Focus Spring 1995.tif


121 

Contributors 

Ct~RlSTtNA BONNER completed her Bachelor's in German and Russian 
at Ohio State in 1992 and followed with an MA al the University of 
Cincinnati in 1994. Her thesis examined the extra-literary reception 
of Eichendorf's poem "In Danzig" in the 20th century, as reflected in 
Hans Pfitzner 's musical setting and two performances of that Lied. 
H er interests are concentrated in the 19th century, especially in the 
genres of poetry and the Novelle. She is now in the PhD program at 
C incinnati and is preparing for her comprehensive examinations. 

D AVID COURY earned his BA in German and Biology at W ittenberg 
Univers ity and his MA in German at t he U nivers ity of C incinnati, 
where he is currently ABD . He is writing his dissertation on Petcr 
Handke and Wim Wenders. 

H ERMAN DE VRIES ca me to the University of Cincinnati after earn ing 
his BA at Calvin College. He completed a Master's in German lirera­
lU re in 1990 and is now ABD in the PhD program at UC. His disser­
tation deals with psalm versifications of Nicolaus Sci necker, a 16th­
century hym nis( and theologian. O ther interest s include comempo­
Idry iiteldture and narldtive theories. 

H EIKE H OFMANN is a doctoral candidate in the German Department 
at the University of Californ ia, Davis, where she is working on a 
dissertation about Turkish women writers in Germany. She earned 
her MA in German literature at the University of Cinc innati with a 
thesis on Helga Konigsdorf. Other research interests include film, 
femin ist theory, and representations of race and gender in literature. 

THOMAS JUNG was educated at the Hum boldt Universitat of Berl in, 
Sektion Germanistik. After completing the St aatsexamen in Literaturl 
Spldchwissenschah in 199 1, he enrolled in the German Department 
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received his MA 
in 1992. He is currently a docroral candidate at Wisconsin research­
ing Jurek Becker's holocaust texts and films, which also includes work 



122 

on "antifascism made in GDR." This current work corresponds to 
his general teaching and research imerest in GDR literature, film, and 
theater, and he has published articles and book reviews on these same 
topics. 

JOHN KWEMI'ERS is currently ABO at UCLA, where he studies his­
toricallinguistics in the German Department. When he is nOt at work 
on his dissertation on the German modal verbs, he dabbles in dia lec­
tology, wh ich has led him to an interest in Dutch language and litera­
ture. He spent the 1990-91 academic year in Graz, Austria, and will 
be a participan t in the Nijenrode Zomercursus in the Netherlands for 
three weeks this summer. He received a DAAD fellowship for the 
1995-96 academic year, which he will spend in Berlin conducting fur­
ther research for his dissertation. He earned a BA in German history 
from Indiana University in 1988 and an MA in German literature 
from the University of Cincinnati in 1990. 

THOMAS MAST studied history, English, and German at the Julius Maxi­
milians Universitat Wtirzburg and received his MA in 1987. Through 
a teaching exchange program he taught at George Maso n University 
for two years and is currently an instructor of German at The Ameri­
can University. He is also a graduate student in the Department of 
Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of 
Maryland at College Park, writing his dissertation on 17th-century 
poet and pastor Johannes Rist. 

123 

Announcements 

CONTEST 

The German-American Studies Program of the University of Cincin­
nati is sponsoring an annual competition for articles on any topic 
concerning German-American literatu re. Each year the author of 
the best article will receive a prize of $1 ~O, and the article will be 
publ ished in the corresponding volume o f Focus on Literawr. Al:icles 
should conform to regular submission guidelines. For further mfor­
mation, contact the editors of Focus on Literatllr, Department o f Ger­
manic Languages and Literatures, University of C inci nnati , C incin­
nati OH 4522 1-0372. 

CALL FOR REVIEWERS 

The purpose of the book review section is to introduce our read­
ership to primary works o f literature published within the last three 
years. Our aim is not to pass critical judgment o n a particular work . 
Instead we seek to discuss the work thematically and stylistically and, 
when possible, to contextualize the work within the author's oeuvre 
or its respective genre. We have the cooperation o f major German, 
Austrian, and Swiss publishers, and can provide review cop ies. 

Although we wil1 gladly consider unsolicited book reviews, we 
prefer to operate from a pool of known rev iewers. If you are inter­
ested in reviewing books for Focus 011 Literatur, please send us the 
fo llowing information: 

Name and Address: 
InStitution: 
Field(s) of Expertise: 
Are you currentl y researching or wri ting an MA Thesis o r PhD Dis­
sertation? If so, what is your topic? 
Your projected dale o f degree completi on: 
Do you know o f a work which Focus on LiteraCJtr should review? 



124 

SUBMISSIONS REQUESTED 

DON'T LET YOUR SCI-IOLARLY EfFORTS LANGUISH IN A DESK DRAWER! 

Dust off your old seminar papers, condense your MA thesis, or re­
work that chapter that doesn' t fit in your dissertation into a publica­
cion-quality manuscript and send it to Focus on Litera/ur. 

Submissions demonstr.lting original scholarsh ip in any area of 
German-language literature-from feminist criticism to comp lit LO 

film studies (0 whatever-will be considered for publicatio n. We also 
publish interviews with German-speaking writers. 

Please submit papers in t riplicate. Manuscripts should be ca. 10-
20 pages in length (interviews 4-8 pages), double spaced, and they 
should follow the MLA Style Manual guidel ines. T he manuscript 
should be prepared so that it C3n be read anonymously. 

Focus on Literatllr appears in Spring and Fall , but submissions are 
accepted at any time. Inquiries and submissions should be made to the 
following address. 

Focus on Literalur, Dept. of Gemlan.ic Langs. & Lits. 
University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati OH 45221·0372. 

CALL FOR ESSAYS 

In addition to being a forum for graduate student research on liternry 
topics, Focus on Litualltr also seeks to engage readers in constructive 
dialogue on current issues in Gennan studies, with particular refer­
ence to the effect recent trends have on the graduate students who 
represent the future of the pm fession. The average graduate smdent 
spends four to seven years poSt-SA earning me doctoral degree, yet 
during this time issues facing these Studems are usually addressed only 
within their own universities or individual departments at best. Aside 
from selected sessions at the MLA Convention , there are essentially 
no avenues for intercollegiate discussion amongst students. To help 
fill this communi cation gap, Focus on Literatllr welcomes editorials 
that will encourage dialogue between students across North America 
and the German-speaking world. Essays addressing topics of conce rn 
should be well argued, thought provoking, and o f general imerest to 
fellow students. Submissions should be no more than three pages in 
length , double spaced. 

Focus on Literatur 
a journal for German·language literature 

SUBSCRIPTIONS 
Two issues per year (Spring and E1 1I) 

Check appropriate bo x: 

o $15 Indiv iduals 

o $22 Institutio ns 

o Subscribers outside N o rth America add $5 for 
addit ional post;lge. 

o Send next si ngle issue fo r 58. 

Total Enclosed: _____ _ 

Name: ______________ ___ 

Address: _____________ _ 

E-mail : _______________ _ 

All orders shou ld be made payable (i n U.S. cu rrency) to: 

Focus on L-iterawr 
D ept. of Germanic Languages & Lit eratures 
University of C incinnati 
C inci nnati O H 4522 1-0372 / USA 
Tel. (513) 556-2755 Fax. (513) 556-1991