Plass Joins German Studies Department as Assistant Professor

Olivia DrakeFebruary 23, 20053min

 
Ulrich Plass studies German literature and continental philosophy with an emphasis on aesthetics.
 
Posted 02/23/05
Ulrich Plass joined the faculty in the German Studies Department as an assistant professor in 2004. He teaches language courses as well as classes on a range of other topics that fall under the interdisciplinary rubric “German Studies.”   Plass completed his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hamburg in Germany, received a master’s degree from the University of Michigan and completed his Ph.D at New York University with a thesis on the essay form in Theodor Adorno’s “Notes to Literature.”
  Plass is currently revising his dissertation for publication. It focuses on philosophical interpretations of literature within the social and cultural context of post-war Western Germany. Plass’s academic work encompasses German literature from Goethe to the present, as well as continental philosophy with an emphasis on aesthetics.   He is currently collaborating with friends on developing a conference about the intersections of popular culture and intellectualism in the works of the writer Rainald Goetz. In the next few years, he plans to work on 19th century poetry.   Prior to coming to Wesleyan, Plass met people who spoke highly about the university.
  “And it just so happened that I felt very comfortable and welcome here from the time I first visited,” Plass says. “I appreciate that Wesleyan’s size is very manageable, especially coming from Hamburg, Michigan, and New York, all places that can be nightmarishly confusing, if not hostile. I also really like the students, and I have been blessed with wonderful colleagues.”
 
Plass lives close to campus with his significant other.
By Olivia Drake, The Wesleyan Connection editor