Nach dem Deutschstudium in Afrika wird man – was? Eine Überprüfung der Zielsetzungen der Deutschabteilung der Universität Lomé anhand einer Verbleibstudie

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation of the value of German Studies in eventual employment ofstudents in this field. The objectives of German Studies in Africa have to include an indication of howinclusion in the curriculum is legitimized. Three approaches towards legitimization have developedsince the establishment of German Departments at African Universities, namely (i) German Studieswith a view to research and epistemological science, (ii) German in intercultural studies, and (iii)career-oriented German language learning. In this paper the implementation of these approaches willbe examined on the basis of the objectives set out by the German Department at the University ofLomé. This will be done by discussing the results of a survey on the professional whereabouts ofTogolese German Studies graduates to demonstrate the extent to which the objectives of the variousapproaches have been met. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findingsfor the programmes of the German Department at the University of Lomé.