Stephen Brockmann
Professor of German Studies
- POS 353
- 412-268-8055
Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
4980 Margaret Morrison St
Posner Hall 341
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Education
Ph.D., German, University of Wisconsin-MadisonM.A., German, University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.A., Comparative Literature, Columbia University
Bio
Stephen Brockmann has been teaching at Carnegie Mellon University since 1993. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1989 and received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 1982. His first experience in Germany came in 1980–81 at the University of Freiburg, and in 1985–86, he conducted dissertation research at the University of Leipzig in the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany), making him one of the relatively few American Germanists with significant firsthand experience in the former socialist state.
His research focuses on the interconnection between culture and national identity. At Carnegie Mellon, he teaches a range of courses in both German and English, including Nazi and Resistance Culture, History of German Film and seminars on the GDR and its collapse. Dr. Brockmann is the author of A Critical History of German Film, a textbook developed for his course on German film history that has since been adopted by institutions across the U.S. and internationally.
He frequently travels to Germany for both research and personal interests and maintains active collaborations with colleagues and friends across Europe. From 2011 to 2012, he served as president of the German Studies Association, the world’s largest academic organization for German Studies. From 2014 to 2023, he also served as president of the International Brecht Society (IBS), where he continues to support and organize IBS symposia in the United Kingdom, Germany and beyond.
Areas of Interest
Courses Taught
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- 82-427 Nazi and Resistance Culture
- 82-428 History of German Film
- 82-227 Germany and the European Union
- 66-144 In Transit: Exile, Migration and Culture
- 82-224 The Holocaust in History and Culture
Selected Awards and Honors
Selected Community, University and Professional Service
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- President of the International Brecht Society, 2014-2023
- President of the German Studies Association, 2011-2012
- Editorial Board, German Life and Letters, 2013-present
- Faculty Chair, Dietrich College Promotion and Tenure Committee, 2015-2016
- Executive Committee, Carnegie Mellon University Faculty Senate, 1995-1998 and 2001-2003
Selected Publications
- Brockmann, S. (2023). “The Freest Country in the World: East Germany’s Final Year in Culture and Memory.” Rochester: Camden House.
- Brockmann, S., ed. (2021). “Bertolt Brecht in Context”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Brockmann, S. (2015). "The Writers' State: Constructing East German Literature 1945-1959 ". Rochester: Camden House.
- Brockmann, S. (2010). "A Critical History of German Film". Rochester: Camden House.
- Brockmann, S. (2006). "Nuremberg: The Imaginary Capital". Rochester: Camden House.
- Brockmann, S. (2004). "German Literary Culture at Zero Hour". Rochester: Camden House.
- Brockmann, S. (1999)."Literature and German Reunification". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.