News

The Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures is excited to offer GER100Y/101H Introduction to German fully online this summer including the final exam. Whether you are a complete beginner or have some prior knowledge, this is your chance to start or continue your German language journey. The course is not limited to UofT students. Students from recognized universities worldwide are also eligible to enroll by applying through the UofT Visiting Student Program. Course Overview GER100Y – Introduction to German (for Absolute Beginners) Leads to A2.1 level proficiencySchedule: Monday to Thursday, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (EST)First Term: May 4 – June 15, 2026Second Term: July 2 – August 12, 2026 GER101H – Second Half of GER100Y (for Students with Basic Knowledge) Runs only in the second term: July 2 – August 12, 2026Students with prior knowledge of German should email german.undergradadmin@utoronto.ca to arrange a placement test Who Can Enrol UofT students at all three campuses. Please check the enrolment dates here.External students – must apply through the UofT Visiting Student Program. Application deadline: April 1, 2026. A letter of approval from your home university is required. Learn more here Why Learn German? Germany is Europe’s largest economy and the third ... Read More »

Application Deadline: Monday, February 9, 2026 Read More »

Language & Culture Day 2026 We are thrilled to invite you to this year’s Language & Culture Day, hosted by the Global Languages Initiative – the largest outreach event celebrating the diverse language programs and cultural offerings at the University of Toronto St. George campus. Date: Friday, March 6, 2026Time: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PMLocation: Lobby of Sidney Smith Hall Whether you are looking to expand your language skills, reconnect with your cultural roots, or explore new global perspectives, this event offers something for everyone. What to Expect: Interactive language and culture activitiesOpportunities to connect with professors, graduate students, and peers from more than 10 programsInformation about study abroad and international internship opportunities Bring a friend and discover the incredible range of languages taught at UofT, all in one vibrant and welcoming space. We look forward to seeing you there! Read More »

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024–25 Undergraduate In-Course Student Awards in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. These awards recognize undergraduate students for their strong academic performance and continued excellence in their studies while enrolled in the program. We congratulate all recipients on their achievements and thank them for their hard work and commitment. Below is the list of award recipients for the 2024–25 academic year. Award Name Recipient NameSara Friede-Miransky Memorial Bursary in Yiddish StudiesKatherine BrownFania and Aron Fainer Prize in YiddishEric JadidzadehThe Anne (Medres) Glass Memorial Scholarship in YiddishPetra Biddle-GottesmanThe Percy Matenko Scholarship in YiddishEli KatzThe Hermann Boeschenstein Memorial ScholarshipJulien LevitThe Prize of the Ambassador of Switzerland to CanadaMaris Rice-Cameron Congratulations to all award recipients on their well-deserved achievements! Read More »

Deadline extended to Thursday, January 15th, 2026 Read More »

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new book by Professor Willi Goetschel, Difference and Alterity in La Boétie, Montaigne, Spinoza and Mendelssohn. This study redirects our attention to a group of thinkers whose project of rethinking difference and alterity assumes new critical significance at the current juncture. Spanning from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, the interventions of La Boétie, Montaigne, Spinoza and Mendelssohn are not just history, albeit one problematically assimilated to canonical views, but offer new resources for moving past the politics of tolerance, charity, and recognition. Rather, these thinkers argue for an understanding of otherness that renegotiates the terms of difference and alterity more radically as the conditions of our own existence. From La Boétie’s exposure of ‘voluntary servitude’ as the mechanism behind the tyranny of despotic authority that ultimately rests on a pyramid scheme of dependency sustained solely by the agreement of those who willingly submit, to Montaigne, Spinoza, and Mendelssohn, these thinkers argue for the critical importance of the deep constitutive nexus between self and other, identity, difference, and otherness. Published by Edinburgh University Press, the book is now available. Visit this site for more information. Read More »

You are warmly invited to an academic presentation by Jacob Hermant, PhD candidate in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures and the collaborative program with the Anne Tanenbaum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto. Lecture Title:Reading Diasporism in Yiddish Literary HistoryDate: Thursday, November 27, 2025Time: 4:00-6:00 PMLocation: Department Library, Room 323, 3rd Floor, Odette Hall About the Lecture: Jacob’s dissertation looks at nineteenth-century Yiddish literature and early twentieth-century radical Jewish politics in an attempt to locate and reveal an intellectual lineage between the two movements. The first wave of modern Yiddish literature, as part of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment), is often read as didactic and moralistic, aiming to educate and modernize the Jewish population of Eastern Europe in order to integrate into modern European life and culture, and away from perceived superstition and backwardness, especially with regard to the use of Yiddish as a vernacular. While this was certainly the goal of many authors, a close reading of the period’s Yiddish literary texts can highlight momentary breaks that reveal a far more complicated and nuanced relationship between the Jewish intelligentsia and folk, one which finds both utility and positive affective connections in traditional Jewish life, as well as anticipating threads of ... Read More »

Dear undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and faculty of the German Department: I’d like to invite all of you to our Kaffeestunde (coffee hour), the German Department’s social gathering of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students. Let’s meet and mingle over coffee, tea and Keksen for an informal chat in German. The Kaffeestunde will take place every first Thursday of the month at 1-2pm, and every third Friday of the month from 2-3pm in the Lounge of the German Department, Odette Hall 301. Please note that due to Reading Week (February 17–20), the Kaffeestunde originally scheduled for February 20 has been moved to February 13. 📅 Winter 2026 Dates: January 16, 2:00–3:00 PMFebruary 5, 1:00–2:00 PMFebruary 13, 2:00–3:00 PMMarch 5, 1:00–2:00 PMMarch 20, 2:00–3:00 PMApril 2, 1:00–2:00 PM 📍 Location:Lounge, 3rd Floor, Odette Hall *Please help us protect the environment and bring your own reusable cup* Stefan SoldovieriChair Read More »

Application Deadline: Thursday, December 18, 2025 Read More »

Application deadline: 9 January 2026 Read More »