Testimonials:
What the 2019 participants said about the Notre Dame Berlin Seminar:
“These two weeks were simply the best-organized, most comprehensive, most challenging on-site seminar I’ve ever taken part in. I’ll be using and sharing the insights learned here for years to come. From my perspective, the seminar filled a profound gap in the general disciplinary approach to literature found within North American German Studies, where the industry and business of acquisitions, talent-scouting, rights and translations, and promotion are still seen as a secondary bundle of concerns, while the intimacy between individual reader and written page is often prized as the only meaningful and imaginative relationship in literary studies. Unfortunately, that ends up being a rather unrealistic view of how literature is made—today, as ever. In this sense, the seminar program expressed a commitment to understanding literary and cultural production in the actual, and often compromised, social and institutional circumstances where men and women labor to make it. For me, the seminar returned my attention to the real-world settings of public humanities and sparked hundreds of new critical research questions over our two weeks together.”
-David Gramling, Associate Professor, Department of German Studies, University of Arizona
-David Gramling, Associate Professor, Department of German Studies, University of Arizona
“I’m deeply grateful that I was given the opportunity to participate in the 2019 NDBS. The seminar afforded participants an in-depth behind-the-scenes look into the German literary institutions that is normally hard, if not impossible, to come by for U.S. academics working in the field of German Studies. The organizers put together a rigorous and stimulating program that literally had us discussing for hours, even after the individual sessions ended. All aspects of the seminar were carefully planned and executed with great attention to detail. 'Vielen Dank' for an unforgettable experience!”
-Judith Benz, Associate Professor of German, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA
-Judith Benz, Associate Professor of German, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA
“I am delighted to have had the opportunity to be a fellow of the 2019 Notre Dame Berlin Seminar. The NDBS gathered a rich selection of spokespeople from across Germany’s vibrant literary and cultural landscape. We had the unique opportunity to engage interlocutors working in widely different roles and cultural institutions, from the artistic collective and publishing house, kookbooks.de, represented by poet Daniela Seel, to directors of established literary and academic publishing houses in Germany (Suhrkamp) and the USA (Princeton University Press). Meetings with a range of viewpoints within particular sectors (radio, publishing, news) enabled a diversified window into literary production ranging from authors, translators, and editors, to agents, critics, publishers, and booksellers. The truly astounding selection of established and acclaimed professionals such as filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff and author Terézia Mora, and candid discussions with seminar directors and fellows opened a forum for rich reflections into practical as well as theoretical aspects of literary production. During seminar discussions thoughtfully-framed by the directors and ample time for informal conversation over meals and excursions, we established a new, praxis-informed window into cultural networks with media-specific affordances, technologies, economic concerns, and practices.
The intensive NDBS programming has helped me develop my academic approach to literature in light of literary production, grow my scholarly networks, and establish institutional contacts in Germany. These valuable insights and contacts will also benefit my students as they seek ways to employ their German Studies skills across a range of professions in cultural and creative industries.”
-Katrina Nousek, Visiting Assistant Professor of German Studies, University of Richmond
The intensive NDBS programming has helped me develop my academic approach to literature in light of literary production, grow my scholarly networks, and establish institutional contacts in Germany. These valuable insights and contacts will also benefit my students as they seek ways to employ their German Studies skills across a range of professions in cultural and creative industries.”
-Katrina Nousek, Visiting Assistant Professor of German Studies, University of Richmond
“The Notre Dame Berlin Seminar provided a much needed opportunity to immerse myself in the publishing world of German literature. Each and every event scheduled and expert invited was of the highest quality and helped me establish an informed broader context for my work on Martina Hefter and Tobias Hülswitt, two contemporary German authors. In reflecting on our two weeks in Berlin, three speakers truly stand out: Volker Schlöndorff, Daniela Seel, and Terézia Mora. The first German film I saw as an undergraduate was Schlöndorff’s Oscar-winning film Die Blechtrommel. Even though many years have passed, the film’s riveting imagery remains very present in my mind. Listening to Schlöndorff discuss the adaptation of Grass’s novel for the screen, the casting of the film, and the techniques used to achieve the desired effects was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The poet and publisher Daniela Seel provided insights into the world of lyric publishing that are proving invaluable for my work on Martina Hefter, a poet who has published four volumes of poetry with kookbooks, the publishing house that Seel founded. The session with Terézia Mora was riveting. She spoke so openly about her creative process and her personal experiences with the publishing industry that we clearly understood the many steps that must be taken before a book arrives at the local bookstore. Above all, I am grateful to Bill Donahue and Martin Kagel for selecting such a diverse and engaged group of seminar participants. Coffee breaks, meals, and outings were enriched by the exchanges I had with fellow Germanist.”
-Rachel J. Halverson, Professor of German and Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Idaho
-Rachel J. Halverson, Professor of German and Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Idaho
“The 2019 Notre Dame Berlin Seminar offered an incredible opportunity to see how literature functions “on the ground” in Berlin. It was very refreshing and rewarding to better grasp how many other “players” aside from academics contribute to the literary milieu of a city. In this seminar, we met with an array of important figures in Berlin’s literary scene. We spoke with publishing houses, literary agents, newspaper columnists, critics, novelists, and radio stations. I believe my academic approach to literature will be enhanced now that I have better learned to appreciate all that contributes to literature as a public and cultural phenomenon in one of the most intellectual cities in the world.
The scholars that participated in the Seminar were well-chosen to create a dynamic, diverse, and harmonious learning environment. There was an intriguing mix of scholars from all levels of the career trajectory, from graduate students to department heads. Moreover, each scholar came with specialized research interests, from Jewish Studies, to film, to linguistics, all of which allowed for continually stimulating discussions as well as a joyful camaraderie. I believe it was invaluable to allow scholars this time to socialize, discuss, and engage in public discussion, particularly since academic work tends to often devolve into a largely reclusive affair. The Seminar offered a chance for scholars to engage with literature in a communal setting which permitted ideas to be exchanged in a way which is rarely possible elsewhere.”
-Steve Weinberg, Graduate Student, Rutgers University
The scholars that participated in the Seminar were well-chosen to create a dynamic, diverse, and harmonious learning environment. There was an intriguing mix of scholars from all levels of the career trajectory, from graduate students to department heads. Moreover, each scholar came with specialized research interests, from Jewish Studies, to film, to linguistics, all of which allowed for continually stimulating discussions as well as a joyful camaraderie. I believe it was invaluable to allow scholars this time to socialize, discuss, and engage in public discussion, particularly since academic work tends to often devolve into a largely reclusive affair. The Seminar offered a chance for scholars to engage with literature in a communal setting which permitted ideas to be exchanged in a way which is rarely possible elsewhere.”
-Steve Weinberg, Graduate Student, Rutgers University