The Department of German is committed to fostering an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). We aim to create and maintain an inclusive environment through our course offerings and outreach. Our goal as a department is to uphold the values of the University of Iowa’s policy on DEI: to increase diversity, to challenge and respond to bias and discrimination, and to pursue deliberate efforts to create a climate of inclusivity. 

Our pedagogical approach is student-centered, i.e., the experiences of all course participants guide class discussions. Our language courses and courses for majors and minors regularly include discussion of DEI issues, particularly those rooted in German history, such as the Holocaust and xenophobia. 

The principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fundamental to the mission of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa, as we conduct our work in the context of the whole of humanity.

• In our teaching, we draw on, explore, and question every facet of human experience and understanding.
• In our scholarship, scientific inquiry, and artistry, we create new knowledge and insight, reflecting and shaping the cultures and societies in which human lives unfold.
• In our service to Iowans, we collaborate with communities to solve critical problems arising from inequity.

DEI values are inseparable from those of the liberal arts tradition. To fully realize our college’s critical mission of advancing human understanding within that tradition, we must actualize these values in every aspect of our decision-making and every area of our academic community.