news and media
CfP: German Studies Review: The GSA Fiftieth Anniversary Issue
Call for Proposals: The GSA Fiftieth Anniversary Issue
German Studies Review is inviting contributions to a special issue on the 50th anniversary of the German Studies Association (GSA). We are looking for reflections both on the history and the future of German Studies in North America. The issue is asking: How has the study of German literature, culture, politics, and history shaped the intellectual landscape in the US and in Canada? Which future developments and changes can we see?
Contributions may address the following questions:
- How does the study of literature, art, philosophy, and history of German-speaking countries diversify and enrich the cultural debates in the US and in Canada? Which trends and transformations has the discipline seen over the past decade and what does this tell us about its future?
- Which impact does German Studies have on higher education or international relations? What is the place for the study of German politics, history, and culture in a world marked by old and new international cooperations and diplomatic affiliations?
- How have German scholars, filmmakers, writers, and philosophers responded to challenges from political extremes on the left or the right? ... Read more
CfP: Virtual and Regional Meetings
Call for Proposals: Virtual and Regional Meetings
The German Studies Association (GSA) is piloting and helping to sponsor two new types of scholarly gatherings that would occur outside of the annual meeting: regional and virtual meetings. The purpose of this initiative is to provide scholars with accessible venues where they can build communities and exchange ideas about topics and themes in German, Austrian, and/or Swiss art history, anthropology, culture studies, economics, history, language, linguistics, literature, music, and political science. We are calling for proposals for either regional meetings or virtual meetings that could take place between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026. Applications will be due on March 1, 2025. Organizers will be informed of the outcome of their application no later than May 1, 2025.
The German Studies Association (GSA) is piloting and helping to sponsor two new types of scholarly gatherings that would occur outside of the annual meeting: regional and virtual meetings. The purpose of this initiative is to provide scholars with accessible venues where they can build communities and exchange ideas about topics and themes in German, Austrian, and/or Swiss art history, anthropology, culture studies, economics, history, language, linguistics, literature, music, and political science. We are calling for proposals for either regional meetings or virtual meetings that could take place between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026. Applications will be due on March 1, 2025. Organizers will be informed of the outcome of their application no later than May 1, 2025.
GSA Regional Meetings ($1,500)
The GSA invites proposals for regional meetings where participants would be located within a reasonable distance from each other. Such meetings could take place anywhere in the world. Organizers will have flexibility in structuring the regional meetings, but they should broadly help to promote scholarly exchange and build communities within German studies. These gatherings could include informal presentations and discussions of current projects, or pre-circulated papers,... Read more
CfA: GSA Emerging Scholars Workshop 2025
December 15, 2024
Call for Applications: GSA Emerging Scholars Workshop (ESW) 2025
We are excited to issue this call for the next Emerging Scholars Workshop (ESW) to be hosted at the 49th Annual German Studies Association Conference in Arlington, Virginia, on September 25–28, 2025. This workshop is only open to graduate students.
The ESW will run parallel to the established seminars, panels, and roundtables. It will convene Friday through Sunday, 8am–10am. Participants must commit to participating in all three workshop meetings. For general conference information, visit the current conference page.
Over the past decade or so, graduate programs across the country have contracted. Now, fewer graduate students encounter fewer regular graduate courses, which have also become more general in content to meet satisfactory enrollment. As a result, much of the specialized yet crucial field training has moved into one-on-one tutorials and directed readings. The ESW gives an up-and-coming cohort of scholars access to leading faculty in their fields. It increases the advice and mentoring they receive and cultivates a sustained professional conversation. The goal is to enable the next generation of Germanists to produce their best possible work, be competitive... Read more
CfP: GSA 49th Annual Conference
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: GERMAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The German Studies Association (GSA) will hold its 49th Annual Conference from September 25–28, 2025 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA.
The Program Committee cordially invites proposals on any aspect of DACHL (German, Austrian, Swiss, Liechtenstein) studies, including (but not limited to) history, Germanistik, film, art history, political science, anthropology, musicology, religious studies, sociology, and cultural studies. The committee is especially eager to welcome proposals from scholars in subfields that have been underrepresented at recent conferences, including contemporary politics, economics, and society, as well as papers from all fields dealing with the nineteenth century or earlier.
Proposals for complete panels, for interdisciplinary presentations, and for panel series are strongly encouraged (a series is limited to no more than four panels). Individual paper proposals are also welcome – although experienced scholars are encouraged to develop full session submissions that can help build scholarly networks. A guide for crafting panel, roundtable, and individual paper proposals may be found here. The call for seminar proposals has been distributed separately; a call for applications for the Emerging Scholars Workshop will go out in mid-December.
