literary criticism; quite a few of the in terms in the book originated in German but have since been adopted by English-language critics and scholars. A genre [], (French: kind or sort from Greek: γένος (genos)) is a loose set of criteria for a category of literary composition; the term is also used for any other form of art or utterance. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Look up content in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In literature, a motif is a recurring element or theme that has symbolic significance in the story. ... The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry which attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/hearer/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pieces. ... Examples of German language in Namibian everyday life. ... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... English is a West Germanic language originating in England, and the first language for most people in Australia, Canada, the Commonwealth Caribbean, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (also commonly known as the Anglosphere). ...

German media studies

In recent years, German has looked for links with the fields of communications, cultural studies and media studies. In addition, the sub-branch of film studies has established itself. Communication is a process that allows organisms to exchange information by several methods. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Media Studies is the academic study of the constitution and effects of media. ... Film theory seeks to develop concise, systematic concepts that apply to the study of film/cinema as art. ...

History of German studies

As an unsystematic field of interest for individual scholars, German studies can be traced back to Tacitus' Germania. The publication and study of legal and historical source material, such as Medieval Bible translations, were all undertaken during the German Renaissance of the sixteenth century, truly initiating the field of German studies. As an independent university subject, German studies was introduced at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Georg Friedrich Benecke, the Brothers Grimm, and Karl Lachmann. For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation). ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Brothers Grimm (disambiguation). ... Karl Konrad Friedrich Wilhelm Lachmann (March 4, 1793 - March 13, 1851), was a German philologist and critic. ...

See also

• German literature
• Sturm und Drang
• New Objectivity
• Germanisches Nationalmuseum
• German Studies Association
• Modern Austrian Literature and Culture Association
• Area studies
• Delta Epsilon Phi Secondary German Honor Society in the US
• Delta Phi Alpha Collegiate German Honor Society in the US

German literature comprises those literary texts originating within Germany proper and written in the German language. ... Sturm und Drang (literally: storm and stress) was a Germany literary movement that developed during the latter half of the 18th century. ... The New Objectivity, or neue Sachlichkeit (new matter-of-factness), was an art movement which arose in Germany during the 1920s as an outgrowth of, and in opposition to, expressionism. ... Germanisches Nationalmuseum, founded in Nuremberg, Germany in 1852, houses a significant collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day. ... The German Studies Association (or GSA) is an international organization of scholars in history, literature, economics, culture studies, and political science who study Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. ... This article or section is incomplete and may require expansion and/or cleanup. ... The German National Honor Society (also known as Delta Epsilon Phi), is an honor society for outstanding students of the German language. ...

Bibliography

Books

• Atlas Deutsche Sprache [CD-ROM]. Berlin: Directmedia Publishing. 2004.
• Hartweg, Frédéric G.: Frühneuhochdeutsch: eine Einführung in die deutsche Sprache des Spätmittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit. Tübingen: Niemeyer. 2005.
• Die Deutschen Klassiker (CD-ROM).
• Burger, Harald: Sprache der Massenmedien. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 1984.
• Ernst, Peter: Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft. Wien: WUV. 2004.
• Hickethier, Knut: Film- und Fernsehanalyse. Stuttgart, Weimar. 1993.
• Hickethier, Knut (ed.): Aspekte der Fernsehanalyse. Methoden und Modelle. Hamburg: Lit Verlag. 1994.
• Kanzog, Klaus: "Einführung in die Filmphilologie". Munich. 1997.
• Muckenhaupt, Manfred: Text und Bild. Grundfragen der Beschreibung von Text-Bild-Kommunikation aus sprachwissenschaftlicher Sicht. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag. 1986.
• Prokop, Dieter: Medienproduktanalyse. Zugänge - Verfahren - Kritik. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
• Beutin, Wolfgang: Deutsche Literaturgeschichte: von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Stuttgart: Metzler. 1992.
• Fohrmann, Jürgen Fohrmann and Wilhelm Voßkamp (eds.): Wissenschaftsgeschichte der Germanistik im 19. Jahrhundert. 1994.
• Marven, Lyn: Body and narrative in contemporary literatures in German : Herta Müller, Libuse Moníková, and Kerstin Hensel. 2005.
• Shitanda, So: "Zur Vorgeschichte und Entstehung der deutschen Philologie im 19. Jh.: Karl Lachmann und die Brüder Grimm," in Literarische Problematisierung der Moderne, ed. by Teruaki Takahashi. 1992.

Journals

• The Journal of English and Germanic Philology
• Journal of Germanic Linguistics
• Muttersprache.
• Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie.
• Zeitschrift für Germanistik.

External links

• BUBL Link (UK-based) Catalogue of Internet Resources Concerning the German Language: http://bubl.ac.uk/link/g/germanlanguage.htm (well organized; covers many aspects of the language and the study of it)
• http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/hum/german/german_net.html (University of Adelaide's categorized guide to German Area Studies online)
• http://www.dartmouth.edu/~wess/wesslit.html (Dartmouth's German-Studies Web links, annotated and arranged by topic)
• http://libadm87.rice.edu/ref/german.cfm (Rice University's guide to German studies, including printed literature and links to German newspapers and magazines)
• http://www.germanistik.net/ germanistik.net (tries to get the user straight to the best sources of help; in German)
• Germanistik im Netz - Erlanger Liste (The 'Erlanger Liste' is currently the largest collection of links to the various aspects of G***, including such archives, publishers, etc.; in German)
• Literaturwissenschaft online ("Literaturwissenschaft online" Kiel University's e-learning site with live and archived lectures; free of charge; in German.)
• Bibliographie der Deutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft ("BDSL Online" is the electronic version of the largest bibliography in the field of German language and literature studies. Access to report years 1985-1995 is free of charge.)
• http://www.doaj.org/ljbs?cpid=8 (DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals, Literature and Languages)
• http://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/Medienprojekt/Literatur/9.med.analy.html (University of Hamburg site with media studies bibliography)

University departments and research institutions

• Categorical list of German Departments around the world: http://www.germanistik.net/universitaten.htm
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, The University of Virginia

http://www.virginia.edu/german/

• Department of German Language and Literature, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario: http://www.queensu.ca/german/
• Hamburg University, Germany: http://www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/Stuplan/DeutSprachLit_eng.html
• Jawaharlal Nehru University, India: http://www.jnu.ac.in/Academics/Schools/SchoolOfLanguage/GermanCenter.htm
• Department of German, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.: http://german.berkeley.edu/index.php
• Department of Germanic Languages, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A.: http://www.germanic.ucla.edu/
• Department of German Studies, Cornell University: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/german/
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University, U.S.A.
• Department of German, New York University, New York, New York, U.S.A.: http://www.nyu.edu/fas/dept/german/
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/german/index.html
• Department of German, Princeton University, U.S.A.: http://german.princeton.edu/
• Department of Germanic Studies, University of Texas at Austin: http://www.utexas.edu/depts/german/main.html
• Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.: http://german.la.psu.edu/
• Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.: http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/german/
• Department of Germanics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.: http://depts.washington.edu/uwgerman/
• Department of German, Yale University: http://www.yale.edu/german/german.html
• German and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst: http://www.umass.edu/germanic.html
• Department of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch University of Minnesota: http://www.gsd.umn.edu
• Department of German, National University of Ireland - University College Cork, Cork, Ireland: www.ucc.ie/german