Matthias Rothe receives research award

Matthias Rothe has received a Talle Faculty Research Award for his project "Staging Economy--Critique through Presentation in Brecht's Theater."

Ginny Steinhagen awarded a professional development leave

Ginny Steinhagen, coordinator for Ger 1004 and the German College Schools Program, has been awarded a professional development leave for Spring 2016.

Charlotte Melin elected to ADFL Executive Committee

Charlotte Melin has been elected to the Executive Committee of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (ADFL), beginning her term in January 2016.

Anatoly Liberman elected Fellow of the Dictionary Society of North America

Anatoly Liberman has been elected Fellow of the Dictionary Society of North America.

Monika Žagar's novel published

Monika Žagar's literary debut Dva brata, trije svetovi (Two Brothers, Three Worlds) was published in August 2015 by Mladinska knjiga, the largest Slovenian publisher, to critical and popular acclaim. It tells the story of the Žagar family which owned a large thriving timber industry in the interwar period with premises in Rakek and Markovec in Yugoslavia and in Trieste, Italy. The family wealth survived the brutal WWII occupation only to be nationalized in 1946 by the new communist government. The novel focuses on the pre- and post-war relationship between two brothers, the older Line (the author's uncle) and the younger Franci, her father. Their allegiance became strained by their opposing ideological convictions: Line became a member of the underground Communist party in the thirties while Franci was a dedicated manager of the family business. Their pact - that Line would join the Resistance while Franci would retain some semblance of normal business under the Italian and then the German occupation - broke after the war when Line became part of the new government elite while Franci was pushed to the social margins as "the bourgeois industrialist" and "the enemy of the state." The novel avoids third-person narration and instead gives voice to various protagonists by exploring the fateful events from individual perspectives. As one critic writes: Monika Žagar wrote the story of her family from the human viewpoint and created a novel about a certain period, convincingly etched into personal stories." (Monika Žagar je napisala zgodbo o svoji družini s človeške plati in ustvarila roman o nekem času, prepričljivo odtisnjenem v osebne zgodbe. Pisave)

Moritz Meutzner awarded Joss Fellowship

Moritz Meutzner is the recipient of this year's Joss Fellowship from the Center for Jewish Studies. He will use the funds to support his research in Marbach, Germany, in summer 2016.

Anatoly Liberman’s Russian translation of Shakespeare's sonnets published

Anatoly Liberman’s Russian translation of all 154 sonnets by Shakespeare, Transliteration: Vil'iam Shekspir, Sonety. V perevodakh i s predisloviem Anatoliia Libermana. (William Shakespeare, Sonnets. Translated with an introduction by Anatoly Liberman) was recently published by one of the most prestigious publishers in Moscow, Iazyki slavianskikh kul'tur (The Languages of Slavic Cultures).

Karsten Olson receives dissertation fellowship

Karsten Olson has received a dissertation fellowship from the Mellon Consortium for the Study of the Premodern World for Spring 2016.

Ruth Ellen Joeres' new book publshed

Ruth Ellen Joeres has co-edited a new book, The Future of Scholarly Writing, which has been published by Palgrave Macmillan in September 2015.

Chris Burwick defends dissertation

Chris Burwick successfully defended his dissertation, entitled "An Exploration of Materiality in Josef Winkler's Narrative Structures," on September 11, 2015.

Two GSD professors participating in IAS Collaboratives

Two GSD professors are participating in Collaboratives through the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) for the 2015-16 year.

Brecht’s America: Rehearsing Failure

• Lisa Channer, Theatre Arts and Dance
• Matthias Rothe, German Scandinavian and Dutch

Environmental Humanities

• Charlotte Melin, German, Scandinavian and Dutch
• Daniel Philippon, English

Rüdiger Singer joins GSD as visiting DAAD Professor

A special welcome to Rüdiger Singer, who is with us as as a visiting DAAD Professor starting in Fall 2015.

Matthias Rothe promoted

Matthias Rothe has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.

Nichole Neuman accepts adjunct instructor position

Nichole Neuman has accepted the position of adjunct instructor of German in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of St. Thomas, starting in Fall 2015.

