Dr. David Wellbery

Professor

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Biography

David E. Wellbery is the LeRoy T. Margaret Deffenbaugh Carlson University Professor in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Chicago. He has taught at Stanford and Johns Hopkins and has been engaged in crucial debates regarding the conceptual foundations of the field, particularly hermeneutics and semiotics. He closely collaborates with colleagues in philosophy to address post-Kantian thought in his research. His current projects include exploring moral aesthetics and the philosophy of art as seen through figures like Goethe, Schiller, and the Romantics. Wellbery's work also critically intersects with modernist literature and philosophy, especially concerning pessimism stemming from thinkers like Schopenhauer. As a co-editor of Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte, he actively promotes the discourse of German scholarship and organizes scholarly events internationally. He has received multiple prestigious awards, including the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Prize and an honorary doctorate from the University of Konstanz. Wellbery is dedicated to mentoring doctoral students in their academic and professional journeys, ensuring they develop substantial intellectual portfolios for their careers in teaching and scholarship.

Research Interests

Awards

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Research Prize

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Jacob Wilhelm Grimm Prize

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Gold Medal

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Honorary Doctorate

Courses

Goethe’s Faust Modern Regime Art Hegel Cavell (with Robert Pippin) Narratology: Formalism/Structuralism, Cognitive Science, Philosophical Approaches Death and Afterlife: Figuring Limit Sentimentalism Romanticism Literature and Emotions: New Paradigm Nietzsche: Language, Tragedy, Culture Early Romanticism: Irony, Fragment, History Goethe’s Novels II, III Semiotics: Saussure, Pierce, Barthes, Eco Rhetoric: Ancient Models and Contemporary Transformations

Requirements for University of Chicago

Doctorate Program
Requirements
TOEFL
Listening
Required:26
Reading
Required:26
Writing
Required:26
Speaking
Required:26
Total
Required:104
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree Writing sample Candidate statement
Application Checklist
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  • Writing Sample
  • Application Fee
Specialization Notes

Department of Philosophy