Women in German Studies

When introducing my thesis topic – diabetes care and research in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) – I am often met with some initially bemused-looking faces. Why diabetes? And why in the GDR? Having been interested from the beginning in the GDR, my primary objective was to use an unusual case study as a way … Continue reading →

CALL FOR PAPERS        WIGS 30th Anniversary Conference Saturday 10 November 2018 Aston University The annual Women in German Studies members’ conference will be held at Aston University this November. Abstracts (c.150 words) are invited for papers of about 20 minutes duration, on any topic within German Studies. There will be a workshop for postgraduates … Continue reading →

Heike Krüsemann recently submitted her thesis, in which she investigated whether the image of Germans in the UK press affects whether pupils want to study the language. Here she discusses the highlights of her work. As a German teacher in English secondary schools for many years, I became more and more aware of how difficult … Continue reading →

In WIGS’ 30th anniversary year, the WIGS committee are delighted to announce the calls for our 2018 WIGS Book Prize (for ECRs) and 2018 WIGS Postgraduate Essay Prize competitions. Please see below for further details. Please also note our earlier deadline for the WIGS Book Prize this year – 15 July 2018.   Women in German Studies Book Prize … Continue reading →

Earlier this year at the ‘Reform and Revolt’ Open WiGS Conference in Oxford, postgraduate delegates focused on making women visible on the digital map during the PG workshop. In a session convened by Wikimedian in Residence at the University of Oxford, Dr Martin Poulter, Wiggies learned how to upload content to Wikipedia and how to contribute … Continue reading →

Hi! I’m Mary Frank, the new postgrad rep at WIGS. My specialism is translation, and I’m working on a PhD at Bristol University that investigates the interplay between translation theory and translation practice. It’s a practice-led project that asks whether and how translation theory can help the practising translator and vice versa. The text I’m … Continue reading →

This time last week many WIGS members and non-members alike were in Oxford for our 2017 WIGS Open Conference on the theme of ‘Reform & Revolt’, where we enjoyed three days of engaging papers and conference activities. Once again, WIGS tweeted the conference using the hashtag #WIGS2017 and encouraged delegates to join in: the Storify … Continue reading →

*UPDATE 10/06/17: EXTENDED CONFERENCE REGISTRATION DEADLINE* Registration for this year’s Open Conference on the theme of Reform & Revolt at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford (22-24 June 2017) is now open! Please register by completing the ONLINE BOOKING FORM. The booking form will be open until 9 June. To help with planning, the organisers would be most … Continue reading →

Registration information for the WIGS Open Conference at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, 22-24 June, will be published on the WIGS blog later this month (watch this space!), but we wanted to give you a sneak peak at the DRAFT PROGRAMME already (click on the link to view). We look forward to seeing many of you (members … Continue reading →

In the first of a new series of blog entries on aspects of members’ career trajectories, Rose Simpson offers her thoughts on work-life balance: It took me a while to become a Woman in German Studies. I was temperamentally unsuited to life as a bank-manager’s wife and the Girls’ Grammar had failed to offer any other … Continue reading →

The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book is looking for an experienced editor to copy edit articles submitted to the Leo Baeck Institute Year Book. We are looking for someone who is able to work to occasional tight deadlines (as articles are submitted throughout the year), and can liaise closely and diplomatically with authors and the … Continue reading →

Women in German Studies (WIGS) is looking for a new Treasurer. This is an excellent opportunity to hold a position of responsibility in a national professional organisation of nearly thirty years’ standing. You will be supported by a dedicated and cooperative team of colleagues on the WIGS Committee and the outgoing Treasurer will ease you … Continue reading →

The WIGS committee met in Oxford on Saturday to prepare for this year’s special WIGS Open Conference on ‘Reform & Revolt’, which will take place at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, on 22-24 June 2017. Watch this space for details about the programme, registration information, and for information about the postgraduate workshop, a crowdsourcing translation workshop, and … Continue reading →

The 2017 Women in German Studies open conference explores the topics ‘reform’ and ‘revolt’ across German history, literature and culture. We would like to invite members and non-members (women and men) to propose papers of c. 20 minutes duration on the conference theme. Papers may be given in either English or German. Please send abstracts … Continue reading →

In anticipation of the announcement of the second WiGS Book Award tomorrow evening, we would like to remind you of our wonderful entries from last year! First Runner-Up, Melissa Munderloh   In this short video, Melissa Munderloh explains her book proposal The Emergence of Post-Hybrid Identities: A  Comparative  Analysis of National Identity Formations in Germany’ … Continue reading →

With thanks to Rose Simpson for kindly providing this information. We are looking forward to seeing delegates in Aberystwyth next week for the WIGS 28th Annual Conference. Please see the latest conference programme (which includes room details). A map of the Aberystwyth University Penglais Campus is available on https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/maps-travel/maps/#buildings. Town and travel maps are also available from … Continue reading →

The latest programme (including confirmed speakers for the PG/ECR workshop) for the WIGS 28th Annual Conference in Aberystwyth is now available! Please remember to register for the conference via this ONLINE BOOKING FORM by Thursday 27 October! We look forward to seeing you in Aberystwyth!

