Our Connections

We regularly work with teachers and students at a wide range of schools, including the Ark network, Beths Grammar School, Bexley Grammar School, Brentwood School, City of London School, Colchester County High School for Girls, Farlingaye High School, Henrietta Barnett School, St Paul’s School, Woodford County High School, and Westcliff High School for Boys. We support the teaching of German in schools through a range of talks, taster classes, workshops and teachers’ events, designed to inspire and develop pupils’ engagement with German language and culture.

The GSSN was founded by researchers from King’s to promote and support public discussion and debate on German-language screen media. The network organises an annual film symposium, as well as regular screenings, talks, workshops and schools’ events. Our students often participate in these events; in recent years, they have had opportunities to meet German and Austrian film directors and work with leading researchers in the field of film studies.

Visit the GSSN website

The GLGN is part of the 'Think German' initiative of regional networks spearheaded by the German Embassy. The network brings together all those people in and around London who have an interest in the German language and related cultures and facilitates communication between them. Our staff play an active role on the network’s steering committee, and our students regularly participate in its cultural events and outreach activities.

This national organisation aims to promote the uptake of language-learning in schools and widen access to languages degrees. Our students regularly participate in Routes into Languages activities, for example by working as Language Ambassadors whose role is to visit schools and promote the benefits of language study.

This is a youth charity that helps young people to get into jobs, education and training. Our staff and postgraduate students frequently lead sessions at the Trust’s CPD courses for Modern Languages teachers and at its residential courses and summer schools.

Staff and students are regularly involved in events at the German Embassy in London. These include public talks, film screenings, and teacher’s events. Our students also benefit from the opportunity to attend the annual German Embassy Careers Fair.

In the context of the 500th anniversary of the start of the Lutheran Reformation, the Department has established links with the German-speaking congregations of St Anne’s and St George’s Lutheran Churches. A series of events are taking place in 2018-19, including a historical Lutheran Advent service, public talks and an exhibition.

Our staff frequently collaborate with curators at Tate Modern and Tate Britain, for example by organising public events and film screenings, and by writing educational materials relating to exhibitions taking place there. This partnership benefits our students by giving them hands-on opportunities to learn about curation and art history, and by broadening their understanding of German culture.

Our staff frequently collaborate with curators at the British Museum, for example by writing educational materials relating to exhibitions taking place there and organising public events. This partnership benefits our students by giving them opportunities to learn about curation, and by broadening their understanding of cultural heritage.

We regularly collaborate with the Institute of Contemporary Arts to put on high-profile public events and film screenings. In recent years, this partnership has resulted in talks by prize-winning film directors such as Jakob Brossmann (Lampedusa in Winter 2014) and Nina Kusturica (Little Alien 2009), as well as by the acclaimed composer Thomas Larcher.

We regularly collaborate with the Southbank Centre, with staff and postgraduate students speaking at major public events and writing educational material for exhibitions, concerts and performances taking place there.

In recent years we have been involved in several major projects with Shakespeare’s Globe, such as the Globe to Globe project which saw the performance of 37 Shakespeare plays in 37 languages over the course of 6 weeks. Following this festival, researchers from the Department have developed publications, podcasts and public talks which explore the role of Shakespeare in German culture.

Staff from the Department are regularly invited to advise on and write educational materials to accompany performances at the National Theatre.

Our position in London means that we have a strong connection to the Goethe-Institut, the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany. Our students can benefit from the institute’s rich programme of cultural events and film screenings, as well as its excellent library and AV resources. We also collaborate regularly with the institute in order to bring German writers and film-makers to London for public events and screenings.

The ACF is the Cultural Section of the Austrian Embassy in London. Our students benefit from the varied programme of free events – such as concerts, talks, film screenings, exhibitions – organised by the ACF. We also collaborate regularly with the ACF in order to bring Austrian writers and film-makers to London for public events and screenings.

The Wiener Library is one of the world's leading and most extensive archives on the Holocaust and Nazi era. Staff and students from the Department are frequently involved in projects alongside researchers from the Library: for example, we recently translated and edited a collection of eye-witness accounts of the November pogroms of 1938, which has been published online and in print. Our students are also regularly invited to write blog posts for the library’s website.

The BFI is a charitable organisation dedicated to the production, preservation and study of film and television. Our students benefit from access to the archive collection and online resources, as well as its rich programme of screenings and events. Our staff are frequently invited to curate and speak at BFI events on German and Austrian film, as well as writing materials for teachers and schools about German-language cinema.