The German Studies Association (GSA) is an international organization of scholars in
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
,
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field that explores the dynamics of contemporary culture (including the politics of popular culture) and its social and historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers investigate how cultural practices rel ...
, and
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
who study
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, and
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. The organization began in 1976 as the Western Association for German Studies, and was renamed as the GSA in 1983 after transforming itself into first a North American organization, and then an international one. The association awards the annual ''Sybil Halpern Milton Memorial Book Prize''.
History
The founder and long-time executive director of the GSA was Professor Gerald R. Kleinfeld of
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
. He also served as the first editor of the association's scholarly journal, the ''
German Studies Review'', which was first published in 1978. The executive director's position is currently held by Professor
Margaret Menninger of
Texas State, while the ''German Studies Review'' is edited by Professor Sabine Hake of the
University of Texas, Austin. The association is governed by a Board elected by the members in accordance with the GSA by-laws. The GSA holds an annual conference each autumn in a North American location.
Presidents
The presidents of the association included:
*
Ronald Smelser (1989–90)
*
Gerhard Weinberg
Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg (born 1 January 1928) is a German-born American Diplomatic history, diplomatic and Military History, military historian noted for his studies in the history of Nazi Germany and World War II. Weinberg is the William Rand Ke ...
(1997–98)
*
Henry Friedlander (2001–2002)
*Patricia Herminghouse,
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...
(2003-2004)
* Katherine Roper,
St. Mary's College of California (2005-2006)
* Sara Lennox,
University of Massachusetts Amherst (2007-2008)
*Celia Applegate,
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...
(2009-2010)
*Stephen Brockmann,
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...
(2011-2012)
*
Suzanne L. Marchand (2013–2014)
*
David E. Barclay
See also
*
German Historical Institute
*
German studies
German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...
*
German literature
German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...
*
Germanisches Nationalmuseum
*
Area studies
Area studies, also known as regional studies, is an interdisciplinary field of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/ federal, or cultural regions. The term exists primarily as a general description for what a ...
References
External links
The German Studies Association web site
�
On the history of the GSAGerald R. Kleinfeld web site
{{Authority control
Cultural organisations based in Germany
Humanities organizations
Germanic philology
Member organizations of the American Council of Learned Societies