The Remak papers span the years 1914-2010, with the bulk dates being 1965-1998. The collection is organized into six series: Administrative; Teaching; Research and publications; Professional activities; Correspondence; and Chronological files. The Administrative series is further organized into the following sub-series: Indiana University Department of German; Chairman of West European Studies; Director of German Summer School at Middlebury College; and Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties. Sub-Series for the Teaching files are as follows: Advising; Course materials; General; MA and PhD Committees; and Students. The Research and Publications series is divided into the following: Articles; Book review; Books and monographs; Chapters and essays in books; Conferences, Meetings and symposia; Editorial positions; and Presentations. Lastly, the Professional activities series is also divided into sub-series: Associations; Biographical information; Committees; and General. Within each series and subseries, files are arranged alphabetically. Multiple files on the same topic are arranged in ascending chronological order.

There are a large number of restricted records in this collection, primarily consisting of letters of recommendation, evaluations, etc. These records are physically located at the end of the collection and because there are so many (approximately 13 cubic feet), they were also listed at the end of the folder list, rather than within the intellectual organization of the collection.

The first series, Administrative files (1949-1998) contains documents related to Remak's various academic administrative positions held at IU and elsewhere. The Administrative series is further organized into the following sub-series: Indiana University Department of German; Chairman of West European Studies; Director of German Summer School at Middlebury College; and Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Faculties.

The first Administrative sub-series, Indiana University Department of German (1954-1994), primarily consists of handwritten notes and typed evaluations of graduate student instructors written while Remak was the director of teaching assistants for the Department of German. The second Administrative sub-series, Chairman of West European Studies (1966-1970), contains materials documenting the beginning of West European Studies (WEST) as an official program at IU. As co-founder of WEST, Remak was an instrumental part of that process. The third Administrative sub-series, Director of Middlebury College (1968-1971), is comprised primarily of correspondence and course materials related to Remak's position as Director of the German Language program at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. The fourth Administrative sub-series, Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties (1967-1976), consists almost entirely of correspondence. Because there is such a small volume of records on each of these administrative roles, the decision was made to retain these files in this collection, rather than separate them into a distinct administrative records collection.

The second series, Teaching (1947-2005), contains materials specifically related to Remak's many years teaching at IU for the Department of German, Comparative Literature, West European Studies, and the Honors Division. Sub-Series for the Teaching files are as follows: Advising; Course Materials; General; MA and PhD Committees; and Students.

The first Teaching sub-series, Advising (1983-1987), relates to Remak's stint as an undergraduate advisor, member of the Graduate Advisory Committee, and the Faculty Advocate Program. Materials contained within include: schedules, notes on meetings with students, and student information. The second Teaching sub-series, Course Materials (1947-2005), contains a wide range of syllabi, lecture notes, class assignments, worksheets, and other materials used for teaching specific courses in the Departments of German, Comparative Literature, West European Studies, and the Honors Division. The third Teaching sub-series, General (1955-2003), consists of materials pertaining to Remak's teaching duties but which are not related to a specific course such as documents on Remak's teaching philosophy and ideas for improving undergraduate teaching. Also included in this sub-series are correspondence, schedules, and lecture notes that relate to Remak's various visiting professorships. The fourth Teaching sub-series, MA/PhD Committees (1961-1998), is made up of materials relevant to Remak's position as a member of various MA and PhD committees. Materials include correspondence between Remak and his students, correspondence between Remak and fellow committee members, critical comments and evaluations on theses and dissertations, and results of MA and PhD qualifying examinations. The fifth Teaching sub-series, Students (1956-2005), contains Remak's correspondence with a great number of former undergraduate and graduate students, as well as student papers, autobiographies, and recommendation letters written by Remak. Please note that a high number of files in the MA/PhD Committees and Students sub-series are restricted.

The third series, Research and Publications (1933-2010), relates to Remak's scholarly activities and, as such, contain a rich variety of drafts, research notes, newspaper clippings, and correspondence that are illustrative of Remak's prolific scholarly output. The series is further organized into the following sub-series: Articles; Book Review; Books and Monographs; Chapters and Essays in Books; Conferences, Meetings and Symposia; Editorials; and Presentations.

The Articles sub-series (1939-2003), the Book Reviews sub-series (1941-2000), the Books and Monographs sub-series (1954-2008), and the Chapters and Essays in Books (1935-2003) are all comprised of drafts and final copies of Remak's scholarly publications in these genres. These publications reflect Remak&s areas of professional interest in the modern German novel and novella; Thomas Mann; Goethe; Fontane; the history and principles of Comparative Literature as a discipline; Franco-German literary and cultural relations; European Romanticism; German and European Realism; Jean Monnet; student movements and countercultures of the 1960s and 1970s; and teaching and teacher training; among other topics.

The Conferences, Meetings and Symposia sub-series (1961-2002) includes schedules, programs, travel plans, correspondence and other documents detailing various professional gatherings that Remak attended as a participant, or in some cases helped to organize at IU or elsewhere. The editorial sub-series (1961-2001) consists of evaluations and drafts of articles, as well as correspondence between Remak and other members of editorial boards of which he was apart. Materials in this sub-series reflect Remak's role as an editor or peer reviewer for the following journals: Yearbook of Comparative and General Literature, Literary Research, Neohelicon, PMLA, The German Quarterly and Dedalus. Remak also consulted as a German Editor for textbooks at the Ginn/Blaisell/Xerox/Wiley Companies from 1962 to the 1980s. Presentations (1937-2002) is the final sub-series in the Research and Publications series. This sub-series is comprised of professional lectures, speeches, and conference presentations related to Remak's scholarly interests. Also included are eulogies and memorial speeches for colleagues.

The fourth series, Professional Activities (1914-2002) includes documents pertaining to Remak's academic service to the university and to his fields of study. The Professional Activities series is also divided into sub-series: Associations; Biographical Information; Committees; and General.

The first sub-series, Associations (1953-2001), consists mainly of correspondence, reports, applications, and meeting minutes from a variety of professional associations of which Remak was a member or a consultant. The second sub-series, Biographical Information (1939-2001), reflects Remak's personal life and achievements. As such it contains faculty summary reports, awards received, and creative writing. The Committees sub-series (1950-2004) mainly includes meeting minutes, reports, and correspondence pertaining to various committees that Remak was a member of at IU and elsewhere. The final sub-series for the Professional Activities series is General (1914-2002), which consists primarily of correspondence between Remak and his colleagues pertaining to university events and functions or promotions. The sub-series also contains recommendation letters written for colleagues, which have been restricted.

The fifth series, Correspondence (1968-2004), contains both personal and professional correspondence, while the sixth and final series, Chronological files (1930-2005) consists of material that were loose and unsorted upon arrival to the IU Archives. As such, documents are arranged in ascending chronological order by decade and in some cases by year.