Robert J Jenkins
Manager, Austria Illinois Exchange Program, Assistant Professor of German of Germanic Languages and Literatures
Contact Information:
- Address: 3127 Foreign Languages Building (FLB) Office Hours:
- M & W 1:30-4:00pm; Tu 1:30-3:00pm; and by appt.
- Telephone: 244-0605
- Email: jenkinrj@illinois.edu
Education
Ph.D. Vanderbilt University
Biography
Dr. Robert Jenkins is the Education Abroad Manager for the Austria-Illinois Exchange Program and Assistant Professor.
After earning his B.A. in German and English he studied contemporary German literature as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. Once he completed the M.A. degree in German at the University of California, he continued his education in German literature at Vanderbilt University. While there, he received a DAAD dissertation grant for research in Germany and a Vanderbilt Teaching Fellowship.
His research interests include late 19th and early 20th century German and Austrian literature and contemporary world literature. He also has interests in translation, the philosophy of (literary) language, urban-modernism, media studies, concepts of masculinity as circumscribed by popular violence, and second language development through education abroad.
In addition to managing the departmental exchange program with Vienna, Dr. Jenkins teaches courses in literature, culture, translation, and media, including a GenEd course about the Grimms’ fairy tales, which is cross-listed with the department of English and program for Comparative and World Literature.
Courses Taught
- GER 250, The Grimms’ Fairy Tales in Context
- GER 331, Introduction to German Literature
- GER 403, Translation, Theory and Practice
- GER 205, Germany and Europe
- GER 401, Global Issues in German Media
- GER 212, German Conversation and Writing II
- GER 332, Humor in German-language Prose, Theater, Film and Television.
- GER 201, German Popular Culture