2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Cambridge Undergraduate Conference in German Studies. On Saturday 1 March, we were delighted to welcome undergraduate speakers, school pupils and teachers to Cambridge from across the UK. The day was packed with exciting presentations and workshops, culminating in a keynote by culture journalist and researcher Aida Baghernejad.

This year’s theme was Recognition. At a time when questions of how we define identity, subjectivity, and community are at the centre of political discourse, the power to recognise—or not to do so—is the power to determine what belongs and what does not belong. This power has shaped our perception of reality and the actuality of our past. How do we recognise ourselves? What cultural value do we ascribe to this recognition, and are we actually what we recognise, or are we shaped according to an idea of what we should be? These questions are fundamental to individual, cultural, and national identities and can be applied to bygone periods just as easily as they can to the modern day.

The full programme can be found here.

Tausend Dank to the Conference Committee, co-chaired by Dr Mary Boyle and Dr Maria Roca Lizarazu, for organising this wonderful event, and to Dr Doriane Zerka and St Catherine's College for hosting it!