The Society for German-American Studies held its 42nd Annual Symposium in Indianapolis, Indiana, 19–21 April 2018. The theme of the program was: “World War I and Its Repercussions for German America: A Centennial Assessment.” Thank you to everyone who made it a successful gathering.
Annual Meeting and Symposium
The Society for German-American Studies will hold its 43rd Annual Symposium in Madison, Wisconsin, 11–14 April 2019.
Symposium theme and how to submit a proposal:
“German in America: Words, Sounds, and Images”
A thematic focus of the Symposium will be on the diverse expressions of German culture in America, past and present. We invite presentations on topics related to this country’s German backgrounds in texts, music, and visual culture, as well in education, religion, politics, journalism, commerce, and other areas. Presentations that focus on more specifically linguistic topics--structural and sociolinguistic aspects of heritage varieties of German in America, for example--are also welcome.
However, as is our tradition, we also accept proposals dealing with other aspects of German-American studies, including the history, language, literature, society, and culture of immigrants from German-speaking areas of Europe as they established themselves in and interacted with the situation and the people of their new homeland, as well as comparative topics with a German-American component.
Membership in the Society for German-American Studies is required for those who make a presentation at the Symposium.
Please submit to Cora Lee Kluge a 150-word abstract of your proposed presentation, preferably in electronic form, by 15 December 2018. Include your paper title, your full name as you wish it to appear in the program, your email address, your complete mailing address, and your academic affiliation, if any. Please note that sessions are 90 minutes long and typically include three papers. Therefore, speakers should count on 30 minutes for their presentations, including time for discussion.
Email address: Cora Lee Kluge <clnollen@wisc.edu> Please include SGAS in the subject line.
SGAS Outstanding Achievement Award
The Society for German-American Studies has established an award which is given each year to an individual who has distinguished him- or herself in the field of German-American Studies. Honorees are celebrated each year at the Annual Meeting and Symposium.
The membership of the Society for German-American Studies is invited to nominate individuals of merit. Nominations should be directed to the chair of the Nominations Committee no later than September of the year prior to the one for which the individual is nominated. The Nominations Committee will forward all nominations to the president for review at the fall meeting of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will select the awardee.
Achievement in the context of the award is broadly defined. The honoree may have published significant research in the field, may have served the Society and the field of German-American Studies in an outstanding fashion, or may otherwise have made an outstanding contribution to the field.
Awardees will be encouraged to attend the annual symposium to receive the award. All awardees will be awarded a Life Membership in the Society for German-American Studies. The Society will cover the housing and registration expenses of those who participate in the annual symposium.
Nominations for the Outstanding Achievement Award should be forwarded to the chair of the Nominations Committee no later than September 1 of a given year for consideration for the following year. All nominations should include a letter which specifies the reasons why the nominator feels the award is justified as well as a short précis of the nominee’s accomplishments.
The current chair of the Nominations Committee is William H. Roba broba@eicc.edu.
