Microsoft Word - vol21-01-Contents-and-Notes-from-the-Editor.docx


	
  

	
  

	
  
Focus on German Studies 21 

	
  
	
   	
  

	
  
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ocus on German Studies is a publication with a rich and inspiring history. Now in its 
twentieth year, Focus compels the cooperative efforts of motivated graduate students and 
established professional faculty of colleges and universities across North America and 

Europe. In my time at the University of Cincinnati, I have always been just a bit in awe of the 
Focus editors. A fully graduate student-directed, professionally peer-reviewed publication, Focus 
was a first of its kind in the field of German Studies. It has been passed from editor to editor with 
not only the necessary instructions for oversight of the process, but also with the sort of personal 
advice one can have the fortune to receive from a colleague in a small but thriving department. 
Despite this twenty-year legacy of passed down knowledge, there has always been an element of 
independent hands-on learning for the Focus editor, as she or he navigates the daunting but, I am 
pleased to say, rewarding series of tasks involved in successfully publishing a volume. In the end, 
the result is a strong sense of proficiency in and knowledge of the academic publishing process, 
and I am proud to have taken a place in this lineage. 
 Focus has changed over the years, and continues to develop today. Originally titled Focus 
on Literatur, the journal was initially published biannually. With the new millennium came annual 
publication and our current title, and in 2008, Editor-in-Chief Marie Buesch began the process 
of digitizing Focus issues to ensure the worldwide accessibility of the journal. This year, I am 
pleased to announce that Focus has transitioned to fully online publication. My special thanks go 
to Dr. Todd Herzog and Alex Hogue for their advice and collaboration in making this transition. 
The University of Cincinnati Libraries have created permanent links to our journal articles, and 
interested readers will be able to access them without subscription. It is my hope that in the 
coming years, more readers will find and access Focus on German Studies, and that the journal’s 
already excellent reputation as a scholarly publication will continue to thrive in the digital world. 
While we are still experimenting to find the best platform for online publication, I am confident 
that my succeeding editors, Alex Hogue and Matthew Bauman, will do great work in this 
undertaking and will secure Focus’s place as a respected online journal. 
 I would like to extend my thanks to this year’s Assistant Editor, Acacia Moraes Diniz for 
her continued support, and in particular for her generosity in – always graciously – taking on any 
and every task assigned with meticulous attention to quality. My thanks go as well to previous 
editor Vanessa Plumly for her time and valuable advice. Finally, I would like to thank the 
graduate students of the University of Cincinnati Department of German Studies, who have 
volunteered their time and attention in numerous ways. Focus owes its success to remarkable 
collaboration, and it has been my honor to play a role. 
 

Emily Bauman  

From the Editor 

F