On October 22, faculty and graduate students from across the state came together in the Blackwell Conference Center on the Ohio State main campus to present, listen, and ask questions about current research and innovations in teaching and learning in the field of German Studies. This is the third year the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures has hosted German scholars at the annual Ohio German Studies Workshop.

The four different panels discussed a wide and diverse range of topics. In the first panel, Tanja Nusser, Richard Schade (both University of Cincinnati) and Julia Karolle-Berg (John Caroll University) presented their work “On Literature and Culture.” After a short break, the second panel brought together presentations by Sascha Andreas Gerhards (Miami University) and Christina Guenther (Bowling Green State University), along with a collaboration between Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm, Caro Müller (both Ohio State University), and Gabriele Dillmann (Denison University), that engaged with “Ethnic Minorities, Refugees, PEGIDA in Germany: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”.

Following a tasty and extensive luncheon, Theodore Rippey (Bowling Green State University), Anna Grotans (Ohio State University), and Nikhil Sathe (Ohio University) contributed to the third session on the possibilities and burdens of merging German Studies departments into larger Schools of Modern Languages. The final panel focused especially on “Film and Media Studies.” Evan Torner and Svea Braeunert (both University of Cincinnati), and Kristie Foell (Bowling Green State University) had the opportunity to present their work.

The multifaceted panels and presentations were greatly enjoyed by all participants and formed the basis for lively discussions both inside and outside the conference room. The Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures looks forward to continuing this annual tradition by hosting and sponsoring the Ohio German Studies Workshop again in October, 2017. We thank all contributors and attendees for an exciting and insightful day!