Attention all WIGS members! With the WIGS annual conference in Aberystwyth fast approaching, I’d like to ask you to send me all news of members (including promotions, publications, awards, etc.) to report to the AGM. Please send all reports to me at katya.krylova@cantab.net by Wednesday 2 November. We look forward to hearing your good news!

WiGS member Nina Schmidt (Freie Universität Berlin) has recently taken up a postdoctoral position as researcher for Patho/Graphics, a Schlegel Graduate School project headed by Prof. Dr. Irmela Krüger-Fürhoff and funded by the Einstein Foundation. The three-year project examines the aesthetics and politics of illness narratives in English and German-language contemporary comics and literature. You … Continue reading →

With thanks to Rose Simpson for kindly providing this information. The WIGS conference will be held in the Medrus conference suite in the Penbryn Building, which is near the entrance to the campus and near to a bus stop which will take you into town. It is, however, often quicker to walk than wait. Buses are reasonably … Continue reading →

Registration for this year’s annual members’ conference at Aberystwyth University (4-5 November) is now open! Please register by completing the ONLINE BOOKING FORM. The booking form will be open until 27 October. To help with planning, the organisers would be most grateful if you could register sooner rather than later. The conference is open to all members of … Continue reading →

To the attention of all postgraduate Wiggies! Please note that the deadline for submissions for the Women in German Studies Postgraduate Essay Prize has been extended to Monday 10 October! The winning essay will be selected by the WiGS committee and announced at the annual WiGS conference. Winners of the essay prize will receive £100 and the opportunity … Continue reading →

The first ECR workshop on alternative careers was a great success, thanks to a well-balanced programme, the generosity of the invited speakers in sharing their knowledge and time, the professionalism and friendliness of St Edmund Hall staff, a wonderful group of interested and lively participants, and last but not least the support of the WiGS … Continue reading →

There’s still time to enter the WIGS Postgraduate Essay Prize competition (deadline: 1 October 2016). Submit an entry and you could follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Ellen Pilsworth (UCL), and runner-up, Nicola Thomas (Nottingham), whose essays can now be read in German Life and Letters! Details and T&Cs available here.  

Don’t miss the 1 October deadline for the WIGS Postgraduate Essay Prize competition! See below for details of how to enter the competition. Women in German Studies Postgraduate Essay Prize Women in German Studies are delighted to announce their prize for postgraduate scholarship. Postgraduate members of WIGS are encouraged to submit essays on any topic within German … Continue reading →

You are cordially invited to attend the first WiGS Early Career Workshop in St Edmund Hall, Oxford! For most of us working towards, or having obtained, a PhD the question of what to do with it can be very daunting. Most of us, presumably, would love nothing more than taking off with an academic career … Continue reading →

A reminder about the forthcoming deadline (1 September 2016) for the WIGS Book Prize competition. Please see the Terms & Conditions for the competition below. The WIGS committee warmly encourages all eligible ECRs to apply. Women in German Studies Book Prize Women in German Studies are delighted to announce their prize for first books, sponsored by … Continue reading →

The prize-winning essay of Ellen Pilsworth (UCL), who won the 2015 Women in German Studies Postgraduate Essay Prize competition, has now been published in the July 2016 issue of German Life and Letters: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/glal.12121/abstract The essay of runner-up in the competition, Nicola Thomas (University of Nottingham), has also been published in the same issue: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/glal.12124/abstract … Continue reading →

Please see the CFAs below for the WIGS Book Prize and the WIGS Postgraduate Essay Prize. The Women in German Studies Book Prize (for first books), sponsored by Peter Lang, was established in 2015. Sally-Ann Spencer (Victoria University of Wellington) was the inaugural winner and her monograph, entitled Contemporary German-English Translation: Books Across Borders in … Continue reading →

The WiGS committee met in Aberystwyth on Saturday to prepare for this year’s members’ conference, which will take place at Aberystwyth University on 4-5 November 2015. Make sure you keep up to date with news about the programme, registration information, postgraduate workshop, as well as how to submit your entry for the WiGS Postgraduate Essay Prize and the WiGS Book … Continue reading →

Don’t miss the CFP deadline for the Women in German Studies 28th Annual Conference! Send your abstracts to Rosemary Sillars at ras15@aber.ac.uk, by 23 April 2016.   CALL FOR PAPERS WIGS 28th Annual Conference Saturday 5 November 2016 Aberystwyth University The annual Women in German Studies members’ conference will be held at Aberystwyth University this November. Abstracts (c.150 … Continue reading →

German author, Renate Ahrens — whose latest novel Das gerettete Kind, set in Dublin and Hamburg, appeared last month — is in UCD next week. She is addressing two final-year German modules on Wednesday at 13:00 and on Thursday at 10:00. More information at: https://www.ucd.ie/slcl/newsandevents/ Visitors are very welcome to either or both events.

