German Philology at Trier University

German Language and Literature – Core Competencies in Cultural Studies

German Studies at Trier University is a cultural studies field which is dedicated to researching and teaching German language and literature in their multifaceted historical, societal and cultural contexts. The interdisciplinary nature of this field shapes not only German Studies as an academic field but also our students’ future fields of work, especially in relation to the modern, continually changing areas of communications and education.

About Our Course of Studies

German Studies in Trier offers a broad range of classes. In addition to the traditional areas of German linguistics, medieval German philology and modern literary studies (from the early modern period to contemporary literature), there are many other areas open to students. All of our degree programmes aim to give students the ability to work critically and reflectively with language and literature and to carry out independent academic work. Our degree programmes therefore give our students the skills needed to work in fields that require high language competency (publishers, newspapers, broadcasting, media, public relations, etc.), in education and teaching (primary, secondary, tertiary) or in cultural institutions (theatre, houses of literature, museum, etc.).

About Our Research

German Studies, as the largest language department, plays a central role in cultural studies at Trier University. Key areas in research and projects of our twelve professors and over thirty research associates include gender and post-colonial studies, Weimar Classicism/Romanticism, drama and theatre, contemporary literature, media language, dialectology, phraseology, language and public relations in politics, (regional and European) language history, language change, language criticism, discourse analysis, digital humanities, editing, manuscript studies, German-Yiddish cultural transfer (focus on the Middle Ages), Fastnachtspiele (Shrovetide comedies), heroic epic poetry, and Yiddish.

German linguistics:

Medieval German philology:

Modern German literature:

German as a foreign language:

Yiddish: