James R Hodkinson & Benedict Schofield 
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 Worldthus 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, thecontributions 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.


Contributors: Sai Bhatawadekar, Tobias Boes, Dirk Göttsche, James Hodkinson, Carlotta von Maltzan, Frauke Matthes, Ben Morgan, John K. Noyes, Emily Oliver, Kate Rigby, Benedict Schofield, Uwe Schütte, Carol Tully.


James Hodkinson is Reader in German at Warwick University. Benedict Schofield is Reader in German at King’s College London.

Table of Content

German in Its Worlds – James R. Hodkinson and Benedict Schofield

Part I: The World in German Culture

Introduction to Part I: The World in German Culture – James R. Hodkinson and Benedict Schofield

Goethe’s World – John K. Noyes

Embodying and Distributing World Literature: Goethe’s Novelle in the Context of the 1820s – Ben Morgan

Weltdeutschtum: On the Notion of a German World Community from Schiller to Thomas Mann – Tobias Boes

Nineteenth-Century German Travelers to Wales: Text, Translation, and the Manipulation of Identity – Carol Tully

‘Weltliteratur aus der Uckermark’: Regionalism and Transnationalism in Sasa Stanisic’s
Vor dem Fest – Frauke Matthes

Postcolonial Studies in International German Studies-Postcolonial Concerns in Contemporary German Literature – Dirk Göttsche

Part II: German in World Locales

Introduction to Part II: German in World Locales – James R. Hodkinson and Benedict Schofield

German in a South African Context: From Colony to Decolonization – Carlotta von Maltzan

From German Studies to Environmental Studies (and Back Again): A Journey across Continents and Disciplines – Kate Rigby

A Philo-Selfie Approach to German-Indian Studies – Sai Bhatawadekar

Part III: German Worlds Beyond the Academy

Introduction to Part III: German Worlds Beyond the Academy – James R. Hodkinson and Benedict Schofield

Towards a Socially Engaged Academy: Islam in German History and Its Relevance for Non-Academic Publics – James R. Hodkinson

Theatre Without Borders? Tracing the Transnational Value of German Theatre beyond Germany: A UK Case Study – Benedict Schofield

Tuning in to German: The BBC German Service and the British Occupation – Emily Oliver

Reterritorializing German Pop: Kraftwerk’s
Industrielle Volksmusik as a Transnational Phenomenon – Uwe Schütte

About the author

James Hodkinson is Reader in German at Warwick University.