Kaufman Hall 216
(405) 642-7831
Profile
After earning my Ph.D. from the University of Texas in German Studies, I joined the Modern Languages faculty in 1999, where I am now an associate professor of German, the head of the German section, and the assistant chair for the department.
My research, which is broadly comparative and multi-lingual in scope, is primarily concerned with the tradition of the legendary King Arthur, from its origins in the Middle Ages through the present day. While I have concentrated on that tradition in the European nations north of France and the Alps, I have also published, for example, on Hollywood’s Arthurian-themed movies. In addition to my critical writings on Arthurian and medieval topics, in the last decade I have also done extensive work as an editor and translator of Arthurian romances, specifically from the medieval German tradition. In 2015, for instance, I published a critical edition with scholarly translation of the thirteenth-century romance Wigamur, and in spring 2022 my edition and translation of the Bavarian Ulrich Fueter’s late-fifteenth-century Iban is scheduled to appear.
Within the major professional organizations of my research areas, I currently serve my colleagues as the vice president of the International Arthurian Society (North American Branch) and as the secretary of the Society for Medieval Germanic Studies.
My classes at OU have included offerings from the freshman through the Master’s levels and have covered subjects spanning elementary German language through advanced courses on medieval European culture and literatures. In addition to teaching courses for German language students, I regularly offer a popular course in English in my research specialty, the Arthurian tradition, to students from across the university.
Selected Publications
“Through a Woman’s Eyes: Liv Ullmann’s Kristin Lavransdatter,” in Medieval Women on Film: Essays on Gender, Cinema and History, ed. Kevin J. Harty (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2020): 103-15.
“A Son, His Father, Some Nazis, and the Grail: Lucas and Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989),” in The Holy Grail on Film: Essays on the Cinematic Quest, ed. Kevin J. Harty (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015): 158-72.
“Silly Vikings: Eichinger, Hickox, and Lorenz’s Anglo–German–Irish Production of Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant (1997),” in The Vikings on Film: Essays on Depictions of the Nordic Middle Ages, ed. Kevin J. Harty (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2011): 56-71.
“Cinema Arthuriana without Malory?: The International Reception of Fuqua, Franzoni, and Bruckheimer’s King Arthur (2004),” Arthuriana 17,2 (2007): 85-105.
“MGM’s 1953 Knights of the Round Table in its Manuscript Context,” Arthuriana 14,3 (2004): 53-68.
Education
Ph.D. in German Studies. University of Texas. 1999.
M.A. in German Studies. University of Texas. 1994.
B.S. in German. United States Military Academy at West Point. 1985.
Teaching Schedule for Spring 2023:
GERM 4313 Culture and Literature I
