Britta Kallin

Associate Chair, Director of German Program, Associate Professor of German

Member Of:
  • School of Modern Languages
  • ADVANCE IAC
Fax Number:404-894-0955
Related Links:
Email Address: bkallin@gatech.edu

Overview

Personal Pronouns:
she/her

Dr. Britta Kallin received her PhD in German Literature from the University of Cincinnati (2000) and she joined the School of Modern Languages faculty at Georgia Tech as Assistant Professor of German in the same year. She had previously taught three summers of intensive German in the Middlebury College Summer School in Vermont. Since 2008, Dr. Kallin serves as Associate Professor of German in the School of Modern Languages.

A specialist in contemporary German and Austrian women's literature and theater, she has published on theater, gender, race, and national identity in Colloquia Germania, Communications from the International Brecht Society, The German Quarterly, Glossen: Literatur und Kultur in den deutschsprachigen Ländern, Lessing Yearbook, New German Review, Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies, Journal of Austrian Studies, Monatshefte, among others.

Dr. Kallin has published widely on the Austrian Nobel Laureate Elfriede Jelinek and is the author of “Jörg Haider as a Contemporary Orestes: Aeschylus’s Oresteia in Elfriede Jelinek’s Das Lebewohl” (Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies), "The Role of the Roma in Elfriede Jelinek's Stecken, Stab und Stangl?" (Colloquia Germanica 2004) and "Die Feder fuehr ich unermuedlich - Helmina von Chezy's Rosamunde as Intertext in Elfriede Jelinek's Der Tod und das Maedchen III (Rosamunde) (Glossen 2007). In addition, she has published  “Elfriede Jelineks Solidaritätsbekundungen: Die Parteimitgliedschaft in der KPÖ, ihr marxistischer, feministischer und politischer Einsatz für verfolgte KünstlerInnen und ihr Engagement gegen totalitäre Strukturen.” (Jelinek Research Center 2013); "Amerikanisch-österreichische Intertextualitäten und schreibende Frauen in Jelineks Der Tod und das Mädchen IV (Jackie) und Der Tod und das Mädchen V (Die Wand).” (JELINEK (JAHR)BUCH, 2017); “Intertextualities in Elfriede Jelinek’s Rein Gold: Ein Bühnenessay.” (Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies 2021).

Another focus of her research is the work of the Austrian dramatist and novelist Marlene Streeruwitz. Dr. Kallin has published "Marlene Streeruwitz's Nachwelt as Feminist Postmodern Biography" (German Quarterly 2005) as well as “Inflicting Wounds and Leaving Scars in Marlene Streeruwitz’s Morire in Levitate.” (Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies 2012). She has also published “From the Body in Pain to the Body Transformed: Feminist and Trans Readings of Franz Kafka” (Journal of Austrian Studies 2020), and "Karen Duve’s Short Story “Grrrimm”: Werewomen, Werewolves, and Witches in a Feminist Adaptation of the Grimms’ “Little Red Cap” (Monatshefte für deutschsprachige Literatur und Kultur 2024); “Ali Samadi Ahadi’s Cinematic Comedy Salami Aleikum: Humor, Gender, and Muslims in Germany” (Colloquia Germanica 2023). 

Her interest in women's theater and critical race studies is also reflected in her monograph entitled The Presentation of Racism in Contemporary German and Austrian Plays (Mellen Press, 2007). In this book, Dr. Kallin examines seven plays by contemporary German and Austrian women dramatists and their description of outsiders to the German and Austrian nations, cultures, ethnicity/race, or Christian religion. Recently, Britta Kallin has added a research interest in film and juvenile literature as can be seen in her publications “Presenting Alterity in Angelina Maccarone’s Fremde Haut (2005) and Tatort: Wem Ehre gebürt (2007)” (Glossen. Literatur und Kultur in den deutschsprachigen Ländern nach 1945 2013) and in her research on gender roles in Cornelia Funke's Inkheart triology “Meggie Folchart’s Absent Mother and Omnipotent Father: Gender Roles in Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart” (A Different Germany: Pop and the Negotiation of German Culture 2014). Dr. Kallin also works in the field of environmental humanities, ecocriticism, and ecofeminisn and published “Barbara Dombrowski’s Tropic Ice: Dialog Between Places Affected by Climate Change.” (A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People, Prosperity, edited by Kelly Comfort, Routledge, 2024). 

