Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Franz A. Birgel 
Professor of German & Film Studies
Co-Director of the German Studies Program
Ettinger 102D
Office: 484-664-3345
Fax: 484-664-3722
Background
B.A., La Salle College
A.M., Ph.D, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Birgel teaches many of the courses offered by the German Program: German language courses, Masterpieces of German Literature I & II, German Civilization, German Cinema, German Prose, and Readings in German Drama for theater majors. Within the college's new film studies program, he teaches German Cinema and The Western Film, and he is preparing a new course on Berlin in Film.
Dr. Birgel's present research interests include German film history, cinematic adaptations of literary works, and the interrelationship between history and film. Together with Professor Klaus Phillips of Hollins University, he recently edited a collection of essays on the German filmmaker and author Doris Dörrie. Dr. Birgel is currently pursuing research on East German feature films about Native Americans and on the cinema of the Third Reich.
