Adrian Daub
J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Professor of German Studies and of Comparative Literature
Bio
My research focuses on the long nineteenth century, in particular questions of gender in literature, music and philosophy. My first book, "Zwillingshafte Gebärden": Zur kulturellen Wahrnehmung des vierhändigen Klavierspiels im neunzehnten Jahrhundert (Königshausen & Neumann, 2009), traces four-hand piano playing as both a cultural practice and a motif in literature, art and philosophy (an English edition of the book recently appeared as Four-Handed Monsters: Four-Hand Piano Playing and Nineteenth-Century Culture (Oxford University Press, 2014)). My second book Uncivil Unions - The Metaphysics of Marriage in German Idealism and Romanticism (University of Chicago Press, 2012), explored German philosophical theories of marriage from Kant to Nietzsche. Tristan's Shadow - Sexuality and the Total Work of Art (University of Chicago Press, 2013), deals with eroticism in German opera after Wagner. My most recent academic book, The Dynastic Imagination (University of Chicago Press, 2020) traces the fate of the dynasty in the age of the nuclear family. A comparative and intermedial study of the ballad-form in nineteenth century Europe will appear in 2022 with Oxford University Press. In addition, I have published articles on topics such as fin-de-siècle German opera, women composers in the 19th century, the history of feminist philosophy, the films of Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, film music, literature and scandal, the legacies of Richard Wagner, the cultural use of ballads in the nineteenth century, and writers like Novalis, Stefan George, Walter Benjamin, Sophie Mereau, Theodor Adorno and W.G. Sebald. I also write on popular culture and politics: in this capacity I co-wrote The James Bond Songs: Pop Anthems of Late Capitalism (with Charles Kronengold) and published a German-language essay collection Pop Up Nation (Hanser, 2016). My book What Tech Calls Thinking (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2020) has been translated into five languages. I write articles for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany), Die Zeit (Germany), The Guardian (UK), The Nation, The New Republic, n+1, Longreads and the LA Review of Books. More information can be found on my personal website adriandaub.com.
I am the Director of the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, and the Andrew W. Mellon Program for Postdoctoral Studies in the Humanities. I have previously directed the Program in Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies (FGSS) and the Department of German Studies.
Academic Appointments
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Professor, German Studies
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Professor, Comparative Literature
Administrative Appointments
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Director, Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research (2019 - Present)
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Professor, Stanford University (2016 - Present)
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Director, Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies (FGSS) (2016 - 2020)
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Associate Professor, Stanford University (2013 - Present)
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Assistant Professor, Stanford University (2008 - 2013)
Honors & Awards
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Max Kade Award for Best Article in the German Quarterly, The Max Kade Foundation (2013)
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Fellow, Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft, Berlin (2013)
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Stanford Humanities Center Faculty Fellowship, Stanford Humanities Center (2012-2013)
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Annenberg Faculty Fellowship, Stanford University (2009-2010)
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Annenberg Faculty Fellowship, Stanford University (2010-2011)
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William Penn Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania (2003-2008)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Co-Editor, The Goethe Yearbook (2012 - 2013)
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General Editor, Republics of Letters – A Journal for the Study of Knowledge, Politics, and the Arts (2009 - Present)
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Peer Reviewer, Oxford University Press (2009 - 2010)
