Professor Katrin Kohl
Researcher, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages
Professor Katrin Kohl's research spans German literature from the 18th to the 21st century, as well as the field of cognitive linguistics, focusing on the theory and practice of metaphor as a phenomenon that mediates between thought and language and enables us to conceptualize abstract ideas in concrete terms.
About
Professor Katrin Kohl's research focuses on literature and cultural politics in the 18th and 20th/21st centuries. She is currently working on an edition of the poetic correspondence between Rainer Maria Rilke and Erika Mitterer. Other research interests include the Prussian king Frederick the Great; the work of the 18th century poet F G Klopstock; the work of holocaust survivor H G Adler; and the theory and practice of metaphor. She is also interested in the teaching of languages.
Professor Kohl is a qualified TEFL teacher and co-author of German grammar books for learners. In 2012, she set up the Oxford German Network to inspire interest in German culture and language in UK schools. She received the German Ambassador's German-British Friendship Award - Network Champion for German in 2015.
Expertise
- German literature and culture from the 18th to the 21st century
- Theory and practice of metaphor
- Advocacy for German language and culture in the UK
- German language teaching
Selected publications
- Kafka. Making of an Icon, Katrin Kohl with Carolin Duttlinger et al. (Bodleian, 2024)
- Rainer Maria Rilke / Erika Mitterer, Besitzlose Liebe. Der poetische Briefwechsel (Insel, 2018)
- Andere Wege. Gesammelte Gedichte, H.G. Adler, (Drava, 2010)
- Creative Multilingualism. A Manifesto, Katrin Kohl with Rajinder Dudrah et al. (Open Book, 2020)
- Modern Languages: Why it matters (Polity, 2020)
- Babel: Adventures in Translation, Katrin Kohl with Dennis Duncan et al.(Bodleian Library 2019)
- Poetologische Metaphern. Formen und Funktionen in der deutschen Literatur (de Gruyter, 2007)
- Metapher (Metzler, 2007)
- Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (Metzler, 2000)
- Friendship, Love and Loss in the Poetry of Else Lasker-Schüler (1869-1945) (2013)
- Hero or Villain? The Response of German Authors to Frederick the Great (2012)
Media experience
Professor Kohl has experience of both print and broadcast media.
Recent media work
- Which language would ease our way in the post-Brexit world? (The Guardian, 2017)
- Are languages useful in business? (City AM, 2015)
- The seven big language learning issues facing the UK (The Guardian, 2015)
- Most language students unable to do more than understand basic phrases (The Guardian, 2014)
- Are curriculum changes enough to get young people hooked on languages? (The Guardian, 2014)