Department of German

 Professor of German
Director, European Studies Certificate Program

Intercultural Center (ICC) 467
Washington, DC 20057
e-mail:  pfeiffep@georgetown.edu
phone: 202-687-5693

Office hours fall semester 2009: T 11-11:30, R 2-3 and by appointment

see video: http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=44827

My academic path was a winding road. I began my studies as a student of biology and -- later -- physics in Stuttgart-Hohenheim. After taking too much advantage of the incredible opportunities in theater and film in Stuttgart at the time, I decided to change directions. I moved to Berlin and switched to studying philosophy, theatre, and German literature, completing my studies at Washington University in St. Louis where I received my M.A. and the University of California, Irvine, where I completed my Ph. D. in German Literature in 1987.  After that, I taught at the University of Iowa and the University of Houston before joining the Department in 1991. My main areas of research are nineteenth and twentieth-century literature and literary history, though I have also branched out into cultural studies on aspects of the formation of national identity and representations of death. In addition to my interests in the German literary tradition, and German culture in general, I continue to have a strong curiosity about issues in biological sciences.

I enjoy the intellectual challenge of teaching from introductory language courses to graduate seminars. I'm actively involved in university governance, and have been been instrumental in upgrading the university's library holdings in German. From 1997-2000, I guided the development and implementation of the Georgetown German Department's undergraduate curriculum, "Developing Multiple Literacies." More recently, I published a monograph on Austrian-Moravian author Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (Francke-Verlag, 2008). My next projects include an exploration of literary representations and theorizing of economic concepts such as work, money, and value, particularly in 19th century Germany. As a long-term project, I am collecting materials for a study of death, literacy, and aesthetics in nineteenth-century Germany.

My personal interests include reading, gardening, cooking, spazierengehen, and swimming.

• Publications
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