• Native speaker constructions in multilingual families 

  Kat, Regan Marie (University of Waterloo, 2023-01-09)

  This thesis addresses the well-established subject area of native speaker research. Previous research into the native speaker has addressed the history of the concept of the native speaker, criticisms of this concept, and ...

• Topography and Nature Symbolism in Thomas Mann’s ‘Zauberberg’ 

  Eppert, Katharina (University of Waterloo, 2022-08-31)

  In my master's thesis I examine the meaning of topography and nature symbolism in Thomas Mann's novel "The Magic Mountain". I select text passages and chapters that exemplify the importance of mountains, height and snow ...

• Culture-in-interaction: Using idiomatic-sounding membership categorizations in German interactions 

  Profazi, Nina Rahel (University of Waterloo, 2022-08-29)

  Understanding (Verstehen) and establishing common understanding (Verständigung) are foundational to human communication. Interactants not only work to understand their conversational partners, but they also act to ensure ...

• L2 discourse markers and the development of interactional competence during study abroad 

  Schirm, Ronald Samuel Karl (University of Waterloo, 2022-01-25)

  In my dissertation, I use the theories and methodologies of Conversation Analysis (or “CA”, see Sacks et al., 1974) to investigate how speakers of a second language (or 'L2') develop the ability to interact in the L2 — or ...

• Lost in Translation: How the perception of Characters change in the German Translations of J.R.R. Tolkiens "The Lord of the Rings" 

  Held, Alexander Quintus Andreas (University of Waterloo, 2022-01-20)

  It is an accepted paradigm that translated texts will never be the perfect equivalent to the original text in a different language. It is a fact that foreign literary works will influence a culture through translations. ...

• "Ich glaube, ich bin viele Dinge" – Gender, Sexuality and Nationality in Angelina Maccarone‘s UNVEILED and Faraz Shariat‘s NO HARD FEELINGS 

  Scholl, Katharina (University of Waterloo, 2022-01-18)

  This thesis examines the connection of the identity aspects gender, sexuality, and nationality in Angelina Maccarone’s Unveiled (2005) and Faraz Shariat’s No Hard Feelings (2020). Both films feature queer protagonists who ...

• “… als hätte man gerade begonnen zu existieren”: Identity Between Experiences of the Unfamiliar and the Question of Origin in Lutz Seiler’s Novel Stern 111 (2020) 

  Karl, Vanessa (University of Waterloo, 2022-01-14)

  To this day, scholars and writers are concerned with the events of the Wende period and the representation of the DDR in Germany’s cultural memory. This period and its consequences are still relevant today and therefore ...

• The Conceptions of Love and Marriage in German Idealism and Romanticism 

  Huang, Yu (University of Waterloo, 2021-09-20)

  In his Elements of the Philosophy of Right, G. W. F. Hegel considers ethical love the basis of marriage and family, which comprises the state and higher ethical entities. For Hegel, marriage should be seen as an immediately ...

• Ecological modernisation? An ecolinguistic analysis of German, Canadian and European techno-fix approaches to climate change. 

  Martin, Matthieu (University of Waterloo, 2021-08-26)

  Analyzing how climate change is situated in ‘discourse,’ the socially constituted and constitutive use of language, can tell a great deal about how the human subject sees itself in relation to nature and what problematic ...

• “tu_s oben DRAUFlegen”: tun-constructions as context-sensitive practices in German 

  Bühl, Kira (University of Waterloo, 2020-12-21)

  There are a variety of syntactic formats available to get others to do something in German interaction. To make a request or give an instruction, speakers of German may use an imperative, a declarative, a single word, or ...

• Writing identity - Negotiating Gender in Leopold von Sacher Masoch's "Venus im Pelz" and Robert Musil's "Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß" 

  Wolfhard, Caroline Sarah (University of Waterloo, 2020-09-29)

  The age of the Industrial Revolution has led to a variety of changes in human society. One of these changes was a shift in gender-roles for men and women. The social role and the behavior of people became a consequence of ...

• "I must become something else": Identitätskonstruktion und die Superheldenrolle in der Fernsehserie Arrow 

  Wagner, Mareike Sophie (University of Waterloo, 2020-09-29)

  This thesis deals with how the protagonist of the CW superhero TV series Arrow constructs his identity. Arrow tells the story of Oliver Queen, who returns home after being shipwrecked and assumed dead, to start working as ...

• The fascination of apocalypse: A cultural comparison of Canadian and Central European imaginations 

  Schuhmacher, Nadja (University of Waterloo, 2020-09-28)

  The modern time seems to be fascinated by the imagination of apocalyptic scenarios. This master thesis aims to analyse apocalyptic fiction from authors of Canada, Austria and Germany and draw a comparison between the ...

• Transnational Identity in Online Discourse – Netflix’s Sense8 and accompanying Twitter communication 

  Rohmann, Anna Carolin Antonia (University of Waterloo, 2020-09-28)

  Digital media has become ubiquitous and immensely shapes communitarisation, and thus identity construction. As media does not rely on physical border crossing to bring us in con-tact with different subject positions, ...

• Analyzing Portrayals of Hitler and Neo-Nazis in Two Contemporary Films: Er ist wieder da and Imperium 

  Orminski, Nicole (University of Waterloo, 2020-09-04)

  World War II occurred three quarters of a century ago, but Nazis continue to be a popular choice of antagonist in contemporary film. These characters include not only those set in 1940s Germany, but also portrayals of ...

• Being a South Tyrolean: Examining Identity in Conversation and Linguistic Landscapes 

  Carroll, James Ryan (University of Waterloo, 2020-08-26)

  In this dissertation, I examine the role of language in the enacting of identity in the German-speaking community in the province of South Tyrol, Italy. Within this province on the border between Austria and Italy, the ...

• Personality Type and Language Learning Strategy use by University Students: Where the MBTI and SILL Intersect 

  Milne, Elizabeth Wendy (University of Waterloo, 2020-07-24)

  This thesis explores the relationship between personality type, as defined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (“MBTI®”), and the learning strategies employed by learners enrolled in undergraduate foreign language courses ...

• "Wer nicht handelt, der stirbt”. Sex Work, Migration and Agency in Julya Rabinowich’s "Die Erdfresserin" 

  Kronauer, Laura (University of Waterloo, 2020-01-30)

  This thesis examines the depiction of migration and sex work through the lens of agency in Julya Rabinowich's Die Erdfresserin (2012). Most research present the novel's character – a Russian sex worker who migrates to ...

• Analysis of the linguistic repertoire of a migrant family 

  Gaerdes, Konrad (University of Waterloo, 2020-01-27)

  The increase in mobilization that globalisation brings with it leads to an increasing amount of language contact. When groups or migrants come into contact with majority languages of a country, the minority language often ...

• Gewalt und Spiele in den Filmen Michael Hanekes 

  Hirstein, Mario (University of Waterloo, 2020-01-16)

  This dissertation examines the intersection of violence and games in six of Michael Haneke’s movies, Benny’s Video (1992), Happy End (2017), Le Temps du loup (2003), Funny Games (1997/2007), 71 Fragmente einer Chronologie ...

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