Dr Joanna Neilly

Welcome to German at St Peter’s!

I am the Fellow for German and the Organising Tutor for all undergraduate students of German in the College. At St Peter’s we admit students who have already studied German to an advanced level, as well as complete beginners and those who may have studied German for a few years but not taken the A-Level (in which case they should apply via the Beginners’ stream).

I am originally from Bangor in Northern Ireland, and studied French and German as an undergraduate student at Keble College, Oxford. I completed my Masters in German at Queen’s University Belfast before going on to do my PhD at the University of Edinburgh. After several years as a Stipendiary Lecturer in German at various Oxford colleges, I joined St Peter’s in 2017. In College tutorials, I teach translation from German as well as German Literature and Thought across the modern period (1770 to the present day). While I am a literary scholar, I also enjoy translation immensely. My advice for developing your translation skills and improving your style is to read as widely as you can, across different genres and periods, in English as well as in your chosen language.

I have particular interests in Romantic-era literature (c. 1790-late 1820s) and have worked extensively on the writer E. T. A. Hoffmann, who was also a musician, composer, theatre director, artist, and judge. I am also curious about why and how German Romanticism has influenced, inspired, or even provoked authors from different times and different parts of the world, and I have enjoyed working on contemporary writers from this perspective. For further details on my research and publications please see my Faculty webpage.