Franz Peter Hugdahl (1968-2013) was a valued member of the German Studies community at Cornell University, with primary interests in 20th-century German literature, radio, film, and intellectual history, who cared deeply about his fellow students at all levels and about educational opportunities to study German language, literature, culture, and thought. Awarded his M.A. in German Studies in 2003, he went on to write a doctoral dissertation on public intellectuals and essay writing in the service of democratization after the defeat of German fascism in 1945. Authors of special significance for his teaching, research, and published translations included major literary, intellectual, and political figures such as Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Theodor Adorno, Jürgen Habermas, Ulrike Meinhof, Arno Schmidt, and Boris Groys. Keenly interested in professional venues for academic publishing as well, he worked for a time at Columbia University Press and later served as both Assistant Editor (1999-2005) and Managing Editor (2012-2013) for the interdisciplinary journal New German Critique.
Thanks to several generous gifts from anonymous donors, two memorial awards have been established to honor Franz Peter Hugdahl and his ongoing legacy of dedicated support for German Studies in the conjoined causes of higher education and international understanding. Bestowed annually by the Department of German Studies, Cornell University’s Franz Peter Hugdahl Memorial Travel Award in German Studies is reserved for deserving undergraduate or graduate student members of Cornell’s German Studies community. Bestowed annually by the editorial board of New German Critique, New German Critique’s Franz Peter Hugdahl Memorial Award supports doctoral candidates in German Studies or History for participation in academic conferences or professional meetings such as the German Studies Association, the Modern Language Association, or the American Historical Association. Preference for the New German Critique award is given to applicants from Columbia University, Cornell University, or Princeton University. (Applications for the New German Critique award should be submitted directly to the journal at new_german_critique@cornell.edu in response to the journal’s annual call.) Cornell University graduate students are eligible for consideration for both awards.
Everyone involved with these awards is especially pleased to be able to honor Franz Peter Hugdahl and his living legacy by supporting the educational opportunities, student experiences, and cross-cultural understanding he himself held so dear. The memorial awards established in his name will enhance German Studies for many grateful student generations to come.
