Robin Ellis
Visiting Assistant Professor of German Studies
My research centers on 20th and 21st century German-language cultural productions, including literary texts and films. I am particularly interested in processes of circulation, encounter, and exchange, and my work situates intersections with German-speaking cultures within broader European and global contexts. My research informs all of my teaching, in ways that are sometimes obvious, like designing a course on European borders, and sometimes less so, like raising questions of translatability in my elementary German course.
In every course I teach, my fundamental aim is to help students develop skills that will serve them as individuals, as community members, and as citizens of the contemporary word. These skills include analytical thinking, effective written and verbal communication, attention to cultural and linguistic specificity, and the ability to engage productively with multiple perspectives. In working with foreign languages and cultures, we repeatedly negotiate complex, context-dependent, and sometimes contradictory meanings; at the same time, we can reflect on the ways in which meanings are constructed in our own languages and cultures as well. As an instructor, I am particularly excited by the variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and questions each of my students brings to our discussions.
