Henning Wrage

Associate Professor

German

Contact

Email

hwrage@gettysburg.edu

Phone

(717) 337 - 6883

Box

Campus Box 0411

Address

McKnight Hall
Room 24
300 North Washington St.
Gettysburg, PA 17325-1400

Education

MA Humboldt Universität, Berlin, 2000
PhD Humboldt Universität, Berlin, 2007

Academic Focus

German media history and theory, Postwar Culture, Cultural Negotiations of Interactivity

Henning Wrage received his Dr. phil. with summa cum laude in German literature from Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. His thesis (published as Die Zeit der Kunst with Winter University Press: Heidelberg 2009) is a comparative history of East German literature, film and television in the 1960s.

Other major publications (for articles, book sections, etc., please see the CV linked below) include

Alltag. Zur Dramaturgie des Normalen im DDR-Fernsehen. Leipzig: Leipziger Universitätsverlag 2006
with Thomas Beutelschmidt: ‚Das Buch zum Film - der Film zum Buch.' Annäherung an den literarischen Kanon im DDR-Fernsehen. Leipzig: Leipziger Universitätsverlag 2004
with Thomas Beutelschmidt, Rüdiger Steinlein, et al. (Eds.): Das literarische Fernsehen. Beiträge zur deutsch-deutschen Medienkultur. Frankfurt a.M., New York et al.: Lang 2007
with David Oels and Almuth Meissner (Eds.): Sachbuch und Kinder- und Jugendliteratur. Special Issue of Non-Fiktion. Arsenal der anderen Gattungen 1/2010
with Marc Silberman (Eds.): DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture: A Companion. Berlin, New York: Walter De Gruyter 2014

His current research has two focuses: German media and postwar culture, and the cultural history of interactivity. Two larger book projects are in progress, one on the relationship between Theodor Adorno and the German student movement, one on German director Wolfgang Staudte.

Beyond all levels of the language sequence, Henning Wrage has developed a wide range of classes, most of them cross-listed with CIMS and/or counting towards curricular goals (see below).

At Gettysburg, Henning Wrage has fulfilled different service functions. He was the chair of the German Studies department in 2019, and 2020-22, served as the Convener of Chairs (2021-22), and, among others,

as a Faculty Fellowship Advisor,
in the Academic Affairs Workgroup,
in the Chairs' committee to revise student evaluations,
on the JCCTL advisory committee,
on Faculty Council,
on the Review Board for Negative Tenure Decisions,
as a Qualified Administrator for the IDI,
on the Educational Technology Committee,
as an International First Year Student Advisor,
on the Fulbright Interview Committee
and as the German House Mentor.

He was awarded the Luther W. and Bernice L. Thompson Distinguished Teaching Award in 2019. He also was awarded Research and Professional Development grants, a Mellon Curricular Diversity Grant, a JCCTL Resilient Pedagogy grant and others.

For a complete CV and to download a selection of his publications, please follow this link: https://gettysburg.academia.edu/HenningWrage