Britta Kallin was appointed Associate Editor (2001-2003) and Editor of Communications from the International Brecht Society (2004-2006). From 2021-2024, she served as the book review editor for literature and culture of the German Studies Review. She was selected as a fellow in the TrainDaF program of the AATG (American Association of Teachers of German, 2002). She has also served as reviewer of manuscripts and grant applications for a variety of journals and organizations in the field of German and Austrian studies. In 2012, the members of the Metro German Atlanta organization elected her as president. In 2014, she was elected Vice President of the American Association of Teachers of German in Georgia. After having served two years as VP, she became President of the AATG-GA in 2016. Dr. Kallin has received research support from CIBER, Ivan Allen College, SLS Serve-Learn-Sustain, and the Georgia Tech Foundation. At GT, Dr. Kallin taught in the German LBAT (Languages for Business and Technology) program from 2015-2024 and served as its director from 2018-2024. 

Britta Kallin has given dozens of presentations about her research at a variety of venues and she can be contacted at bkallin@gatech.edu

Education:
  • Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies
  • M.A., University of Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Staatsexamen, Universitaet Hamburg, Germany
Awards and
Distinctions:
  • Certificate of Merit from the Goethe-Institute in the United States and the American Association of Teachers of German (2021)
  • Women in German Faculty Research Award (2021)
  • Class of 1934 CIOS Award, Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching (2020)
  • AATG-GA Professor of the Year (2018)
  • Excellence in Teaching Student Choice Award, Serve-Learn-Sustain (2017)

Interests

Research Fields:
  • German
  • Literary and Cultural Studies
Geographic
Focuses:
  • Europe
Issues:
  • Gender
  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Cinema Studies
  • Cross-Cultural Understanding
  • Drama and Theater Studies
  • Intercultural Issues
  • International Communication
  • Language and Popular Culture
  • Literature
  • Media
  • Migration
  • Performance
  • Post-Colonialism
  • Queer Studies
  • Sustainability

Courses

  • GRMN-1002: Elementary German II
  • GRMN-2001: Intermediate German I
  • GRMN-2002: Intermediate German II
  • GRMN-2699: Undergraduate Research: #metoo in the German Media
  • GRMN-3011: Germany Today
  • GRMN-3030: Crossing Borders Lit/Cul
  • GRMN-3055: Fairy Tales Grimm/Disney
  • GRMN-3110: TV & Electronic Culture
  • GRMN-3695: Structure,Commun&Corr
  • GRMN-3696: Current Issues
  • GRMN-3823: Special Topics
  • GRMN-3833: Special Topics
  • GRMN-4010: Perspectives Grmn Media
  • GRMN-4024: Ger Film and Literature
  • GRMN-4026: German Post-Wall Cinema
  • GRMN-4500: Intercultural Seminar
  • GRMN-4691: Berlin in the 20th Cent
  • GRMN-4693: Industrial Transformation and German Society/Economy
  • GRMN-4695: German Internship
  • GRMN-4699: Undergraduate Research
  • GRMN-4813: Special Topics: Sustainable Development in Germany
  • GRMN-6010: Perspectives Grmn Media
  • GRMN-6252: DOM Internship Germ
  • GRMN-6500: Intercultural Seminar
  • GRMN-6510: Language Practicum
  • GRMN-6511: Applied Language Practicum Abroad
  • GRMN-6695: German Internship Abroad
  • GRMN-6998: M.S. Project: Visual Representations of Refugees
  • GRMN-6998: Master's Project: Cameroonian Sports Event in Germany
  • GRMN-6998: Master's Project: Soccer and Sustainability
  • GRMN-7000: Master's Thesis: Modal Particles in German
  • GRMN-8803: Special Topics
  • GRMN-8903: Special Problems: German Artists

Publications

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

Chapters

All Publications

Books

Journal Articles

Chapters

Internet Publications

Interviews

Translations