The focus of his academic work lies in the interplay of literature, politics and religion during the German Empire, Nazi Germany and beyond.
He studied German, history, philosophy and politics at University of Tübingen and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), where he passed the Staatsexamen during the winter semester of 1965/66.
degree fromf LMU and spent the next two years as a lecturer.
Following a habilitation about the more recent history of German literature, Klaus Vondung was appointed a professor of German studies and literature at the University of Siegen in 1976, a post which he held until becoming an emeritus in 2006.
Other scientific projects headed by him include "Turn of the millennium: Fears and Visions" (1998–2000, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation) and "Mysticism and Modernity" (as part of the larger "Key Issues of the Geisteswissenschaften").