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Peer Reviewer, Modernism/Modernity, German Quarterly, Republics of Letters (2008 - 2009)
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Peer Reviewer, Modernism/Modernity, German Quarterly, Republics of Letters (2009 - 2010)
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Editorial Advisor, Schocken Books (Random House) (2006 - 2006)
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Chair of Undergraduate Studies, Department of German Studies, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
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Member, Executive Committee, Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
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Member, Undergraduate Affairs Committee, Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
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Member, Committee for Humanities Education, Teagle Grant, Stanford University (2009 - 2011)
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Member, Search Committee, Open Field Search, Department of German Studies, Stanford University (2010 - 2010)
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Member, Search Committee, Eighteenth Century Poetry Search, Department of English, Stanford University (2010 - 2010)
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Member, Program in Writing and Rhetoric Governance Board, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
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Member, Faculty Advisory Board, Introductory Seminar Program, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
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Member, Dissertation Fellowship Selection Committee, Stanford Humanities Center, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
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Member, Ad-Hoc Committee, Division of Literature, Cultures and Languages (DLCL) Website Redesign, Stanford University (2010 - 2011)
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Outside Honors Examiner, Swarthmore College Honors Program (2009 - 2009)
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Member, Graduate Affairs Committee, Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages, Stanford University (2008 - 2009)
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Member, MLA – Modern Language Association
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Member, GSA – German Studies Association
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Member, IAPL – International Association for Philosophy and Literature
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Member, SCMS – Society for Cinema and Media Studies
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Member, GSNA – Goethe Society of North America
Program Affiliations
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Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
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Modern Thought and Literature
Professional Education
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Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory (2008)
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M.A., University of Pennsylvania, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory (2004)
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B.A., Comparative Literature, Swarthmore College (2003)
2024-25 Courses
- CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People
COMPLIT 100, DLCL 100, FRENCH 175, GERMAN 175, HISTORY 206E, ILAC 175, ITALIAN 175, URBANST 153 (Aut) - Comparative Literature Pro-seminar
COMPLIT 346 (Win) - Das Auto: Car Culture in Germany and its Global Context
GERMAN 31Q (Aut) - Philosophy and Literature
DLCL 222 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Travel Literature, Empire and the (Un)making of Masculinities
FEMGEN 206F (Win) -
Independent Studies (8)
- Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium
GERMAN 398 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Honors Thesis Oral Presentation
DLCL 199 (Spr) - Honors Thesis Seminar
DLCL 189B (Win) - Honors Thesis Seminar
DLCL 189C (Spr) - Independent Research
COMPLIT 194 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Independent Study
SYMSYS 196 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Individual Work
GERMAN 199 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Individual Work
GERMAN 399 (Aut, Win, Spr)
- Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- German Philosophy and Theory After 1945
