Karin Schutjer is the L.J. Semrod Presidential Professor of German and Assistant Chair of MLLL. Her research involves the intersections of philosophy, religion, literature and social thought in late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century Germany, with a particular focus on the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). She is author of two monographs: Goethe and Judaism: The Troubled Inheritance of Modern Literature (2015), published in German translation in 2020 as Goethe und das Judentum. Das schwierige Erbe der modernen Literatur, and Narrating Community after Kant: Schiller, Goethe, Hölderlin (2002). In addition to teaching classes within her area of expertise—a favorite is on Goethe’s Faust—she loves the opportunity to explore new territory. In recent years, she has developed one-credit hour “microcourses” on German energy and environment, German federal elections, STEM careers in Germany, and German art. The greatest teaching joy of all is accompanying students to Germany on the OU Summer in Germany program!
Beyond OU, Schutjer served for three years as co-editor with Hester Baer of the journal German Quarterly and six years as editor of the book series New Studies in the Age of Goethe at Bucknell University Press. She has received major fellowships from the National Humanities Center/National Endowment for the Humanities, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and U.S. Fulbright Commission, and has been the recipient of the Max Kade Prize for the best article in German Quarterly, the Goethe Society of North America Essay Prize, and, at OU, the Cecil Woods Teaching Award. She served for fourteen years on the board of the Goethe Society of North America, including two terms as Executive Secretary.
