collage of course images
Featured Courses for Spring 2023
Berlin Brandenburger Tor
Berlin Brandenburger Tor

About Us

The German Studies Department is a vibrant community committed to the investigation of German-language culture in its many media and across historic time. We also practice and teach cultural and textual analysis and critical inquiry. Departmental strengths include literature and philosophy, film and media studies, aesthetics, German-Jewish studies, intellectual history, science studies, and political thought. In their research, the faculty values close reading in dialogue with theory, historical contextualization, and transdisciplinary approaches. In their teaching, our faculty is deeply committed to fostering student learning and engagement at all levels.

Learn More

Undergraduate Offerings

We offer a Bachelor of Arts in Germanic Languages & Literature, a minor, and extensive language courses in German. Our program is for everyone – from beginners to experienced speakers – and we work closely with students at all levels to help them develop fluency in speaking, understanding, writing, and reading.

For those non-German speakers, we also offer a variety of interesting courses, taught in English, that can inspire, challenge and enlighten you.

Featured Courses

GERMAN 375S

Discussion-based seminar and survey of the literature of manifestos and their role in revolutionary and avant-garde traditions of thought from the mid-19th century to the present. Topics covered… read more about Art and Activism: Manifestos, Revolutions, and the Avant-gardes »

GERMAN 275

The legend of the “Once and Future King,” Arthur of Camelot, has fascinated poets, artists, writers, and filmmakers. Students will read and view different versions of the Arthur legend, from the… read more about The Legend of King Arthur in Literature and Film »

GERMAN 570

This course serves as an introduction to the “Frankfurt School” and Critical Theory with particular emphasis upon rationality, social psychology, and aesthetics. Through close readings of key texts… read more about Frankfurt School Critical Theory »

Study Abroad Programs

Student in Berlin

We administer the Duke in Berlin global education programs, where students can spend a semester or summer in one of Europe's most exciting cities!

Learn More

Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies

Our graduate program – which results in a joint UNC & Duke diploma –  combines the resources of two great universities in a curriculum that joins disciplinary rigor with interdisciplinary flexibility to create an internationally acclaimed center of excellence for graduate training, research, teaching, and scholarly exchange.

Learn More