This 2-day symposium will focus on current research in German studies, including work on literature, history, and visual culture. Established at the University of Missouri-Columbia, the Midwest Symposium in German Studies has emerged as a vibrant forum for intellectual exchange in the Midwest. It is now an established event attracting scholars from the entire region. This second year at Illinois, the procedure of hosting a number of speakers and guest discussants from various Midwestern universities will continue. The symposium will include talks by Robert Norton (University of Notre Dame), Brigitta Wagner (Indiana University), Craig Koslofsky (University of Illinois), Stephanie Hilger (University of Illinois), Brad Prager (University of Missouri), Ben Robinson (Indiana University), Carsten Strathausen (University of Missouri), and Sara Hall (University of Illinois at Chicago). A number of guest discussants from each institution and from other universities (including Washington University, Case Western Reserve, and the University of Illinois-Chicago) also will attend.