AgS Calendar of Events
Wednesday, March 27 at 7:00pm
Scholarly Lecture: Fostering National Belonging through Local Narratives:
Heimatliteratur, the Thirty Years’ War, and German Nation Building in the Nineteenth-Century
At the Goethe-Institut Washington, 1990 K St NW, Washington, DC
In this presentation, Emily Sieg Barthold, PhD Candidate, will discuss how historical fictions of the Thirty Years’ War in the German Kaiserreich addressed the layering of regional, confessional and national identities. Notably, this research prioritizes historical fiction that doubled as Heimatliteratur, that is, historical fiction that recounts the legacies of the war within a specific geographic location for a presumably local audience. Contrary to the commonly held interpretation that the Thirty Years’ War was a religious war fought between Protestants and Catholics, most historical fiction from the German Kaiserreich foregrounds the war in starkly national terms: German Protestants and Catholics had to unite to drive French and Swedish armies out of their homeland. Thus, as opposed to its presumed promotion of confessional antagonism, much late nineteenth-century literature of the Thirty Years’ War evidences the propensity to seek reconciliation between different religious identities for the sake of German solidarity. By bringing lesser known works of Heimatliteratur to light, Emily’s research aims to reconsider the role of historical fiction of the Thirty Years’ War in German nation building, with an emphasis on the potential of literature to overcome religious divides in the name of the nation.
In English.
Scholarly Lecture: Fostering National Belonging through Local Narratives:
Heimatliteratur, the Thirty Years’ War, and German Nation Building in the Nineteenth-Century
At the Goethe-Institut Washington, 1990 K St NW, Washington, DC
In this presentation, Emily Sieg Barthold, PhD Candidate, will discuss how historical fictions of the Thirty Years’ War in the German Kaiserreich addressed the layering of regional, confessional and national identities. Notably, this research prioritizes historical fiction that doubled as Heimatliteratur, that is, historical fiction that recounts the legacies of the war within a specific geographic location for a presumably local audience. Contrary to the commonly held interpretation that the Thirty Years’ War was a religious war fought between Protestants and Catholics, most historical fiction from the German Kaiserreich foregrounds the war in starkly national terms: German Protestants and Catholics had to unite to drive French and Swedish armies out of their homeland. Thus, as opposed to its presumed promotion of confessional antagonism, much late nineteenth-century literature of the Thirty Years’ War evidences the propensity to seek reconciliation between different religious identities for the sake of German solidarity. By bringing lesser known works of Heimatliteratur to light, Emily’s research aims to reconsider the role of historical fiction of the Thirty Years’ War in German nation building, with an emphasis on the potential of literature to overcome religious divides in the name of the nation.
In English.
Previous Events
Wednesday, November 7, 7:00 PM
Scholarly Lecture: Poetry in Motion - Rap Music in Austria and Germany
By Dr. Edward Clark Dawson, University of Maryland
At Goethe-Institut, 1990 K St NW, Suite 03, Wash., DC 20006
Join us for an exciting contemporary lecture on "Poetry in Motion: Rap Music in Austria and Germany" by Dr. Edward Clack Dawson of the University of Maryland. This presentation will consider the story of rap music in Austria and Germany, showing the role physical migration and figurative movement have played in the genre’s development, and examining some of the most arresting, entertaining, and urgent poems that have arisen out of it.
In English.
Saturday, October 13, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
AGS Oktoberfest: Eat. Drink. Learn.
At the Goethe-Institut, 1990 K St NW, Suite 03, Wash., DC 20006
Join us for this year's AGS Oktoberfest, where Marymount's Mark Benbow will discuss "DC's Brewmaster: Christian Heurich and the Immigrant Experience." From 11 a.m. to noon, Dr. Benbow will offer a lecture on Heurich's experiences as an immigrant to the United States in the 1860s and 1870s. How did he assimilate, and what parts of his German heritage did he maintain? Also, how did he experience the World Wars as a German in America later in life? The lecture will be followed by a catered lunch with local brews, and then we will reconvene for a moderated Q&A, where we will learn how Heurich convinced housewives to buy beer, the surprising history of the beer can, and more!
In English.
Saturday, September 22, 12:30 - 2:00 PM
Literary Social Hour: Heinrich von Kleist's 'Der Findling'
At Café Mozart, 1331 H St NW, Washington, DC 20005
Please join us at Cafe Mozart for a discussion of Kleist's short story, "Der Findling"! A copy of this text is available online at Projekt Gutenberg.
In German.
Scholarly Lecture: Poetry in Motion - Rap Music in Austria and Germany
By Dr. Edward Clark Dawson, University of Maryland
At Goethe-Institut, 1990 K St NW, Suite 03, Wash., DC 20006
Join us for an exciting contemporary lecture on "Poetry in Motion: Rap Music in Austria and Germany" by Dr. Edward Clack Dawson of the University of Maryland. This presentation will consider the story of rap music in Austria and Germany, showing the role physical migration and figurative movement have played in the genre’s development, and examining some of the most arresting, entertaining, and urgent poems that have arisen out of it.
In English.
Saturday, October 13, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
AGS Oktoberfest: Eat. Drink. Learn.
At the Goethe-Institut, 1990 K St NW, Suite 03, Wash., DC 20006
Join us for this year's AGS Oktoberfest, where Marymount's Mark Benbow will discuss "DC's Brewmaster: Christian Heurich and the Immigrant Experience." From 11 a.m. to noon, Dr. Benbow will offer a lecture on Heurich's experiences as an immigrant to the United States in the 1860s and 1870s. How did he assimilate, and what parts of his German heritage did he maintain? Also, how did he experience the World Wars as a German in America later in life? The lecture will be followed by a catered lunch with local brews, and then we will reconvene for a moderated Q&A, where we will learn how Heurich convinced housewives to buy beer, the surprising history of the beer can, and more!
In English.
Saturday, September 22, 12:30 - 2:00 PM
Literary Social Hour: Heinrich von Kleist's 'Der Findling'
At Café Mozart, 1331 H St NW, Washington, DC 20005
Please join us at Cafe Mozart for a discussion of Kleist's short story, "Der Findling"! A copy of this text is available online at Projekt Gutenberg.
In German.