Erol M. Boran

Associate Professor of German, Teaching Stream
On leave 2020-2021

Contact info

erol.boran@utoronto.ca

Office
University of Toronto
Odette Hall 309
50 St. Joseph Street
Toronto, ON M5S 3L5

Phone 416-926-2317
Secretary: 416-926-2324

Office Hours

On leave 2020-2021

Classes 2020-2021

On leave 2020-2021

Background

Ph.D. Ohio State University 2004

Erol Boran received his PhD from the Ohio State University with a dissertation on the history of Turkish-German theater and political cabaret. He joined UofT in 2006 and teaches courses on German literature, language and theater, and directs the German student theater, Theater DU. In 2019, he received the Faculty of Arts and Science Outstanding Teaching Award, and in 2020 he was awarded the Innovate German Award by the Canadian Association of University Teachers of German for his Theatre Production Course, which was also featured in the SoGerman Blog in 2018. Another one of his courses that have been very popular over the years is his first-year seminar entitled Our Vampires, Ourselves, which was featured in the UofT Bulletin in 2012. He is about to complete his first German fantasy novel.

Signature Courses

  • GER 150H "How German Is It? - An Intro to German Culture" [E] Students assume the role of culture detectives by exploring various period of German history, following clues, collecting evidence and drawing daring conclusions.
  • CCR 199H "Our Vampires, Ourselves" [E] This course explores the cultural significance of the vampire. The first part focuses on the Stoker-paradigm, the second part allows students to present contemporary images.
  • CCR 199Y "Turks, Jews and Other Foreigners in German Culture" [E] This course provides an overview of German-Jewish-Turkish relations from the Middle Ages to the Present. The focus is on identity formation and power relations.
  • GER 205H "German Literature I" [G] This course offers an introduction to work methods and skills pertaining to the study of German literature. It is meant to provide a transition from language to topic courses.
  • GER 220H "Monsters, Murderers and Magic" [E] This course focuses on ominous aspects of German literature from the nightmares of the Romantic psyche to its evil offspring of the postmodern era.
  • GER354Y "A Tale of More Than Two Cities - Berlin between East and West” [G] The focus lies on fictionalizations of the divided and reunited city. The course offers an exploration of walls, borders and boundaries in the physical, mental and symbolic realm.
  • GER 340H "Theatre Production: Preparation, Rehearsal, Staging" [G] The course addresses students who enjoy engaging with language creatively. It focuses on reading, interpreting, contextualizing, rehearsing and staging a German play.
  • GER 334H "Transnational Literatures" [G] This course investigates contemporary German culture by paying attention to its 'other' voices. Topics vary, e.g. Turkish-German Stage Productions, Minor(ity) Perspectives, Art between Integration and Resistance, Turkish Migrations into German Pasts.

Articles

  • "Faces of Contemporary Turkish-German Kabarett – Probing the New Millennium." Text & Presentation: Journal of the Comparative Drama Conference Vol. 25. April 2005: 172-86.

Interviews

  1. "On Stage with German-Speaking Dracula" ("So German" Blog, German Embassy Ottawa, 5 Apr. 2018)
  2. "Our Vampires, Ourselves - German Studies Course Looks at Vampires as Mirror of Society" (University of Toronto Website, 11 Jan. 2012)
  3. "Hoca'nin Avrupali Torunlari" ["The Hoca's European Grandchildren"] (European edition of Hürriyet, 22 Aug. 2009: p/ 1, 6-7) [Article based on an interview on Turkish-German Comedy with Erol Boran]

Book Reviews

  • Book Review on Ruth Mandel: Cosmopolitan Anxieties - Turkish Challenges to Citizenship and Belonging in Germany(2008). Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies, Vol. 47-5, 2011: p. 691-92.
  • Book review on Hans Georg Wehlin (ed.): Türkei. Politik-Gesellschaft-Wirtschaft (2002). Journal of European Area Studies, Vol. 10/2, 2002.

Selected Lectures

  • From Provocateur to Personality: Serdar Somuncu’s “Arrival” in the Discourse on German National Memory / GSA Conference at Washington DC, Oct. 2015
  • Turkish Migrations into the German Past / GSA Conference at Milwaukee, Oct. 2012 & Post-Wall (Trans)National Conference at Memorial University St. Johns, May 2013
  • Charwoman, Bond Girl, Prostitute: Nursel Köse and the Challenge of Ethnic Boundaries, 3rd German Studies Conference at the University of Texas at Austin on Turkish-German Film, March 2010
  • Turkish Migration into German Pasts: Coming to Terms with Hitler, CAUTG Conference, Carleton University at Ottawa, May 2009
  • Enter the Turk - Establishing Germany's First Migrant Theater, Berlin: Divided City, 2nd German Studies Symposium, University of Texas at Austin, March 2008
  • Identität-Ethnizität-Authentizität: Selbstdarstellung im türkisch-deutschen Kabarett, Invited Lecture at Waterloo Centre of German Studies, University of Waterloo, March 2008
  • Theatralischer Fremdsprachenunterricht: Herausforderungen & Strategien am Beispiel der Deutschland-Seifenoper, CATG Annual Meeting, Saint Mary's University at Halifax, Feb. 2007
  • East Meets West – Migrating Theater Traditions, Lecture at the Deptartment of German, University of Toronto, March 2006

Theater DU: Past Productions

  • Mar. 2019: Der Komet, based on an apocalyptic play by August Wilhelm Iffland.
  • Nov. 2016: Büchners Woyzeck, based on a fragment by Georg Büchner
  • Mar. 2016: Deutsch vom Fass, an anniversary play by Erol Boran
  • Mar. 2015: Hochwasser, based on an absurd drama by Günther Grass
  • Mar. 2012: Drakul(j)a, a horror tale adapted by Erol Boran
  • Mar. 2010: Die Physiker, based on a grotesque play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt