At the same time, each of the successive generations of scholars have been instrumental in defining the contours of the field of German Studies in the United States and beyond. These German professors, some of them German-Jewish immigrants from Nazi-Germany, were also central to the foundation of one of the first Departments of Comparative Literature in the world at IU, branching out from the isolation of one language and literature. And when the Institute of German Studies was founded in 1969, its mission was to foster research into German culture, spearheading cultural studies approaches incompatible with philological approaches literature. A later generation brough new theoretical approaches to the United States, discovered new angles to Wagner’s music and co-edited the largest collection of Old Norse poetry. Our current faculty continue this tradition with the exploration of overarching questions such as the role of criticism, with new approaches to phonology and philology, as well as through interdisciplinary work at the threshold of cognitive science, performance studies, knowledge history, and sociology.
While we continue this voyage, it is hard to deny that clouds are casting their shadow. Cuts to overseas programs such as our year abroad program for graduate students in Berlin have been made without faculty consultation, resources are moved towards the medical sciences and investments in AI, the College is under financial pressure. At the same time, a national debate questions graduate study as such and the value of the humanities more broadly. Although it is possible to make our case – German majors for example figure high on the list of average salaries from fields in the College – it seems important to me not only to argue but to also work creatively against the inherent delegitimization of our fields and the experience they stand for through our example and through the creation of communities in which the life of the mind can flourish. Where films, books, and ideas appear as objects conducive to a more fulfilled and better life in changing times. In light of these developments, I look forward to building the community of our students, bringing matters of concern – lectures, workshops, theater, and art – to our department and to our campus and to turning the excitement inherent in the choice of art, literature, and thought into a manifest experience. This implies involving undergraduate students in our events, building ties, and taking the graduate experience seriously.