The Germanic Graduate Student Association has hosted its ninth annual graduate student conference here at The Ohio State University. This year’s theme was “At the Fringes of Humanity: The Cyborg and the Undead”, which brought together a variety of young scholars from all over the Midwest.

On Friday, March 24, the conference began with a two-hour workshop conducted by our very own Dr. Kevin Richards on the Werner Herzog documentary “Lo and Behold”, which dealt with the many of themes that would reoccur throughout the conference. This was followed by a plenary talk given by Dr. Jaclyn Kurash (University of Pittsburgh), who holds a Ph.D. in German from Ohio State. Dr. Kurash’s lectured on “For the Love of Cyborgs: Bodies, Typewriters, and Pleasure in Late-Weimar Entertainment Films,” which facilitated lively discussion about the nature of the cyborg and how it relates to issues in the field of German Studies. Afterwards, Prof. Anna Grotans and Prof. Helena Goscilo from the Department of Slavic and Eastern European Languages and Cultures hosted the traditional potluck.

The next morning, on Saturday, March 25, saw two panels full of engaging presentations and exciting discussions. In the first panel, Mariola Maria Szumilas (University of Wisconsin-Madison/Bonn University) presented on “Oscillation, Liminality and the Question of Vulnerability: Employee Working Cultures in German Literature and Film”, whereas Dennis Schäfer (Ohio State) spoke on “Salvaging Nosferatu: Female Monstrosity in Penny Dreadful.”

The second panel saw Bryan Knowlton (Ohio State) discussing “The Uncanny and Uncertain Identities in Science Fiction Films” and Mary Hennessy (University of Michigan) presenting her research on “Processing as a Cultural Technique of Gender in Wenn die Filmkleberin gebummelt hat.” The final presenter in the second panel was Elin Limburg (University of North Carolina at Asheville) with her paper “’Ist denn überhaupt alles Prothese an dir!’: Portrayals of Artificial Women in three German Works.”

Finally, Prof. Barbara Hales (University of Houston-Clear Lake) gave the keynote address on “The Female Undead in Weimar Culture,” which brought together most of the themes and concerns that arose during an exciting weekend of scholarly discussion and exchange.

The GGSA would like to thank the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures and the Office of Student Life for their financial support, Prof. Anna Grotans for her contributions as faculty advisor and Prof. Helena Goscilo for hosting the potluck as well as Natascha Miller, Michelle Dixon, and Katie Kotol, who helped navigate the system of formalities. The GGSA very much looks forward to hosting what will then be the 10^th anniversary graduate conference in Spring 2018.