1st year and 2nd year German; Germanic Myth, Legends, and Fairy Tales; German Fascism and Propaganda
Office: Moore Hall 486
Email: katinka@hawaii.edu
Katinka Hammerich is an experienced educator with a strong interest in German language, literature, and culture. She holds an M.A. in European Languages and Literatures with an emphasis in German from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, as well as an MSW. She also holds a License in Clinical Social Work. She has studied at several universities in Germany, including Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Universität zu Köln, and Universität Heidelberg. Hammerich has developed and taught a wide range of courses on German language, literature, and culture, including German Opera and Literature; Business German; German Fascism and Propaganda; Death and Dying in Literature and Film; and Germanic Myth, Legends, and Fairy Tales: Gods, Heroes, and Dragons, as well as World Mythology.
Hammerich espouses a teaching philosophy that centers around the student and emphasizes critical thinking through self-reflection, group discussion, and reading, with the ultimate goal of creating a transformative learning experience. She contends that education should equip students to tackle intricate social issues and cultivate an acute awareness of their values, interests, and aptitudes. In pursuit of this objective, Hammerich is committed to interdisciplinary studies, cross-cultural perspectives, and active learning. She posits that language acquisition nurtures critical thinking and cross-cultural engagement, compelling learners to fundamentally reconsider their modes of communication and interaction with others. Katinka Hammerich’s research interests include death education, intergenerational trauma, the Holocaust, Germanic mythology and religion; Old Norse literature; trans-languaging, discourse analysis, and “The University of Hawai‘i as a Hawaiian place of learning.” Service:
Katinka Hammerich is the outreach coordinator for German and is also the coordinator for German 101-102. She facilitates German language placement exams and second language requirement waiver exams for Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish. She is also the faculty advisor for Delta Phi Alpha, the National German Honor Society.