Laurence Côté-Pitre

Ph.D. Candidate

Office Hours

M/W 5:00-6:00 pm (on zoom)

Classes 2024-25

GER100Y1 (online) LEC0101 Mon./Wed. 9:00-11:00 am.

Background

Originally from Quebec City, I studied languages (English, German and Spanish) in my hometown at Cégep Limoilou from 2010 to 2012 (DEC Arts et Lettres, profil Langues Modernes). I received my H.BA. from the University of Toronto in German Studies and European Studies in June 2016, after spending a year at the Karl-Franzens Universität in Graz, Austria as an exchange student in 2013-14.

I graduated from my M.A. in German from the University of Toronto in November 2017. My major research paper focused on the underground poetry of the Prenzlauer Berg Connection in the 1980s. My current research interest involves ecocriticism and environmental discourses in German literature. My dissertation focuses on post-Chernobyl and Anthropocene discourses in women literature from East and West Germany.

Aside from academics, I enjoy knitting, gardening, and I recently discovered the fascinating world of photography! 🙂

Conference Papers

  • “Writing the Anthropocene: German Literature after Chernobyl” (poster presentation) Canadian Association of University Teachers of German Conference. University of Alberta. May-June 2021.
  • “Landschaft als Quelle: Wie kann man Feldforschung in literarische Analyse integrieren?” Internationales Forschungsnetzwerk Literatur im geteilten Deutschland (Werkstatt). Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. July 2019.
  • “Quelle aus dem SAPMO: Bundesarchiv: Ministerium für Kultur – HV Verlage und Buchhandel.” Internationales Forschungsnetzwerk Literatur im geteilten Deutschland (Werkstatt). Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. July 2018.
  • “From Humboldt to Hessel, from Science to Literature, from the Nature to the City: The Vast Terrain of the Flâneur.” Canadian Association of University Teachers of German Conference. University of Regina. May 2018.
  • “Christa Wolf: A Writer-Activist in the GDR?” “Pulver möcht’ ich schreiben”: Engagement in the German Tradition, Graduate Conference. University of Toronto, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. April 2018.
  • “The Prenzlauer Berg Szene: Between Uwe Kolbe and Lutz Rathenow.” Frankfurt-Toronto Collaborative Graduate Workshop. University of Toronto, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. October 2017.
  • “Conflicting Memories: The Role of Christa Wolf and her Literature for Germany’s Collective Memory.” Canadian Association of University Teachers of German Conference. Ryerson University. May 2017.
  • “Conflicting Memories: The Role of Christa Wolf and her Literature for Germany’s Collective Memory.” Memory and Momentum: Culture and Change in Central and Eastern Europe, Graduate Conference. University of Victoria. March 2017.

Awards

  • Teaching Excellence Award, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto, 2022.
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2021-22; 2019-20; 2018-19; 2016-17.
  • DAAD Research Grant, 2019-2020.
  • SGS Conference Grant, 2019.
  • DAAD German Studies Research Grant, 2018.
  • Jackman Junior Fellowship, University of Toronto, 2017-2022.
  • The Ambassador of Switzerland to Canada Book Prize in German, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, 2016.
  • Victoria-Mueller-Carson In-Course Scholarship, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, 2015.