Episode 4: Oktoberfest

Humanities Viewpoints

When I say the word Oktoberfest, you might immediately think of oompah bands, lederhosen, and, of course, beer. But what is the history of this event, and how might our vision of this celebration be influenced by an American appropriation of the festival?
My guest today, Dr. Grant McAllister, Associate Professor of German and Chair of the German & Russian Department at Wake Forest University, discusses the historical roots of Oktoberfest, the ways in which it has changed and been Americanized and how that may have influenced the way it is celebrated in Germany today.
Dr. McAllister received his PhD in 2001 from the University of Utah and began teaching at Wake Forest shortly thereafter.
His primary research interests focus on eighteenth and nineteenth century literature, with specific emphasis on Heinrich von Kleist, early Romantic aesthetic and philosophical theory, and questions of gender and the formation of the subject. He has written and presented papers on Romanticism, Kleist, Lessing and Lola Rennt. He is currently working on an article on Luise Gottsched and has started his next book project on transcribing and analyzing 18th century Moravian odes and birthday poems.