Albrecht Classen

Member of the Graduate Faculty | Distinguished Professor | Professor, German Studies

About

He has a broad range of research interests covering the history of German and European literature and culture from about 800 to 1800, but he also pays close attention to contemporary conditions, including politics, religion, economy, sports, and literature. He is also a poet of his own rights and has so far published nine volumes of his own texts in German, most recently: Hawaiische Impressionen 2013) and Sonora: harter Klang 2015) Since 2016, he has also published three volumes of essays and satires such as Amerikanische Satiren, Leipzig: Engelsdorfer Verlag, Die Welt und ich, ein etwas unausgewogenes Verhältnis: Neue Satiren aus deutscher und amerikanischer Sicht, 2020; and Wildgewordenes Amerika: Berichte aus dem Alltag in den wirklich fremden USA und andere Reflexionen Der Lehrbuchverlag, 2020' all available through amazon) He is an active contributor to the literary journal Trans-Lit2, for which he had served as the book review editor from 2012 to 2020. In 2016 he was selected as a member of the PEN-Zentrum deutschsprachiger Autoren im Ausland PEN Center of German-Speaking Authors Abroad) He is the current president of the Society of Contemporary American Literature in German SCALG)

Research Area

literature, medieval literature, cultural studies, cultural exchange, german studies, poetry, multilingualism, history, medieval, early modern

Recent

“Valentin Weigel and Boethius: Mystical-Philosophical Concepts in Late Sixteenth-Century Protestant Thinking,” Carmina Philosophiae 25 2016/2019) 47-68. 687. “Treason and Deception in Late Medieval German Romances and Novels: Königin Sibille, Melusine, and Malagis,” Treason: Medieval and Early Modern Adultery, Betrayal, and Shame, ed. Larissa Tracey. Explorations in Medieval Culture, 10 Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2019) 269-87. 688. “The Dream City in Medieval Literature: The Case of Herzog Ernst ca. 1170/ca. 1220) Konrad von Würzburg’s Partonopier und Meliur ca. 1280) and Marco Polo’s Le Devisement du monde ca. 1310)” Studia Neophilologica 91.3 2019) 336-54; online at: https:www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00393274.2019.1627242 689. “Feasts and Meals Cultural-Historical Perspectives,” Living Pulpit 28.1 Aug. 2019) https:www.pulpit.org/2019/07/feasts-and-meals-cultural-historical-perspectives/ 690. “Pleasure and Leisure from the Middle Ages to the early Nineteenth Century: The Rediscovery of a Neglected Dimension in Cultural History. Also an Introduction,” Pleasure and Leisure in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age: Cultural-Historical Perspectives on Toys, Games, and Entertainment. Edited by Albrecht Classen. Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture, 23 Berlin and Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2019) 1-159. 691. “Drinking, Partying, and Drunkenness in Late Medieval German Verse Narratives and Jest Narratives: Social Behavior at Court and in the City: Clash of the Literary Projection and the Situation on the Ground in the Late Middle Ages,” Pleasure and Leisure in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age: Cultural-Historical Perspectives on Toys, Games, and Entertainment. Edited by Albrecht Classen. Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture, 23 Berlin and Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2019) 395-431.

2019

late sixteenth-century protestant thinking, treason and deception in late medieval german romances, the dream city in medieval literature, feasts and meals cultural-historical perspectives, pleasure and leisure in the middle ages and early modern age

