Paul Peters

Professor Paul Peters is a distinguished academic in German Studies at McGill University since 2008. Previously, he held roles including Assistant Professor (1989) and Associate Professor (1996) at McGill, and taught at Freie Universität Berlin (1983–1985). His research focuses on Heinrich Heine, Kafka, Brecht, and Paul Celan, with recent projects exploring Kafka and colonialism supported by the German Academic Exchange Service and Humanities Research Council. Peters' work bridges literary analysis with cultural history, Frankfurt School theory, and musical studies.

Education: BA (Hons.) in German from University of Manitoba (1976), Dr. Phil in Germanistics and Philosophy from Freie Universität Berlin (1988).

Research interests span German Romanticism, Weimar culture, socialist literature (Volker Braun, Heiner Müller), and the cultural significance of Berlin and Vienna. His theoretical framework draws deeply from Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno, while maintaining critical independence. Peters has published extensively on Heine's anti-Semitism reception, Brecht's radio influences, and Celan's intertextuality.

Grants: Supported by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and Humanities Research Council for his Kafka project. No formal student advisees listed, though his mentorship is evident through collaborative research efforts.

Future projects include a book on Kafka and colonialism, and continued exploration of Heine-Baudelaire parallels. His interdisciplinary approach connects literary studies with musicology, philosophy, and cultural studies.