Hans Reiss

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

(19 August 1922 – 2 April 2020) was Professor

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

Life

Reiss was born in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The son of a Jewish printer, Berthold Reiss, and the actress Maria Reiss-Petri (who performed for the

National Theatre Mannheim The Mannheim National Theatre (german: Nationaltheater Mannheim) is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18 ...

), he fled Nazi Germany to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

a week before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out in 1939. He completed his education in Ireland and was awarded a scholarship to study at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in 1940. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1943 and

from TCD in 1945, where he was assistant to the

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of German, M.F. Liddle, from 1943 to 1946. From 1946 to 1953 he was lecturer at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. From 1953 to 1958 he lectured at

Queen Mary, University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

(then Queen Mary College). In 1958 he was appointed

and Head of the Department of German Studies at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. From 1965 until his retirement in 1988 he was Professor and Head of the German Department at the

. Thereafter he held a number of guest professorships, and was Senior

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at the

from 1995 until 2009. He was married to the artist Linda Reiss from 1963 until his death; they had two children. In 2009 they moved to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. He died in 2020 in

Work

Hans Reiss's research was focussed on

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

and 20th-century German literature, as well as German political thought around 1800. He achieved international recognition with his publication of ''Kant's Political Writings'' in 1970. His book publications include: * ''Franz Kafka'' (1952; 1956). * ''The Political Thought of the German Romantics (1793-1815)'' (1955). * ''Goethes Romane'' (1963). * ''Das Politische Denken in der Deutschen Romantik'' (1966). * ''Kant’s Political Writings'' (1970; 2nd enlarged edition 1991), and . Translated into Chinese in 2013. * ''Goethe's Novels'' (1969; 1971), . * ''Kants Politisches Denken'' (1977), . Translated into Japanese in 1989. * ''The Writer’s Task from Nietzsche to Brecht'' (1978), . * ''Formgestaltung und Politik, Goethe-Studien'' (1993), . * ''Erinnerungen aus 85 Jahren'' (2009), . Since 1974 Reiss edited ''British and Irish Studies in German Language and Literature'', initially with Idris Parry, then as sole editor, and from 1988 with W.E. Yates. The series closed in 2015.

Awards

* 1972: ''Goethe's Novels'' was voted "Outstanding Book of the Year 1972" by the American

Association of College and Research Libraries The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academi ...

* 1988:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

1st Class * 1997: Goethe Medal in Gold of the

Goethe-Gesellschaft The (Goethe Society), not to be confused with the Goethe-Institut, is a literary and scientific organisation to explore the literary work of the German poet and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It was founded in Weimar, where he lived, in 1885 ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

* 2011: Life Member of the

Modern Humanities Research Association The Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA) is a United Kingdom–based international organisation that aims to encourage and promote advanced study and research of humanities. It is most notable for producing the ''MHRA Style Guide''. His ...

(MHRA) * Since 1981 he has been a member of the Freie Akademie der Künste Rhein-Neckar (previously known as the Freie Akademie der Künste Mannheim) in

External links

*
British and Irish Studies in German Language and LiteratureModern Humanities Research Association home pageHome page of the Freie Akademie Rhein-Neckar
(German)
Obituary by Gustav Seibt
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Reiss, Hans Academics of the London School of Economics McGill University faculty Academics of the University of Bristol Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Germanists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany Writers from Mannheim Naturalised citizens of Ireland 1922 births 2020 deaths German emigrants to Ireland Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom