Modern Germany

Modern German history is one of the areas of special strength at UT's History Department, built up over the last years. The Department boasts four German historians, a constellation rare among American universities. Dr. Robert Bast (currently director of the MARCO Institute at UT) is a specialist in late Medieval and Reformation Germany, with an emphasis on the politics of religion. Dr. Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius (currently Hendrickson Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences) specializes in modern German history, especially German relations with Eastern Europe, and European diplomatic history. Our most recent hires are Dr. Denise Phillips, a specialist in the history of science from Harvard University, and Dr. David Tompkins, a specialist in the cultural history of the Cold War in Central and Eastern Europe (including the German Democratic Republic), who comes to us from Columbia University. The particular interests of our group of Germanists make this an especially appealing place to study German relationships with Eastern Europe, as this is the focus of the work of both Liulevicius and Tompkins.

Our students in German history have already achieved a series of awards in the department and outside the university. These include: a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) fellowship for summer language study in Germany, a McClure Fund Fellowship, and the Francis Huffman Smith Scholarship. Our students also have participated as presenters at a notable range of conferences. Last fall, Jake Hamric participated with a paper presentation on a panel on Imperial Germany (which he himself had organized) at the German Studies Association (the top conference in his field). Students in German history may also find useful connections to the Department's Center for the Study of War and Society, which is a venue for research and comparative scholarship on the reciprocal relationships of war and diplomacy, culture and society.

An additional special attraction for work in German history at UT is the active presence of an
interdisciplinary Faculty Research Seminar on Modern Germany which is open to graduate students. Participants include scholars in German studies from other departments (such as Dr. Gilya Schmidt of Religious Studies and Dr. Dan Magilow of Modern Foreign Languages). The Seminar features a rich program of events focused on research being done here at UT and also invites an array of prominent scholars from around the country to comment on work in progress and give presentations on their own work (past visitors include Charles Ingrao of Purdue, Carole Fink of Ohio State, Helmut Walser Smith of Vanderbilt).

More information on the Faculty Research Seminar is available at:
http://web.utk.edu/~mfll/languages/german/research_seminar/.

Selected Recent Master's Thesis

• (2006) Benjamin Shannon, "Cultural Consensus, Political Conflict: The Problem of Unity Among German Intellectuals during World War I ". Went on to Ph.D. program at Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison.
• (2004) Elizabeth Dunham, "Einsatzgruppen: Created Killers or Convinced Murderers?"
• (2004) Abby Thompson, "Dissident Peace Movements Inside the German Democratic Republic: The Search for Reform, Freedom, and Toleration, 1979-1986".
• (2002) Henry Staruk, "After the Liberation: The American Administration of the Concentration Camp at Dachau". Went on to doctoral program of Temple University.
• (2001) Vanessa Gera, "Making Subjects: History Lessons in Elementary Textbooks in Wurttemberg, 1855-1910."

Contact Information

Dr. Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius
Hendrickson Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences
Associate Professor of History
Department of History
915 Volunteer Boulevard
6th Floor Dunford Hall
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-4065

Phone: (865) 974-7320
Fax: (865) 974-3915
Email: vliulevi@utk.edu
Website