Associate Professor of German
University of Toronto

Education

Background

  • I am an award-winning educator, offering courses in German literature, language, and theatre.

  • I earned my MA from the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (1996) and my PhD from The Ohio State University (2004), where I wrote my dissertation on the history of Turkish-German theatre and political cabaret.

  • My teaching experience spans several institutions, including the Freie Universität Berlin, the University of New Mexico, and the Goethe-Institut in Thessaloniki, Greece.

  • Since 2006, I’ve been teaching at the University of Toronto. As Associate Chair (2007–2012 & 2017–2022), I played a key role in shaping the department’s undergraduate program.

    Check out my Professional UofT Website.

Interests

  • Turkish-German Culture: My core focus is Turkish-German culture, especially literature and theatre. I regularly teach courses on the subject.

  • Drama in Education: Theatre has long been central to my work—on stage and in the classroom. I’ve directed and performed in numerous productions, founded Characters in Company and the comedy trio Kurzform in Würzburg, and established Theater DU (German Theatre Toronto), where I continue to explore drama as a form of teaching and expression.

  • Vampires Like Us: Long before they sparkled, I wrote my MA thesis on vampires in literature. Since then, I’ve been offering the course Our Vampires, Ourselves (inspired by Nina Auerbach), inviting students to reflect on cultural fears, desires—and their inner vampire.

Monograph

Die Geschichte des türkisch deutschen Theaters und Kabaretts - Vier Jahrzehnte Migrantenbühne in der Bundesrepublik, 1961-2004 (Bielefeld: transcript, 2022)

Book Reviews:

„[Es handelt sich] um ein grundlegendes Werk für die Dokumentation und kulturwissenschaftliche Aufarbeitung der ersten vier Jahrzehnte des türkisch-deutschen Theaters und Kabaretts und damit um einen wichtigen Beitrag zur deutschen Theatergeschichtsschreibung“ [Jörg Esleben (Univ. of Ottawa) in Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies 60-4 (Univ. of Toronto, Nov. 2024), pp. 417-418.]

“In seiner Monografie beleuchtet Boran die vierzigjährige Geschichte des türkisch-deutschen Theaters und Kabaretts chronologisch in allen Facetten und analysiert sie in Bezug auf das zeitgeschichtliche Geschehen. Dadurch gelingt es ihm, eine lesenswerte und verständliche Monografie zu verfassen, die dem Leser, gleich welcher Herkunft, auf eine intensive türkisch-deutsche Reise schickt.“ [Hasibe Kalkan (Univ. of Istanbul) in Brecht-Jahrbuch 49 (Camden House 2024), pp. 310-314.]

In Interviews & Articles