Northern Illinois University
World Languages and Cultures
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Originally, I was headed towards the study and a career in the field of science or medicine, but I eventually became sidetracked (or seduced) into the study of German and literature, in large part due to a month-long stay in Nuernberg, Germany in 1973, and also due to my love of classical music and interest in history and philosophy. Although teaching a foreign language at a college is not as lucrative a profession as being a doctor of medicine, I do not regret the path I took, and I especially enjoy teaching courses in which, while teaching the German language: I can introduce students to great literature, music and even art that they might otherwise not become aware of. I am quite interested in the use of new technologies, and I look forward to employing them in order to make the study of the German language and culture more interesting and rewarding. Who knows, maybe I can get students to take an interest in Schubert's Lieder, and beyond just his Erlkoenig! 

Publications

Wezel, Johann Karl. From Religious Pessimism to Anthropological Skepticism. Peter Lang: New York, 1999.

Education

• Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1990
• B.A., University of Texas at Austin, 1985
• B.A., University of Kansas, 1978