Courses Taught

Video games are one of the most important and widespread forms of engaging in culture today. But the question of why we play has fascinated thinkers for centuries: Over 200 years ago, Friedrich Schiller claimed that “man is only fully a human being when he plays”, that playing is a unique way of expressing creativity, imagination, and emotions, and thus alleviates social pressure. This course explores history and cultural significance of playing both analog and video games. It examines the ways in which they are shaped by and shape cultural values, identities, and power relations. The class explores principal questions, historical developments, and considers the contemporary contexts in which videogames have emerged and evolved, as well as the diverse communities and cultures that participate in videogame culture. It draws on a range of methodological approaches from fields such as media studies, German cultural studies, anthropology, and critical theory. GER 259 and CIMS 259 are cross-listed.
Discussion of the aesthetics and political function of violence in literature and visual culture. Topics include cultural negotiations of hierarchies of power in the family, abuse, trauma, terror, war and the representation of the Holocaust. Shorter secondary readings will complement the close reading of German literary texts, film and TV productions, and the discussion of digital games and their (alleged) contribution to the propensity for violence.
Introduction to the cinemas of Europe of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Study of well-known movements such as Weimar Expressionism, Italian Neorealism, French Nouvelle Vague, etc. The course challenges the widely accepted binary opposition between European Art Cinema and Hollywood by also considering popular genre cinema. Similarities and differences between national cinemas are studied in their respective historical, cultural, and commercial contexts. Conducted in English. Cross-listed with Cinema and Media Studies.
This seminar is an investigation of myth and reality of secret societies from the “Underground Railroad” to the Freemasons, the “Black Hand,” “Skull and Bones” and the “Men in Black.” Have secret social networks really tried to influence the world? What role do they play in history and politics? What is a conspiracy theory? Who claims that the moon landings were a hoax and why? And what do “alternative facts” have to do with all this?
Critical analysis and appreciation of form and content of selected German literary texts, films, and other works, together with an examination of the cultural, socio-historical, and political circumstances that produced them. Theme varies each year; contact the German Studies Department for more details. Conducted in English; no knowledge of German required. Fulfills Multiple Inquiries, Humanities curricular requirement.
An introduction to both the genre and the analysis of fairy and folktales structured around well-known European fairy tales like those collected and edited by the Brothers Grimm, their variations, and contemporary film adaptations. The first half of the semester is dedicated to becoming familiar with different theories and approaches to fairy tale scholarship. The second half of the semester explores archetypes of the folk narrative and uses different analytical approaches to question meaning.
Discussion of the aesthetics and political function of violence in literature and visual culture. Topics include cultural negotiations of hierarchies of power in the family, abuse, trauma, terror, war and the representation of the Holocaust. Shorter secondary readings will complement the close reading of German literary texts, film and TV productions, and the discussion of digital games and their (alleged) contribution to the propensity for violence.
Introduction to the cinemas of Europe of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Study of well-known movements such as Weimar Expressionism, Italian Neorealism, French Nouvelle Vague, etc. The course challenges the widely accepted binary opposition between European Art Cinema and Hollywood by also considering popular genre cinema. Similarities and differences between national cinemas are studied in their respective historical, cultural, and commercial contexts. Conducted in English. Cross-listed with Cinema and Media Studies.
Continuation of the work of German 201, 202. Designed for advanced work in language and intended for students who have successfully completed German 202 or its equivalent. 301 and 302 offers the opportunity to increase sophistication of written and spoken German in a variety of contexts. Students write professional letters, creative pieces, editorials, film reviews, etc. Media and popular culture provide insight into contemporary German life. Collaborative learning is encouraged; students read and edit each other's work.
Designed for advanced work in language and intended for students who have successfully completed German 301. 301 and 302 offer the opportunity to increase sophistication of written and spoken German in a variety of contexts. Students write professional letters, creative pieces, editorials, film reviews, etc. Media and popular culture provide insight into contemporary German life. Collaborative learning is encouraged; students read and edit each other's work.
Study of the cultural, social, economic, and political developments in postwar German from 1945 to the present. Extensive use of critical/analytical readings, memoirs, literature, film, newspapers/magazines, and German television. Conducted in German, with additional language practice integrated into the course. Recommended as a bridge course between advanced German language and other 300-level courses.
This course introduces students to the history of German film from its origins in the late nineteenth century to the present. Study of basic film terminology and theory in order to create the vocabulary and conceptual frameworks necessary to discuss the films under consideration. This course explores the film cultures of the Weimar period, the Third Reich, the postwar era in East and West, and post-unification Germany in their respective social, political, and cultural contexts. Conducted in German, with additional language practice integrated into the course. Recommended as a bridge course between advanced German language and other 300-level courses.
This course explores the historical, political, and, most importantly, cultural situation of a year adjacent to a world-changing event in Germany. For example, the course might focus on 1913, the year before the outbreak of the Great War, or 1988, the year before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Topics differ according to which year is considered, but always include relevant historical events, literary works, films, and excerpts from newspapers and political outlets of the time. Shorter theoretical texts will accompany the primary texts.
Exploration of the latest developments in German contemporary literature and media culture including music, productions for the cinema and television. The key idea is to keep the finger on the pulse of time and relate the discussion of some of the most influential works of today to the topics that have shaped the German public discourse for decades: questions of collective identity, patriotism, migration, globalization, and how to come to terms with the past. Prerequisite: GER 302, or concurrent enrollment in 302.
Explores a number of canonical works of German literature and audio-visual culture from the 18th to the 21st century. All works discussed partake in the discourse of "Schweigen" - a German term that refers not just to silence but also to the absence of communication, thus connecting romantic notions of "unspeakability", the limits of language, negotiations of trauma, and depictions of censorship. Schweigen will be a common denominator for the discussion of poetry and prose, film, and television productions.