Faculty Profile
Antje Pfannkuchen
Associate Professor of German (2009)
Contact Information
Bosler Hall Bosler Hall M11
717-254-8151
Bio
Antje Pfannkuchen is a researcher in German media studies, literature and cultural history. Her work is concerned with the role of (media)technology in society, historically and today. She studies connections between media, technology, science, literature and art, especially in the 18th and early 19th centuries. 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, Introduction to German Film, German Stories, German Film and Activism, 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
2026-2027 Academic Year
Fall 2026
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.
Spring 2027
GRMN 215 German Environments
Known for their contemporary environmentalism, German-speaking cultures have a long cultural history that speaks to complex understandings and relationships with nature. At times ideological, political, religious, spiritual, and critical, it is a turbulent history. This course will focus on the environment in German-speaking cultures while posing questions about how cultures’ relationship to the environment is informed by and informs contemporary German-speaking cultures. Topics might include understanding the significant role of nature in Romanticism that continues to influence concepts today, the industrialization of Central Europe, 20th and 21st century environmentalism, or the ways in which media (i.e. literature, film, music) underscore or contradict certain assumptions about nature. This course may be taught in German or in English.Prerequisite: GRMN 202 if offered in German, or permission of the instructor. No prerequisite, if offered in English.
GRMN 500 Independent Study
Part of the Sustainability and Energy Transition Mosaic. Open only to mosaic participants.