New directions in German studies: a context of interdisciplinarity

The present volume explores possibilities for a new context for German Studies, and also a new future. It features a selection of presentations to the inaugural conference of the German Studies Association of Australia, re-worked and blind peer-reviewed for the purposes of publication. The first section considers the situation of German Studies in the United States, Australia, Germany and Japan and offers suggestions about how the present crisis might be addressed. To some extent, addressing the crisis will involve reconsidering the canon of literary studies and widening the remit of traditionally understood German Studies. The second section surveys recent developments that have occurred in German-focused feminist scholarship in the United States, Australia and Germany. The third section looks atthe German language classroom in this complex and changing environment. The last section explores the opportunities attaching to the new multi-media learning environment and again underscores how profoundly the contemporary practice of German Studies differs from the practice of the past.