Julie Koser

Julie Koser is an Associate Professor and Department Head in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Maryland's School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. She holds affiliate faculty status in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her research focuses on 18th- and early 19th-century German literature and culture, particularly gender representation in the Goethe era. Key interests include gender myths, national identity, postcolonial Enlightenment, women and violence, and travel writing.

Education:

• Ph.D. in German Studies with Women, Gender, and Sexuality emphasis, University of California, Berkeley
• B.A. in German and International Studies, Trinity University

Research emphasizes destabilizing gender norms and cultural ambivalence, notably in her book Armed Ambiguity (2016) analyzing women warriors. Current work explores novelist Benedikte Naubert’s Alme oder Egyptische Mährchen, examining early Orientalist discourse and women storytellers. She teaches courses on gender and warfare, German theater, postcolonialism, and fairy tales.

Publications span feminist literary criticism, digital humanities, and historical cultural analysis. Her writing critically engages with 18th-century discourses on gender, citizenship, and alterity, while advocating for feminist recovery projects in literary canons.