Moritz W. Meutzner is a Ph.D. Candidate in Germanic Studies in the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic & Dutch at the University of Minnesota, currently based in Berlin, Germany. He is working as a Teacher Training Manager at Babbel LIVE/Babbel GmbH Berlin, developing and implementing an education and training program for a growing pool of international online language instructors. Moritz's Ph.D. thesis focuses on the work and reception of the literary critic Erich Auerbach (1892-1957), asking for Auerbach’s legacy to the contemporary academy and the field of cultural criticism. Moritz’s research and teaching interests include modern German literary history and philosophy in the European context (with a specific focus on the German interwar period), the history of cultural criticism, German Jewish & German Turkish history, as well the history of drama and theater. Moritz has learned Turkish as a foreign language and developed modern Turkish studies (post-Tanzimât) as a second academic specialty besides German/European studies. He received his M.A in Germanic Studies from the University of Minnesota in 2015. Before joining GNSD in 2013, he studied Cultural Studies (Major: Cultural History, Minor: Linguistics) in the Department of Social Sciences and Cultural Sciences at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany where he received his B.A. in 2012. Moritz has a professional background in theater and stage lighting, as well as in intercultural communication.

Educational Background & Specialties
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Educational Background

  • B.A.: Cultural Studies, European University Viadrina, 2012
  • M.A.: Germanic Studies, University of Minnesota, July 2015
  • Ph.D. (expected defense: Fall 2022): Germanic Studies, University of Minnesota

Specialties

  • German as a foreign language / DaF; language acquisition & pedagogy; language learning & theater; teacher training & coaching; online instruction & digital education
  • Modern German literature in the European context, 18th–21st century; history of cultural criticism; cultural philosophy of the interwar period; German Jewish history; exile & Holocaust studies; German Turkish history (post-Tanzimât); diversity in Germany