Long Bio
John Alexander was born in Hastings, New Zealand in 1946. He lived in Havelock North and Tauranga before moving to the U.S. in 1964. He received a bachelor's, magna cum laude, from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1966; a master's (1968) and doctorate (1974) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Alexander studied as a Humboldt Fellow at the TU-Berlin in 1975-76, after accepting a position as an assistant professor of German at Arizona State University. He was promoted to full professor in 1986. He has been married to Terri Ann Rusk R.N. since 2000.
Education
- Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison 1974
- M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison 1968
- B.A. Magna Cum Laude, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota 1966
Research Interests
Research interests in European (mainly German) drama and theatre of the early modern period have resulted in 3 books as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Other interests include German(ic) fairy tales and mythology.
Publications
- Robert J. Alexander. Ridentum dicere verum (Using Laughter to Speak the Truth): Laughter and the Language of the Early Modern Clown "Pickelhering" in German Literature of the Late Seventeenth Century (1675-1700). Laughter in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times: Epistemology of a Fundamental Human Behavior, its Meaning and Consequences (2010).
- John Alexander. Will Kemp, Thomas Sacheville and Pickelhering: A Consanguinity and Confluence of Three Early Modern Clown Figures. Daphnis, Zeitschrift für Mittlere deutsche Literatur und Kultur der Frühen Neuzeit (1400-1750) (2007).
- Robert Alexander. Jean Potage: Shedding Light on the French Connection of an Early Modern Clown Persona. Germanisch-romanische Monatsschrift (2007).
- Alexander, Robert John (Author) . Early Modern Drama, 1400-1700. Early Modern German Literature 1350-1700 (2007).
- Robert Alexander. The Dutch Connection: On the Social Origins of the Pickelhering. Neophilologus (2003).
- Robert Alexander. The Language of the Pickelhering. Germanisch-romanische Monatshefte (2002).
Presentations
- John Alexander. Querlequitsch or Dystopia as the locus risus in the Early Modern Plays of Christian Weise. Laughter in the Middle Ages and The Early Modern Ages. 7th International Symposium, Tucson, AZ (May 2009).
- Alexander, Robert. Jean Potage: Shedding Light on the French Connection of an Early Modern German Clown Persona. RMMLA Tucson (Oct 2006).
- Alexander, Robert. Pickelhering and Jean Potage: The Genesis and Evolution of Two Early Modern Clown Personas. Invited Lecture (Jun 2006).
- Alexander, Robert. Pickelhering: The Genesis and Evolution of an Early Modern Clown Persona. SELL Research Seminar Series, Auckland University (Jun 2006).
- Alexander, Robert. Christoph Kormart's Timocrates and the Pickelhering. ACMRS Conference (Feb 2004).
- Alexander, Robert. Pickelhering: Transcultural Intersections in German Drama of the Seventeenth Century. Building Bridges: International Conference on Transcultural German Studies
- Alexander, Robert. The Transference of Humor: Shakespeare's Clown Will Kemp and Pickelhering. SGRABL/MLA
Service
- German Subsection, Coordinator of Meetings (2011 - Present)
- German Graduate Committee, Member (2011 - Present)
- Honors College, German Representative (2011 - Present)
- German Section, Coordinator for meetings, schedules etc. (2010 - Present)
- High School Fair, Judge (2010 - Present)
- German Graduate Committee, member (2008 - Present)
- Tempe Sister City Organization, liaison from ASU (2007 - Present)
- Regensburg Summer Session 2008, Director (2007 - Present)
- Honors College, Honors Disciplinary Advisor for German (2006 - Present)
- American Association of Teachers of German, Arizona Chapter, Treasurer (2005 - Present)
- University Fulbright Committees for Western Europe and Australasia, Member (2011 - 2014)
- American Association of Teachers of German, Treasurer (2010 - 2013)
- Regensburg Summer Program, Director (2010 - 2013)
- American Association of Teachers of German, Arizona Chapter, Treasurer (2009 - 2012)
- German Search Committee, Member (2012 - 2012)
- SILC Graduate Committee, member (2010 - 2011)
- Regensburg Summer Program, Director (2009 - 2011)
- German Graduate Committee, Graduate Director (2010 - 2011)
- Honors College, German representative (2009 - 2011)
- German Graduate Committee, Member (2009 - 2010)
- University Fulbright Committee, Member for Western European applications (2010 - 2010)
- University Fulbright Committee, Member (2009 - 2010)
- Committee for Eugene Zimmerman Scholarship, Chair (2005 - 2010)
- Honors College, Honors Disciplinary Advisor for German (2009 - 2009)
- Regensburg Summer Program, Director (2008 - 2009)
- High School Fair, Judge (2009 - 2009)
- ACRES Course Equivalency, evaluator (2008 - 2008)
- Fulbright Committee, Review applications and interview and evaluate candidates (2008 - 2008)
- Peer evaluation, evaluator (2008 - 2008)
- Classics Search Committee (Greek), member of committee (2007 - 2007)
- Personnel Committee, Chair and then member (2007 - 2007)
- Regensburg Summer Session 2007, Director (2006 - 2007)
- DLL Personnel Committee, Chair (2005 - 2007)
- Mexican-American Search Committee, member (2006 - 2007)
- Fulbright, Member of West European Subcommittee (2005 - 2006)
- Fulbright Committee, Western Europe Subcommittee, Reading applications, interviewing applicants and making suggestions (2006 - 2006)
- Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, Member (2002 - 2005)
- German Section, Advisor and Recruitor (2004 - 2004)
- Secondary Education, Liaison for German and application evaluator (2004 - 2004)
- Curriculum Committee, Member (2003 - 2004)
- Personnel Committee, Member (2003 - 2004)
- Dean's Quality of Undergraduate Education Committee, Member (2001 - 2004)
- Fulbright Committee, West European subcommittee application evaluator (2004)
- German Section, Graduate Director (2004 - 2004)
- IPO, Language credential evaluator (2004 - 2004)
- German Section, Coordinator (2004 - 2004)
- Undergraduate Quality of Instructor Committee, Member (2004 - 2004)
- AATG, Event organizer (2003)
- Desert Clarion, Contributor (2003)
- German Graduate Committee, Member (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Sponsor (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Advising and recuiting (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Coordinator (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Corrector (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Evaluator (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Liaison (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Organizer and writer (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Part coordinator (2003)
- German and Scandinavian Studies Section, Webmaster (2003)
- Quality of Undergraduate Instruction, Member, chair of subcommittee (2003)
- University Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, Member (2003)