Jaclyn Kurash

  • Teaching Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies
  • German Advisor / Study Abroad Advisor
  • Faculty Supervisor, German Student Ambassador Program

Before coming to Pitt in 2016, Dr. Kurash taught at the College of Wooster in Ohio, Allegheny College, University of Maryland, and the Ohio State University, where she completed her PhD. Her research utilized gender and cultural studies approaches to investigate images of women’s engagement with technology, women’s work, and the cultural influence of communication media. These methods and ideas still underpin many of the courses that she teaches.

Currently at Pitt, she teaches German language courses, the German Writing-Intensive course (“Writing on the Margins”), as well as courses in English on 19th and 20th century German literature and film. Her courses use multimedia materials highlighting marginalized or underrepresented voices in the German-speaking world.

In her role as German Advisor, Dr. Kurash assists students with planning their degrees in German (major, certificate, minor) and with post-undergraduate opportunities, such as the German Fulbright ETA or the Congress Bundestag Young Professional Exchange (CBYX). As the Study Abroad Advisor, discusses with students (1) which study abroad program would fit best with their German studies and (2) how to apply the study abroad credits to their German degrees.

In May 2023, Dr. Kurash served as Faculty Leader for the Pitt in Munich study abroad program. All PiM students received generous support from the Max Kade Foundation for the 2023 program.

COURSES TAUGHT

  • GER 101: Beginning German 1
  • GER 102: Beginning German 2
  • GER 201: Intermediate German 1
  • GER 202: Intermediate German 2
  • GER 1001: German Writing (new title: Writing on the Margins)
  • GER 1502: Indo-European Folktales
  • GER 1530: Sex, Robots, Revolution: Germany’s Weimar Republic (1918-1933)
  • GER 0058: Munich: History, Society, Culture

EDUCATION & TRAINING

  • PhD, The Ohio State University, 2015
  • MA, University of Maryland, 2005
  • BA, Allegheny College, 2001

SERVICE

  • Director of Undergraduate Studies & German Advisor (Fall 2020-present)
  • Study Abroad Advisor for UPitt’s German Department
  • Advisor, German Student Ambassadors
  • Faculty Leader, Pitt in Munich (May 2023)
  • Organizer, “Oktoberfest” event (2020-2023)
  • Project Coordinator, German Campus Weeks events (funded in collaboration with the German Embassy)
    • 2016 Event Series, “Migration, Integration, and the Refugee Crisis.”
    • 2017 Event Series, “Germany at the Polls: Politics, Media, and Europe”
    • 2019 Event Series, “Germany, Then and Now: 1989-2019”