UC Berkeley

This essay rethinks the meanings of German, critique, and new to delineate the contours of German studies in the present historical moment. The discussion of the concept of “German” suggests an understanding of German studies as a discursive site for reflecting on the political and for making sense of community and belonging, while the discussion of “critique” suggests an approach that places German thought and literature in the pluriverse of thinking and imagination around the world. Finally, by tracing the morphing of the imperative of newness into singularity, the essay proposes to conceive of German studies in terms of a curated exhibition of the ideas, visions, images, and models of community associated with the designation “German.”