In 2007 Katharine Arens asked in The German Quarterly what does the discipline of German Studies consist of and what are its legitimate methods? The subsequent debate can be seen as a new stage in the process of self-questioning which has been a part of German Studies since its inception. The discipline has periodically looked inward, questioning its sources, its canon, its history and its sources of scholarly validity and legitimation. Is German Studies just about contemporary culture? Or is there still a place for Goethe and Schiller?

Questions of identity, language, and literary and cultural comparative studies have emerged at the cutting edge. The current debate takes these questions outward, towards Europe and the world. Nevertheless identity in all its forms – linguistic, literary and cultural, socio-political and historical – remains the central concern of German Studies both in the German-speaking lands of Europe and in the world.

The 2009 conference of the German Studies Association of Australia (GSAA) will take place at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Western Australia on November 18-20, 2009.

Papers are invited on all areas of German Studies in either German or English. Session-topics include:

German-speaking Europe, Germany and the World
• German-Speakers in Australia
• Indian Civilisation in German Studies
• China, Asia and Germany
• German Studies in Japan
• History of Australian German Studies

New Directions in German Studies
• Work, Literature and Identity
• Narratives of Science and Society
• German Literature, World Literature and Translation