Finn Shepherd

Area(s) of Study: Sociolinguistics, language variation and change, language contact

Pronouns: he/him/his

About:I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+. I received my Master of Arts in May 2023 from UW-Madison, and my Bachelor of Arts in May 2019 from Guilford College (Greensboro, NC). My current research interests encompass language contact, Jugendsprache/Gen Z language, code-switching, and the influence of English in German and Dutch. My dissertation is titled “Multilingual Creativity through Memes on German and Dutch Subreddits,” and examines two subreddits and contact with English.

Website: https://sites.google.com/wisc.edu/finnshepherd/home

Education:

• MA in German Studies, UW-Madison (2023)
• BA in German Studies and BA in Psychology, Guilford College (2019)

Courses Taught:

• GERMAN 101/401 – First Semester German (Fall 2021, Summer 2022, Fall 2022, and Spring 2023)
• GERMAN 102/402 – Second Semester German (Fall 2025 and Spring 2026)
• GERMAN 203/403 – Third Semester German (Fall 2023, Fall 2024, and Spring 2025)
• GERMAN 112/312 – Second Semester Dutch (Spring 2024)
• LITTRANS/FOLKLORE 327 – Vampires (Summer 2024 and Summer 2025)

Awards:

• Peer Course Facilitator (Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, and Spring 2026)
• FLAS Fellowship, Center for European Studies, UW-Madison (Summer 2023)
• Graduate School Fellowship, UW-Madison (Spring 2022)
• Hege Library Research Award Scholar, Guilford College (2019)

Organizational Membership:

• German and Dutch Graduate Student Association (GDGSA):
  • Secretary (2025–2026)
  • Dutch Committee Co-Chair (2023–2026)
  • Undergraduate Committee Co-Chair (2024–2026)
  • Recruitment and Orientation Committee Co-Chair (2025–2026)
• American Association for Netherlandic Studies (AANS): Member (2025–present)
• American Association for Teachers of German: Member (2026–present)