GERMAN 236 (Spr) - LGBT History and Culture in the Bay Area
FEMGEN 10SC (Sum) - Philosophy and Literature
DLCL 222 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Travel Literature, Empire and the (Un)making of Masculinities
COMPLIT 206, FEMGEN 206F (Win)
2022-23 Courses
- Feminist and Queer Theories and Methods Across the Disciplines
COMPLIT 202, FEMGEN 103, FEMGEN 203 (Win) - Germany in 5 Words
GERMAN 101 (Win) - Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies
MTL 334C (Aut) - Philosophy and Literature
DLCL 222 (Win, Spr)
2021-22 Courses
- Feminist and Queer Theories and Methods Across the Disciplines
FEMGEN 103, FEMGEN 203 (Win) - Germany in 5 Words
GERMAN 101 (Spr) - Globally Queer
COLLEGE 103 (Spr) - LGBT History and Culture in the Bay Area
FEMGEN 10SC (Sum) - Philosophy and Literature
DLCL 222 (Win)
- German Philosophy and Theory After 1945
Stanford Advisees
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Orals Chair
Rebecca Lewis -
Postdoctoral Faculty Sponsor
Eagan Dean, Angelica Ferrara -
Orals Evaluator
Jenny Andrine Madsen Evang, Misha Stekl
All Publications
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The Ring in Cinematic and Popular Culture
CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO WAGNER'S DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN
2020: 317-336
View details for Web of Science ID 000606741500016
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Thus Spoke Kubrick: "Guide Pieces," Modes of Citation and the Rise of the Temp Track
AFTER KUBRICK
2020: 165-178
View details for Web of Science ID 000672774100009
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The Ob-Scene of the Total Work of Art: Frank Wedekind, Richard Strauss, and the Spectacle of Dance
NINETEENTH CENTURY MUSIC
2016; 39 (3): 272-289
View details for DOI 10.1525/ncm.2016.39.3.272
View details for Web of Science ID 000373749200004
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"Ein Blitz, Fur Uns": Stefan George's Queer Dynasty
DEUTSCHE VIERTELJAHRSSCHRIFT FUR LITERATURWISSENSCHAFT UND GEISTESGESCHICHTE
2016; 90 (1): 135-159
View details for DOI 10.1007/s41245-016-0002-2
View details for Web of Science ID 000378983100006
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Wagner after Freud: Stages of Analysis
OPERA QUARTERLY
2015; 31 (1-2): 116-133
View details for DOI 10.1093/oq/kbv005
View details for Web of Science ID 000356181600006
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HERMANN NITSCH - AUSTRIA IN THE AGE OF POST-SCANDALOUS CULTURE
GERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS
2014; 67 (2): 260-278
View details for DOI 10.1111/glal.12042
View details for Web of Science ID 000332328300007
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"An All-Too-Secret Wagner": Ernst Bloch the Wagnerian
OPERA QUARTERLY
2014; 30 (2-3): 188-204
View details for DOI 10.1093/oq/kbu019
View details for Web of Science ID 000345776700003
- Neukantianismus Enzyklopädie jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur edited by Diner, D. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler. 2014
- Four-Handed Monsters: Four-Hand Piano Playing and the Making of Nineteenth Century Domestic Culture Oxford University Press. 2014
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The Politics of Longevity: Hans-Jurgen Syberberg's Essayism and the Art of Outliving Oneself
NEW GERMAN CRITIQUE
2013: 137-170
View details for DOI 10.1215/0094033X-2325455
View details for Web of Science ID 000326911500006
- Erotische Akustik: Walter Benjamin geht (nicht) zur Oper Klang und Musik im Werk Walter Benjamins edited by Klien, T., Traut, A. Munich: Fink. 2013: 105–116
- Pacific Palisades Enzyklopädie jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur edited by Diner, D. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler. 2013
- Die Familie als Geste - Das Käthchen von Heilbronn und die Ästhetik des Als Ob Heinrich von Kleist edited by Gumbrecht, H., Knüpling, F. Munich: Fink. 2013: 243–353
- Broomhilda Unchained: Tarantino’s Wagner Jump Cut 2013; 55
- Ein allzu geheim gebliebener Wagner’ – Ernst Bloch als Wagnerianer Wagnerspectrum 2013; 9 (1): 159-176
- Tristan’s Shadow – Sexuality and the Total Work of Art after Wagner Chicago: Chicago University Press. 2013
- Sphinxes Without Secrets – W. G. Sebald’s Albums and the Aesthetics of Photographic Exchange On Writing with Photography edited by Weissberg, L., Beckman, K. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. 2013: 254–296
- Hermann Nitsch – Austria in the Age of Post-Scandalous Culture German Life and Letters 2013; 66 (3)