“Boccaccio’s Literary Sources Beyond the Expected: The Decameron in Light of Some German Verse Narratives: “Gänslein,” Ruprecht von Würzburg, and Jans Enikel,” considered by Studi sul Boccaccio “Ein Bucherfolg für die Jesuiten in der globalen Auseinandersetzung mit den Protestanten und den katholischen Gegnern: Joseph Stoeckleins Welt-Bott. Briefe aus der ganzen Welt als Grundlage für enzyklopädische Ambitionen,” considered by Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung “India, Persia, and Arabia in the Mind of a Late Fifteenth-Century German Author: Transcultural Experiences through the Literary Discourse. Antonius von Pforr and his Buch der Beispiele der Alten Weisen,” considered by Philological Quarterly. “Medieval Traveling: The Roman Empire,” considered by Sebastian Sobecki, ed. Cambridge Encyclopedia of Travel Literature “The Sparrow Hawk Castle A Mostly Ignored Literary Motif Across the Cultures and the Centuries,” considered by Arcadia “Digital Humanities and the History of German Language, Culture, and Literature: With an Emphasis on Medieval Online Sources as Tools for the Modern Classroom,” considered by German as a Foreign Language ed. Guido Rings) “Hygiene, Water, and Physical Beauty in Medieval European Literary Narratives Aesthetics and Well-Being in the Pre-Modern World,” considered by A Cultural History of Beauty, gen. ed. Paul R. Deslandes. Vol. 2: The Middle Ages, ed. Sarah A. Miller. “Global History in the Middle Ages: A Medieval and an Early Modern Perspective. The Niederrheinische Orientbericht ca. 1350) and Adam Olearius’s Vermehrte New Beschreibung der Muscowitischen vnd Persischen Reyse 1647; 1656)” considered by Neohelicon

2019

literary sources, medieval literature, cultural history, digital humanities, global history

letters to the editor

2019

communication, media, public opinion, journalism, community engagement

“Rivers as Crucial Stepping Stones in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival ca. 1205) and Titurel ca. 1220)” to appear in Reading the Natural World: Perceptions of the Environment and Ecology During the Global Middle Ages and Renaissance, ed. by Thomas Willard Turnhout: Brepols) “The Old English Beowulf and the Middle High German Nibelungenlied: The Arrival of the Hero from the Outside and His Ultimate Death,” Larry Swain, ed. “Learning Through the Erotic, and Erotic Inspiration for Religious, Philosophical, Social, and Cultural Purposes in the Carmina Burana. The Dark Side of a Poetic Masterpiece,” to appear in Revisiting the Codex Buranus: Contents, Contexts, Composition, ed. Henry Hope and Tristan E. Franklinos. “Violence in the Name of the Bad] Game: The Downside of Human Nature as Reflected in Medieval Literature,” to appear in The Cambridge World History of Violence, Volume II: The Medieval Era, ed. Richard Kaeuper, Deborah Tor, Harriet Zurndorfer, PhilipDwyer Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) “Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in the Pre-Modern Age: Medieval Welsh and Icelandic Literature in a Literature Survey Course. Interdisciplinary Approaches on a Pan-European Level,” to appear in Leuvense Bijdragen “The Past as the Key for the Future: Reflections on an Ancient Question. What Does Medieval) Literature Mean Today in the Twenty-First Century?” to appear in Athens Journal of Philology “The Book of Kells – The Wonders of Early Medieval Christian Manuscript Art Within a Pagan World,” to appear in Mediaevistik “Populismus, Nationalismus, Xenophobie und Rassismus: Das Massenproblem aus historischer Sicht. Von Walther von der Vogelweide und Heinrich Wittenwiler zu Thomas Mann und Gustave le Bon,” to appear in Thalloris “The Secret and Universal Relevance of Johann Scheffler’s Angelus Silesius’s) Epigrams: Mystical-Philosophical Messages from the World of the Baroque for the Twenty-First Century,” to appear in The Comparatist “Minnesang,” Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception EBR) ed. Eric Ziolkowski, Nils Holger Petersen, and Nicole Rupschus Berlin and Boston: Walter de Gruyter, forthcoming) “Das Paradox der widersprüchlichen Urteilsprechung und Weltwahrnehmung: göttliches vs. menschliches Recht in Heinrich Kaufringers ‘Die unschuldige Mörderin’ – mit paneuropäischen Ausblicken und einer neuen Quellenspur ‘La femme du roi de Portugal’)” to appear in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen “Teaching Medieval Studies with a Modern Learning Management System: ToHat in a Medieval Seminar,” to appear in Once and Future Classroom Daniel Kehlmanns Tyll ein neuer Simplizissimus? Der postmoderne Versuch, historisierend zu schreiben,” to appear in Wirkendes Wort “The Nibelungenlied in W. P. Ker: Older Philology and the Future of Medieval Studies,” to appear in Epic and Romance: New Essays on Medieval Literature, ed. Leonard Neidorf “Globalization Already in the Fifteenth Century: The Eye-Witness Account of Johann Schiltberger,” to appear in Medieval History Journal “Courage –Medieval Lessons for Us Today,” to appear in The Living Pulpit “Simplicity A Nostalgic Dream and a Philosophical Reflection,” to appear in The Living Pulpit “Treason: Legal, Ethical, and Political Issues in the Middle Ages: With an Emphasis on Medieval Heroic Poetry,” to appear in Journal of Philosophy and Ethics “Die Mediävistik in Nordamerika 2019 ‒ Kreative Antworten auf eine schwierige Situation,” to appear in Jahrbuch für Internationale Germanistik, ed. Nathanael Busch “Jens Walthers Abstieg vom Zauberberg – a Literary Reflection on the World of Publishing in the Postmodern World,” to appear in Publishing Research Quarterly “The Power of Spirituality in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age,” to appear in Studies of Spirituality

