Martin Lehnert Prize
The Martin Lehnert Prize, donated by the former president of the German Shakespeare Society, honours students and young academics who have made outstanding contributions to the research on Shakespeare’s works and their reception, his contemporaries, or on Shakespearean culture, its reception and proliferation.
The award ceremony of the Martin Lehnert Prize takes place at the spring conference of the German Shakespeare Society in April.
About Martin Lehnert (1910-1992)
Martin Lehnert was president and since 1985 honorary president of the German Shakespeare Society. He studied at the Universität Berlin and taught at the English Seminar after finishing his degree. From 1948-1951, he was professor in Greifswald and followed a call to the Humboldt-Universität in 1951. As the holder of the Chair of English Studies, he led multi-year working groups on English linguistics and on the training of future Anglicists throughout the entire country. As institute director, head of the department, and finally dean (1957–1961), he soon became a full member of the German Academy of Sciences (1961).
Lehnert’s work in Weimar and his connection with Stratford-upon-Avon were matters close to his heart. He left a donation to support student work on Shakespeare, which will continue to accompany us into the future and thus keep his name alive among us.
Call for nominations
The prize is awarded annually for an outstanding final thesis (Magister, Master’s, or State Examination thesis), a dissertation, or a documented student project (such as a theatre production, exhibition, etc.). The prize money amounts to €2,000 for a dissertation, €500 for a final thesis, and €500 for a student project. The award is primarily aimed at the fields of English Studies, German Studies, and Theatre Studies.
Eligible for nomination are works written in German or English that have been completed or submitted at universities in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. Works produced at universities outside the German-speaking world by early-career scholars from Germany, Austria, or Switzerland may also generally be nominated. The academic supervisors of the respective works are entitled to submit nominations.
Nominated works (from the current year or the two preceding years) may be submitted in two copies, together with an evaluation report, to the German Shakespeare Society by 15 December.
Deutsche Shakespeare-Gesellschaft e.V.
Windischenstraße 4-6
99423 Weimar
office@shakespeare-gesellschaft.de
The Martin Lehnert Prize is awarded by a jury consisting of the following members:
Prof. Felix Sprang, Siegen (Vorsitzender)
Dr. Bettina Boecker, München
Prof. Peter Marx, Köln
Dr. Vanessa Schormann, Neuss