... Read more
Call for Seminar Proposals GSA 2025
The 49th German Studies Association Conference, to be held in Arlington, VA from September 25–28, 2025 will continue to host a series of seminars in addition to regular panel sessions and roundtables (general conference information is available here). Seminars meet for three sessions, that is, one session on each day of the conference (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). They explore new avenues of academic exchange and foster extended discussion, rigorous intellectual debate, and intensified networking. Seminars are typically proposed and led by two to three conveners and consist of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 participants, including the conveners themselves. Seminars must be open to applications from interested participants, and conveners are expected to make every effort to aim for broad diversity and include scholars from different disciplines, types of institutions, and career stages, including graduate students. Seminars may enable
- extended discussion of (a) recent academic publication(s);
- exploration of a promising new research topic;
- feedback on ongoing academic projects through pre-circulated abstracts or works-in-progress;
- a debate among scholars with different approaches;
- in-depth discussion of a political or public policy issue, novel, film, poem, musical piece, painting, or other artwork; or
- non-traditional and experimental modes of ... Read more
GSA 2025 Panels/Roundtables: Finding Participants
Looking for people to complete a roundtable or panel that you'd like to organize for the GSA 2025 in Arlington? Hoping to find a roundtable or panel in need of your expertise? Fill out this form!
Note: The information entered into this document will be public on this spreadsheet (shown below) until the submissions period is closed. If you don't want to share your name and email on a public form, please consider an alternate method for finding collaborators.
Please email us when your panel/roundtable is complete or if you are no longer planning on organizing a session (so that we can remove your entry and you won't keep being contacted!)
Want to amplify your search? Post on Bluesky, Facebook or Twitter and tag @thegsa.bsky.social, @thegsa or #thegsa2025!
Don't forget that you need to be a current (2025) GSA member to be part of a submission. You can join/renew here.
Looking for more information about the conference? Find it here.
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GSA Winter 2024 Newsletter
Dear Friends and Members of the GSA,
Our Winter 2024 newsletter has been published and is available on our website. You can read about our GSA 2024 prize winners, candidate bios for the current Executive Board election, the 2024-25 Berlin Program Fellows cohort, our upcoming GSA 2025 conference in Arlington, and more.
With all good wishes for 2025,
Margaret E. Menninger, Executive Director
Jennifer L. Jenkins, Operations Director Read more
GSA Operations Director position announcement
German Studies Association
Position Available: Operations Director
The GSA seeks applications for an Operations Director (OD). The OD is primarily responsible for supporting the Executive Director (ED) in the smooth running of the association and the conference. The OD supports our members as they submit proposals through our web-based conference system, Open Water. They assist our volunteer Program Committee with evaluating conference submissions and the Program Director with creating the conference schedule. Working with the conference hotel, the OD coordinates exhibits, events, and receptions. At the conference itself, the OD manages the registration desk and works with hotel staff to make our attendees’ experience smooth and enjoyable. The OD collaborates with the GSA Treasurer and ED on financial issues, including banking and bookkeeping.
The German Studies Association (GSA)... Read more
GSA 2024: Hurricane Helene updates
[posted 8:40am EDT, 9-26-24]
Dear GSA 2024 Conference participants,
Welcome to Atlanta to those of you who have already arrived! The first pre-conference events are already underway this morning and we’ve had the pleasure of greeting some of you here in the conference venue.
We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that GSA 2024 will proceed as an in-person conference. The decision as to whether or not to travel to Atlanta, given the adverse weather conditions, is one for each individual member. Please be reassured that there is no “ban” on future conference attendance for those who must withdraw from the conference, so that should not factor into anyone’s decision-making. Your safety is paramount, and no member should undertake travel that they feel would be unsafe.
Members have asked about using Zoom as an alternative to traveling to Atlanta. The GSA has over two dozen meeting spaces. Converting an in-person session to a hybrid session requires adding video broadcasting capability to each affected space. This is more complex than simply hosting an online event, and cannot be done at scale on such short notice. We thank you in advance for your understanding why we cannot offer Zoom... Read more
GSA Summer 2024 Newsletter
Dear Friends and Members of the GSA,
Our Summer 2024 newsletter has been published and may be read via our website. In it, you will find information about 2024 conference-related events, the 2024 election results, conference accessibility guidelines, a list of the 2024-2025 Berlin Program Fellows, and much more.
Looking forward to seeing many of you in Atlanta next month,
- Margaret E. Menninger, Executive Director
- Jennifer L. Jenkins, Operations Director
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