German Studies
Offering a broad and in-depth study of the Germanic world.
Dive into the Germanic world from the middle ages to the present day. German studies is a small but dynamic program, which allows us to get to know our students well and guide them through their experience at UMass.
German studies offers the opportunity to study the culture, society, film, literature, history, and politics of Germany through its past and present, with options for students to focus on German language or to prepare for careers in the sciences in Germany. Our strengths are in interdisciplinary literary and cultural studies, including Black German studies, cultural and intellectual history, film studies, GDR studies, gender and sexuality studies, German-Jewish studies, Holocaust studies, medieval studies, minority studies, theater and performance studies, transnationalism, and Turkish German studies. We also offer instruction in German, Yiddish, and Middle High German.
UMass is home to the DEFA Film Library, a research center focusing on film related to East Germany. Our resources are further enhanced by the Five Colleges, the Yiddish Book Center, and exchange programs with universities in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Austria.
Explore our programs
Featured faculty
Sara Jackson
Program Director, German Studies
Associate Professor, German Studies
Sara Jackson is an associate professor, the program director, and the graduate program director of German studies.
Kerstin Mueller Dembling
Language Program Coordinator, German Studies
Senior Lecturer, German Studies
Kerstin Mueller Dembling is a senior lecturer, language program coordinator, and undergraduate program director for the German studies program.
In the news
Associate Professor of German Ela Gezen to Deliver Three Talks Related to Book Project on Cultures in Migration
Ela Gezen, associate professor of German, has been invited to present three research presentations and lectures based on her current book project.
German and Scandinavian Studies Program to Host Inaugural Sara Lennox Lecture in Black German Studies on April 2
The inaugural Sara Lennox Lecture in Black German Studies will take place on Tuesday, April 2, at 4.30 p.m. in the Hadley Room of Campus Center.
Associate Professor of German Ela Gezen to Deliver Keynote on "Cultures of/in Migration: Turkish Artists in West Berlin"
Ela Gezen, associate professor of German, will deliver the keynote lecture for German Studies at this year's Northeast Modern Language Association conference.