Eric Klaus
Eric J KlausProfessor of German Area StudiesChair, German Area Studies
Joined faculty in 2001
Ph.D., German Studies, Brown University
M.A., Germanic Studies, University of Maryland College Park
B.A., Major-German Minor-History, Dickinson College
Contact Information
Scholarly Interest
Gustav Meyrink
esotericism
modernism
the bildungsroman
the uncanny
dance of death and vanitas motifs in the modern age
Areas of Expertise:
18th - 20th-century literature and intellectual history of German-speaking Europe
modernism
discourse of Bildung
the uncanny
Teaching Experience
Deutsche Sommerschule am Atlantik
Brown University
University of Rhode Island
University of Maryland College Park
Research
Dissertations: Engineering Souls: Humanism, Allegory, and Specularity in Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre and Gorky's Mother
Articles on Gustav Meyrink and forthcoming publications on the uncanny and the bildungsroman
Courses Taught
Beginning through Intermediate German
Madness and Mayhem in Modernity
Haunting Memories - revealing the uncanny
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
MLA
AATG
ACTFL
MACLA
Europäischer Totentanz-Vereinigung
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Being a teacher-scholar means many things: challenging students to break out of their comfort zones and to discover their full potential exploring novel and creative ways to introduce students to the themes and concepts of the discipline pursuing my intellectual interests and bringing them into the classroom. Because instruction at HWS involves each of these activities, it is a wonderful place to practice and to hone the craft of teaching and to explore my research interests. The colleges offer the freedom and flexibility to engage talented students in new and exciting ways. Along with instructing students in the language and culture of German-speaking Europe, I also have the opportunity to explore my research interests with students in my courses: Whether investigating the image of the somnambulist in German modernism or unraveling the narrative structure of the uncanny or tracing the shifting epistemological ground of the Self over time, working with students never fails to bear fruit. For all of these reasons I can count myself among the lucky few who look forward to going to work every day.