Entrance to Bergkelder

Rainer Kussler

Author and co-author of books on German literature and didactics
Emeritus Professor of German, Department of Modern Foreign Languages, Stellenbosch University
Initiator and supervisor of the MPhil-programme in Hypermedia for Language Learning at Stellenbosch University.

Helmut Rainer Kussler was born on 3 November 1943, at Idar-Oberstein, Germany. He emigrated to South West Africa in 1954 and studied German, Latin, Afrikaans-Dutch, English and History at Stellenbosch University, 1963-1969 (BA 1965, BA hons and MA in German, all cum laude and D Litt 1969: Das Abschiedsmotiv in der deutschen Lyrik des 20. Jahrhunderts).
He was a teacher in German, Afrikaans and History at the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule in Windhoek, 1967 – 1968, and joined Stellenbosch University as a lecturer in German in 1969. He became a senior lecturer in 1971, professor in 1973 and was head of the department (1998 - 2001). He was DAAD-Comenius Professor in German as a Foreign Language at the University of Kassel (1.4.2002 - 31.3.2004)
He served as professor of German at Stellenbosch University from 1973 - 2004
Rainer Kussler is a member of various professional associations and was President of the Southern African Society for German Studies [SAGV] (1983 - 1985, 1997 - 2001)
Editorial Boards: Acta Germanica. Jahrbuch des Germanistenverbandes im Südlichen Africa (editor: 1975-1977, co-editor: 1977-1984); C.A.L.L. Journal (2003 -); Deutschunterricht im Südlichen Afrika (editor: 1975, co-editor: 1981-1984); Per Linguam. Journal of Language Learning (1993 -). He is the author and co-author of various books, anthologies, computer programmes and a German language course as well as of numerous articles on German language, literature, foreign language instruction and computer assisted language learning.
Shortly after his retirement in 2004, he was honoured with a Festschrift:Deutsch als Herausforderung. Fremdsprachenunterricht und Literatur in Forschung und Lehre. Festschrift fŸr Rainer Kussler (ed. Rolf Annas), Sun Press, Stellenbosch 2004
Rainer Kussler is married to Dagmar, née Otto, and they have a daughter, Anja.

Hobbies: Reading, Music, Cooking, Computing, Playing Skat
Favourite books: Uwe Timm's Morenga, Rilke, Benn

Textbuch Lyrik. Eine rückläufige Anthologie deutscher Gedichte von der Gegenwart bis zur Renaissance, Hueber, 1978 (Ed.)
Textbuch Lyrik. Glossar Deutsch - Englisch, Hueber, 1979
Textbuch Lyrik. Glossar Deutsch - Afrikaans, Hueber, 1979
Deutsche Lyrik als fremde Lyrik. Zur Behandlung lyrischer Texte im fremdsprachlichen Deutschunterricht, Hueber, 1981
Deutsch ZA 6&7 (with S. Skorge und R. Rode), Maskew Miller Longman, 1984
Deutsch ZA 6 & 7: Lehrerhandbuch (with R. Rode, S. Skorge und K. Chubb), Maskew Miller Longman, 1986
Deutsch ZA 8 (with S. Skorge und R. Rode), Maskew Miller Longman, 1986
Textbuch Kurzprosa. Eine rückläufige Anthologie von der Gegenwart bis zur Aufklärung, Maskew Miller Longman, 1993 (Ed.)
Published software:
Landeskunde PC. Eine elektronischer Studienbegleiter für das Fach Deutsch als Fremdsprache [educational software], INTER NATIONES 1997
Landeskunde PC Web. [educational website] (with Jeanne Fehrsen and Renate du Toit), INTER NATIONES 2000 [ http://www.goethe.de/in/d/frames/schulen/lkpc/index.htm ]