Expanding Opportunities for Research Abroad

Markus Stock, Graduate Coordinator, Associate Professor of German and Medieval Studies

Travel to Germany counts among the most valuable opportunities available to our graduate students. Time abroad allows them to connect with German scholars and establish ties with German institutions and it enhances their appreciation of the culture to which they are devoting their career.

From January-August 2012, senior PhD student Nicola Vöringer was affiliated with the Lehrstuhl für germanistische Mediaevistik at the University of Freiburg. There, she refined her research on late-medieval German literature and met with both young and established scholars. Her time abroad was partially funded by the University of Toronto’s School of Graduate Studies, by the Faculty of Arts and Science, as well as through a SSHRC Standard Research Grant and the Joint Initiative of German and European Studies.

In May, PhD students Marlo Burks and Andrew Warren spent a month as guest researchers in Wolfenbüttel at the Herzog August Bibliothek. A generous SSHRC development grant enabled faculty member Professor Christine Lehleiter, to hire both Marlo and Andrew, to help investigate the evolution of the concept of “Original Sin” in 18th century documents. Under her supervision, they gained invaluable experience in handling rare and fragile original manuscripts and print material, while also developing questions pertinent to their own PhD projects.

In July, PhD student Anna Stainton spent a month in Potsdam at the film archives of the Konrad Wolf Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen gathering documentation and viewing East German films inaccessible outside this facility. Her visit was sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Science and the Joint Initiative in German and European Studies.

These intellectually and culturally rich opportunities are made possible through ongoing support from funding institutions and endowed scholarships; they will assist students immeasurably when they enter the job market following completion of their degree.