 CALL FOR PAPERS WIGS 28th Annual Conference Saturday 5 November 2016 Aberystwyth University   The annual Women in German Studies members’ conference will be held at Aberystwyth University this November. Abstracts (c.150 words) are invited for papers of about 20 minutes duration, on any topic within German Studies. There will be a workshop for postgraduates … Continue reading →

Please use this link for further information: http://www.leobaeck.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploadsaug14onwards/2010/02/Funding-Opportunities-2016-17-MA-in-European-Jewish-History3.pdf

In addition to our ‘Thesis of the Month’ series, we would like to draw attention to a new video project that is in development for postgraduate members. We are currently looking for short video submissions from PG members that can provide insights into the diverse range of activities undertaken at postgraduate research level. Similarly to … Continue reading →

Earlier this month Wiggies from around the UK and Ireland made their way to Durham for the WIGS 27th Annual Conference. As ever it was an opportunity to listen to some fantastic papers, to catch up with fellow Wiggies and meet new Wiggies in the wonderful environment of Durham’s Van Mildert College. The conference started … Continue reading →

WIGS 2015 6-7 November Durham University Van Mildert College Programme Friday 6 November 14:00-14:30     Coffee/Registration 14:30-17:00     Postgraduate Workshop: Working with Visual Culture and Displaying Visual Culture 17:00-17:30     Tea 17:45               Welcome 18:00               Prizegiving: Postgraduate Essay Prize … Continue reading →

1 September is the deadline for submitting proposals for the inaugural “Women in German Studies prize for first books”, sponsored by Peter Lang. Get writing for your chance to be presented with the first ever prize (honour & money!) at the conference in Durham in November.

Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly’s project ‘Marrying Cultures: Queens Consort and European Identities 1500-1800‘ made it on the pages of the ‘Glamour’ pages – showing again the versatility of Early Modern Studies! How Kate Middleton Behaves Exactly Like 16th-Century Princesses Did Glamour, 18/07/2015, Danica Lo Article on research by Professor Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly of Oxford University, which has shown … Continue reading →

A fully funded DPhil Studentship in Medieval German is available for 2015/16 entry. If you are interested in pursuing doctoral studies on any area of medieval German literature and linguistics and would like to do so in a lively graduate community, drop me an email – happy to discuss text-image-relationship, nuns’ manuscripts, bilingual writing and any other … Continue reading →

Update: Susan Reed from @BL_European will join the WiGS PG workshop for a hands-on session on blogging on things German – bring your laptop or tablet along for a Social Mediathon! Image of the ‘Deutschstunde’ from the latest blog on German literature

Accommodation Suggestions or WiGS Conference at Selwyn College, Grange Rd, Cambridge, 7th-8th November 2014 (thanks to Katie Stone for providing this useful document!) Directions to Selwyn College (CB3 9DQ) can be found on the college website. Google maps and the Cambridge journey planner can be used to find exact walking/ public transport routes from the hotels … Continue reading →

Now that the conference programme is online, do register for the exciting range of events in Cambridge: Postgraduate Workshop on Publishing and Web Visibility, Keynote Lecture on Women and WW1, our first ever Postgraduate Essay Prize Giving Ceremony – and a plethora of wonderful papers. Go for it!

The 26th conference of Women in German Studies will take place in Selwyn College, Cambridge, on 7-9 November 2014. Continue reading →

WiGS’ annual conference in November will bring to an end my period of office as postgraduate representative. At the Cambridge conference on 7-8 November 2014 any postgraduate member of WiGS who would like to stand for office will be able to do so at the AGM. Those considering doing so are very welcome to write … Continue reading →

Registration is now open for the ‘What is Women’s Writing?’ International Symposium at Oxford University. For conference website with draft programme click on http://womenwritingoxford.wordpress.com/ or you can link directly to online registration and booking here http://www.oxforduniversitystores.co.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&deptid=257&catid=94&prodid=266 See below for brief information: WOMEN WRITING ACROSS CULTURES: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE An international symposium at St Hilda’s College, University … Continue reading →

Academic systems rely on the existence of a supply of “outsiders” ready to forgo wages and employment security in exchange for the prospect of uncertain security, prestige, freedom and reasonably high salaries that tenured positions entail. Drawing on data from the US, Germany and the UK, Alexandre Afonso looks at how the academic job market is structured in many … Continue reading →

With German Studies fighting for its position in the British and Irish university landscape, the situation of its ‘Nachwuchs’ seems more precarious than ever: an increasing number of early-career academics find themselves in a succession of short-term contracts with very limited prospects of permanent employment. WiGS would like to invite members and non-members to share … Continue reading →

Women in German Studies are delighted to announce their new prize for postgraduate scholarship. Postgraduate members of WiGS are encouraged to submit essays on any topic within German Studies. The winning essay will be selected by the WiGS committee and announced at the annual WiGS conference. Winners of the essay prize will receive £100 and … Continue reading →