DAAD-Project: Promoting German studies in Ireland

Team

The DAAD-project Irish-German Studies and its many facets: research, dialogue and promotion to enhance German Studies in Ireland in a European context, 2025-2027 is led by Gisela Holfter (CIGS, University of Limerick), recent and current presidents of the GSAI (Linda Shortt, MU, Michaela Schrage-Früh, UL, Joseph Twist, UCD; Marieke Krajenbrink, UL; ), and the project’s Research Assistant Marah Moloney Weissbrich (UL).

Aims

The project aims to promote German Studies in Ireland. It will critically examin what makes German Studies in Ireland distinctive, what are its strengths, and how learners and teachers can be sustainably supported while increasing its visibility. Furthermore, it aims to support the uptake of German and other modern languages from early education to university and beyond, and promote a positive discourse around language learning in Ireland while also contributing to political and cultural dialogue between Ireland, the UK and Germany.

The project is articulated in four strands.

Strand 1 ‘Am Anfang war die Auslandsgermanistik’. Utilising Ireland’s unique history in German Studies, including the world’s oldest chair of German, this strand aims to build a network of researchers in Europe working on the history of German Studies and draw lessons for the future of the field. The strand comprises three parts including, audiovisual repository with retired colleagues in German studies in Ireland with the GSAI, a conference “Anfänge und Entwicklungen: Beiträge zur Fachgeschichte der Germanistik und darüber hinaus“ and an edited publication (2027) "Zur Fachgeschichte der Germanistik in Europa".
Strand 2 ‘For heaven’s sake, learn German!’ This strand is focusing on strengthening German studies through accessible, free resources for learners of all ages. This is an expansion of the Resources for German website to include more ready to use material for primary and secondary school students and teachers. Furthermore the use of AI as a learning tool will be examined and utilised. The last part of this strand is the expansion of high profile Limericker Literaturgespräche, including recorded readings, interviews and learning materials all offered on our free platform (Resources for German) for students to use.
Strand 3 #languages250. This strand focuses on promoting the uptake and positive image of German and other modern languages in Ireland, particularly in the context of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the first chair in German Studies. (Sabine Egger, MIC)
Strand 4 will be a conference in 2026, entitled Enhancing the dialogue between Ireland North and South, the UK and Germany: Imagining the future of Ireland”. (Paul Carmichael, UU)

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