Uwe Steiner

Uwe Steiner, Chair of German Studies, was able to spend last year in the German city of Freiburg im Breisgau, where he was working on a new major research project on “philosophical anthropology,” a trend in early twentieth-century German philosophy, influenced by philosophers like Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. But, as he notes, there wa little quiet time to be found in the vicinity of the Black Forest: He gave lectures at several German universities and was called to Berlin to participate in a public presentation of a major work of research that he accomplished recently—the first volume of the new, annotated edition of the works of Walter Benjamin. Taking place at the famous Akademie der Künste—located at the Pariser Platz with a stunning view on the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, and the new government quarter of the German capital—the event was covered by all the major German newspapers. Steiner—“quite nervous,” as he admits—even had to give a radio interview. Back at Rice, Steiner has not only brought a new course on German poetry to the department's offerings, but he also spearheading a new transatlantic research initiative, Humanism and Revolution, which will bring a number of famous German scholars to Houston for a conference in December 2009.