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Platen's Retreat: On the Poetics and Ethics of Memorizing Ballads
GERMAN QUARTERLY
2012; 85 (2): 137-155
View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1756-1183.2012.00142.x
View details for Web of Science ID 000303435300003
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From Maximin to Stonewall: Sexuality and the Afterlives of the George Circle
GERMANIC REVIEW
2012; 87 (1): 19-34
View details for DOI 10.1080/00168890.2012.654436
View details for Web of Science ID 000304484900002
- Holocaust Enzyklopädie jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur edited by Diner, D. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler. 2012
- Uncivil Unions – The Metaphysics of Marriage in German Idealism and Romanticism Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2012
- "All Evil is the Cancellation of Unity”: Joseph de Maistre in late German Romanticism Joseph de Maistre and his European Readers: Receiving Early Conservatism in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries edited by Armenteros, C., Lebrun, R. Leiden/Netherlands: Brill Publishers. 2012: 113–140
- The State a Family: German Romanticism and French Counter-Revolutionary Thought on Paternity and Sovereignty Republics of Letters 2011; 2 (2): 127-157
- The Opera and the Opera: Hermann Nitsch Stages Olivier Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise Opera Quarterly 2011; 4 (4): 496-502
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The Power of the "Verfluchte Lohe": (Post-) Wagnerian Redheads and the Coherence of the Gesamtkunstwerk in Das Rheingold, Fredigundis, and Irrelohe
OPERA QUARTERLY
2010; 26 (4): 526-551
View details for DOI 10.1093/oq/kbq046
View details for Web of Science ID 000292231100003
- After Jena: Goethe’s Elective Affinities and the End of the Old Regime Goethe Yearbook 2010; 18: 308-309
- 'The Abyss of the Scream’ – On the Music of Hermann Nitsch The Theatre of Performance edited by Echer, D. Turin: Umberto Allemandi. 2010: 65–106
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"Taceat Mulier in Theatro": Guntram, Schopenhauer, and the Female Voice
OPERA QUARTERLY
2009; 25 (3-4): 230-246
View details for DOI 10.1093/oq/kbp041
View details for Web of Science ID 000274992200004
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"HANNAH, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" - CHAPLIN'S GREAT DICTATOR, "SCHTONK," AND THE VICISSITUDES OF VOICE
CRITICISM-A QUARTERLY FOR LITERATURE AND THE ARTS
2009; 51 (3): 451-482
View details for Web of Science ID 000281662500005
- Zwillingshafte Gebärden – Zur kulturellen Wahrnehmung des vierhändigen Klavierspiels im neunzehnten Jahrhundert Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann. 2009
- Sonic Dreamworlds: Benjamin, Adorno and the Phantasmagoria of the Opera House A Companion to the Works of Walter Benjamin edited by Goebel, R. New York: Camden House. 2009: 273–293
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Mother Mime: Siegfried, the Fairy Tale, and the Metaphysics of Sexual Difference
NINETEENTH CENTURY MUSIC
2008; 32 (2): 160-177
View details for DOI 10.1525/ncm.2008.32.2.160
View details for Web of Science ID 000262644100002
- Hermann Nitsch – On the Aesthetics of the Photography of Actionism Blood Orgies: Hermann Nitsch in America edited by Levy, A. Philadelphia: Slought Books. 2008: 15–26
- 'The Abyss of the Scream’ – On the Music of Hermann Nitsch Blood Orgies: Hermann Nitsch in America edited by Levy, A. Philadelphia: Slought Books. 2008: 34–75
- Blood Orgies: Hermann Nitsch in America Blood Orgies: Hermann Nitsch in America edited by Levy, A. Philadelphia: Slought Books. 2008: 34–75
- Donner à voir – The Logic of the Caption in W.G. Sebald’s Rings of Saturn and Alexander Kluge’s Devil’s Blind Spot Searching for Sebald – Photography after W.G. Sebald edited by Patt, L., Dillbohner, C. Los Angeles: ICI Press. 2007: 306–330
- Hitler’s Face – The Biography of an Image Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 2006
- Adorno’s Schreker: Charting the Self-Dissolution of the Distant Sound Cambridge Opera Journal 2006; 18 (3): 247-271
- Half Necessity, Half Accident – Thinking the Abolition of Good Health Through Adorno’s Concept of Natural Histor Rethinking Marxism 2006; 18 (1): 141-151
- L’Homme Enfantée par l’ésprit de la violence – Frantz Fanon comme Revolutionnaire Les Temps Modernes 2005: 175-189
- Biographical Note on Jean Améry Wasafiri 2005; 48: 17-19
- The Birth of Man from the Spirit of Violence: Frantz Fanon the Revolutionary Wasafiri 2005: 11-17