Literary and Cultural Studies

Literary texts don’t exist in a historical vacuum, and thus, their study must be concerned with the cultural context to which they respond and which they in turn help to produce. UCLA’s Department of Germanic Languages breaks the mold for German cultural studies, as it has strengths not only in the modern era (from the 18th through the 21st century), but also in the medieval and early modern periods, with no fewer than six professors, Professors Schultz, Wild, Nehring, Wagener, Presner, and Hewitt, researching and teaching these areas. Professor Schultz is one of the world’s experts in the medieval culture of childhood, while Professor Wild’s work is situated at the intersection of literature with religion, medicine, and science from the Reformation through the Enlightenment. Professor Nehring teaches Viennese Modernism and Turn of the Century literature and culture. By relating literature to visual arts, in particular to impressionism, art nouveau, and expressionism he probes the complexities of history (and memory), politics, and the arts. Professor Wagener’s scholarship in this period ranges from Naturalism through Expressionism and New Objectivity. He is a leading scholar on Werfel, Zuckmayer, and several contemporaneous authors and explores many literary works neglected by scholarship. Professor Presner concentrates on German-Jewish literature and intellectual history – particularly Holocaust literature, including post-war authors such as Celan, Sachs, and Sebald. Professor Hewitt teaches courses on film and cultural studies from Weimar through the post-war period and has published widely on the aesthetics of Fascist modernism. He also works extensively on the Frankfurt School and the development of Critical Theory.