Department of German Language and Literature

e-mail:	dokubun(at)l.u-tokyo.ac.jp *Replace (at) with @.
Tel:	03-5841-3836

The Department of German Language and Literature focuses on the education and research regarding the language and culture of the German-speaking world. The purpose of this course is to examine the cultural and ideological meanings expressed in literary works in German from the Middle Ages to the present day through a close reading of these works. The scope of the studies covers medieval High German literature, modern literature and criticism, German-language literature of Central and Eastern Europe, and the literature of the former East German state. Research activities also include a range of cultural phenomena such as film and music.

Faculty

Kan'ichiro OMIYA (Professor): Modern German Literature

Research fields:	He considers the relationship between literature and thought in the late 19th and 20th centuries taking Benjamin, Ernst Jünger, Heidegger, Arendt, and others as focal points.
Courses taught:	He teaches lectures on the history of modern German-language literature, as well as a seminar with close readings of German classicism and 20th-century texts. (For more information: https://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eng/teacher/database/198.html)

Shinji MIYATA (Professor): Modern German Literature

Research fields:	With Lichtenberg and Novalis as two focal points, and with reference to contemporary literary theory, he explores the various problems and possibilities of the Enlightenment and Romanticism in their prehistory and posthistory.
Courses taught:	His lectures focus on the perception of antiquity in German Classicism. His seminars include close readings of Romantic novels. (For more information: https://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eng/teacher/database/174.html)

Stefan KEPPLER-TASAKI (Professor): Modern German Literature

Research fields:	With Goethe at the center of his research, he studies German literature from the early modern period to the mid-20th century in regard to religion, identity, and media.
Courses taught:	Lectures on literature and film, as well as seminars on works by Goethe, Thomas Mann, and others. He also teaches a class on academic writing in German. (For more information: https://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eng/teacher/database/235.html)

Jun YAMAMOTO (Associate Professor): Medieval German Literature and History of the German Language

Research fields:	He studies medieval literature in the German-speaking world from a cultural-historical perspective, focusing on heroic epics such as The Song of the Nibelungen. He is also engaged in research on the history of the reception of medieval literature and art in the modern and post-modern period.
Courses taught:	He teaches courses such as Introduction to the History of German-Speaking Vernacular Literature in the Middle Ages and lectures on the history of the German language from ancient times to the present day. His seminars provide an introduction to medieval High German, as well as close readings of representative works of popular literature from the High Middle Ages. (For more information: https://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eng/teacher/database/6903.html)

Research fields:

He studies medieval literature in the German-speaking world from a cultural-historical perspective, focusing on heroic epics such as The Song of the Nibelungen. He is also engaged in research on the history of the reception of medieval literature and art in the modern and post-modern period.

Courses taught:

He teaches courses such as Introduction to the History of German-Speaking Vernacular Literature in the Middle Ages and lectures on the history of the German language from ancient times to the present day. His seminars provide an introduction to medieval High German, as well as close readings of representative works of popular literature from the High Middle Ages. (For more information: https://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eng/teacher/database/6903.html)