Rezension: JÖRG ROCHE and THOMAS SALUMETS (Eds.): Germanics Under Construction. Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Prospects

To review an anthology is always problematic. Of course, the quality of contributions will differ widely and some of them will actually expand the field and others will only marginally contribute to it. In the case of Germanics under Construction: Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Prospects, edited by Jörg Roche and Thomas Salumets (both from the University of British Columbia), this does not seem to be the case. Although there are differences in the quality and length of the contributions, all in all this anthology does fulfil its goal, namely to "explore the potential" of German Studies without being restricted to 'things German' but rather including "the study of a national culture in a 'foreign' country" (7). Continuing the discussion begun by the special issues of German Quarterly (1989), German Studies Review (1990), and the Monatshefte issue on New Historicism and German Studies (1992), this anthology traces the recent developments in German Studies and gives an overview of various approaches to the field. What makes this anthology particularly interesting is that it does not focus on one aspect of German Studies, i.e. literary/cultural theories or didactics, but rather allows the reader to form an informed opinion of the state of German Studies in the mid-1990s.