Faculty Profile
Antje Pfannkuchen
Associate Professor of German (2009)
Contact Information
Bosler Hall Room M11
717-254-8151
Bio
Antje Pfannkuchen is a researcher in German media studies, literature and cultural history. Her work is concerned with connections between (media)technology, science, literature and art, especially in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Most recently she co-edited "The Technological Introject," a volume engaging the ideas of Friedrich Kittler, mastermind of German media theory. She has also published on German Enlightenment poet and scientist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, on Romantic physicist Johann Wilhelm Ritter and on Ezra Pound's interests in 19th century German science. Her current book project investigates the correlations of the history of electricity, German early Romanticism and the invention of photography. Courses she has taught include German Media Cultures, German Film, German Stories - classical and digital, Goethe Forever!, The Two Germanies, German Romanticism, German-Jewish Culture and all levels of German language.
Education
- M.A., FU Berlin, 2000
- M.P.S., New York University, 2002
- Ph.D., 2010
2024-2025 Academic Year
Fall 2024
GRMN 201 Int German I:Contemp Grm Cltr
What did the Brothers Grimm do besides collecting fairy tales? How do narratives inform national identity? Why do Germans return their empty bottles to the store? Students approach such questions, which touch on language, culture, economics, geography, history, and more, through a variety of media in this course. At the same time, students review grammatical structures, expand their knowledge of stylistic forms, and practice various registers of written and spoken German. German 201 aims to develop students’ skills to understand and reflect upon German-language culture at a basic intermediate level. Classes meet four days a week. Prerequisite: 102 or 103, or permission of the instructor. This course fulfills the language graduation requirement.
GRMN 202 Int Grmn II: Mediated Grmn Clt
What was occupied Vienna like in post-WWII Central Europe? How does a film convey fear? Is German academic writing different from how I write papers at Dickinson? Posing these or similar questions, this course builds students’ basic intermediate level of cultural and linguistic skill and explores the challenges of understanding and communicating with various media in colloquial, academic, and professional contexts. As it does so, students will acquire a better understanding of contemporary and historical issues, anxieties, and desires in the German-speaking world. There will be a special focus on writing in different modes, as this is a writing in the discipline (WiD) course. Prerequisite: 201, or permission of the instructor.
GRMN 303 The Two Germanies: Cltr of E&W
For 40 years, Germany consisted of two states--the German Democratic Republic (GDR )and the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD). The contexts and conditions within which these two countries developed and their distinct cultural forms are the focus of this course. Literary and artistic production, political structures as well as differences in daily life will be examined within the context of learning more about the two Germanies.
Prerequisite: a 200-level German course at 210 or above, or permission of the instructor.