2019

medieval literature, environmental ecology, cultural studies, global middle ages, multilingualism

26 articles in journals, volumes, online journals, etc.

2016

literature review, academic publishing, research databases, online resources, citation analysis

India Perceived Through the Eyes of Sixteenth-Century Readers: Ludovico de Varthema&8217;s Bestseller on the Early Modern Book Markets&8212;A Narrative Landmark of the Emerging Positive Evaluation of curiositas

2015

literature, history, cultural studies, early modern markets, positive evaluation

Storms, shipwrecks, and life-changing experiences in late medieval German literature: From Oswald von Wolkenstein to emperor Maximilian

2014

literature, german history, natural disasters, maritime history, biographical accounts

The Mirror Image in Neidhart&8217;s Poetry: Destabilization of the Social Structure by Means of Sexual Competition

2014

medieval literature, poetry, social structure, sexual competition, gender dynamics

The Scientific, Anthropological, Geological, and Geographic Exploration of Northern Mexico by Eighteenth-Century German Jesuit Missionaries: A Religious and Scientific Network of Multilingual Writers. With a Focus on Johann Nentuig and Marcus Antonius Kappus

2014

anthropology, geology, religious studies, exploration, multilingualism

articles in journals

2014

academic publications, scientific research, scholarly communication, academic writing, scientific journals

Undergrad Research Opp For Credit
Pre-modern culture and literature, gender issues, eroticism, happiness, tolerance, heroism, honor, communication, women`s literature, modern poetry, comparative literature Prerequisite Courses: basic understanding of the European Middle Ages, motivation, passion Majors: Anyone in history, art history, any language, gender studies, architecture, anthropology, etc.

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Approaches to German Studies
War, Death, and the Hero: Medieval Epics: Beowulf, Nibelungenlied, and Rolandslied
Representing the "Other"
Periods in German Culture
Eroticism and Love in the Middle Ages

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Albrecht Classen

About

Research Area

Grants(4)

Publications(95)

letters to the editor

26 articles in journals, volumes, online journals, etc.

India Perceived Through the Eyes of Sixteenth-Century Readers: Ludovico de Varthema&8217;s Bestseller on the Early Modern Book Markets&8212;A Narrative Landmark of the Emerging Positive Evaluation of curiositas

Storms, shipwrecks, and life-changing experiences in late medieval German literature: From Oswald von Wolkenstein to emperor Maximilian

The Mirror Image in Neidhart&8217;s Poetry: Destabilization of the Social Structure by Means of Sexual Competition

The Scientific, Anthropological, Geological, and Geographic Exploration of Northern Mexico by Eighteenth-Century German Jesuit Missionaries: A Religious and Scientific Network of Multilingual Writers. With a Focus on Johann Nentuig and Marcus Antonius Kappus

articles in journals

Opportunities(1)

Undergrad Research Opp For Credit

News(54)

UArizona named No. 1 producer of Fulbright Scholars

Magic Has Shaped Our Understanding of the World

Some Cool Reading for the Hot Summer

Open Access Causes Disruption of Status Quo

UA Humanities Professor Is a Living Definition of Prolific

Courses(17)

Approaches to German Studies

War, Death, and the Hero: Medieval Epics: Beowulf, Nibelungenlied, and Rolandslied

Representing the "Other"

Periods in German Culture

Eroticism and Love in the Middle Ages