Abby Marino Featured in three German newspaper articles

GSD major Abby Marino has been featured in the Ostsee Zeitung and the Norddeutsche Neueste Nachrichten for her work completing an internship at the Warnemünde local history museum in Rostock, Germany.

Marino with a recently restored historical jacket at the
Heimatmuseum Warnemünde in Rostock, Germany

Amerikanische Studentin hilft im Heimatmuseum
(American student helps the local museum)
Ostsee Zeitung
June 12, 2015
Read as a PDF

Restauriert: Das Jäckchen ist jetzt fertig
(Restored: The Jacket is now ready)
Norddeutsche Neueste Nachrichten
June 21, 2015
Read as a PDF

 Warnemünder Kapitäne im 19. Jahrhundert
(Warnemünde captains in the 19th century)
Ostsee Zeitung
July 4, 2015
Read as a PDF

Kiley Kost wins GSD’s Graduate Teaching Award

Kiley Kost has won GSD’s Graduate Teaching Award for excellence in teaching in the 2014-15 academic year.

Language Department Alumni Reunion 2015

On Saturday morning, April 25, 174 alumni from the Departments of German, Scandinavian & Dutch, French & Italian, and Spanish & Portuguese came to the beautifully remodeled Folwell Hall to enjoy the company of faculty, staff, and new or old friends. They gathered on the fourth floor for coffee and pastries, voted for the best student photographs from the past year's study abroad experiences, and donned "conversation pins" to facilitate discussions of how their language studies have enriched and informed their lives. Everyone then went to the first floor to participate in three mini-class sessions, choosing from the following seventeen mini-classes, taught by a mix of faculty, students, and alumni:

Session A

• Teaching Abroad - the Benefits and Challenges
• Regions of France
• Language Learning Outside the Classroom
• Finnish Origins: Linguistics & Genetics
• Danger in Francophone Africa
• Convivencia in Medieval Iberia

Daniel Karvonen's Mini-Class "Finnish Origins: Linguistics & Genetics"

Session B

• Saints and Soldiers in Medieval France
• The Historic Cultural Phenomenon of the Cuban Rumba
• Language Leaning Assumptions
• Growing Anti-Semitism in Europe
• Divine Decadance: Berlin in the Roaring '20s
• U.S. Latino Theater

Rick McCormick's Mini-Class "Divine Decadence: Berlin in the Roaring ‘20s"

Session C

• 25 Years After the Wall
• Only in Italy: Events not to be Missed
• Food, Energy & Politics in Germany
• World Cafe: Contemporary Language Evolution & Impact of New Technologies
• Latino Immigration

Post-It Notes from the Mini-Class "World Cafe:
Contemporary Language Evolution & Impact of New Technologies"

Here is what some of the alumni have said about their experience at the reunion:

“The Alumni Reunion held on April 25th was fantastic! It was a great opportunity to reunite with old friends and meet new ones with a common interest in European languages. It was also nice to meet students in an environment where alumni could share their experience and application of language skills outside of academia to assure students that there are opportunities in the business world for language grads. In addition, the workshops provided a great way for alumni to get a taste of the classroom experience after so many years away from school."

- Blaine Bos
B.A. 1976, History and Dutch
Vice President, Health Care Modernization at Optum

“The Language Reunion was an excellent way to return to campus, learn what current students are doing, connect with friends, and network with like-minded language grads. I particularly enjoyed the thoughtfully planned mini-sessions that covered everything from culture, food and travel, to current events and politics. And, for an early Saturday morning start, the coffee was extra black and strong – fitting for the euro-minded crowd! I hope there are other similar events in the future.”

- Eric Brotten
B.A. 2003, German and Economics
Vice President, Global Health Products & Solutions at Optum International

"The reunion was a great opportunity to come back to campus and revisit our classrooms and professors. I felt like I was in college again! I look forward to attending this event again in years to come."

- Hannah Guenveur
B.A. 2010, German and Global Studies
Associate Business Systems Analyst - HR at Ecolab

"It was truly a joy to return to the halls of Folwell, bond with fellow alumni, and best of all, listen to language department professors share their expertise without having to worry about taking a test at the end!"

- John Vaughan
B.A. 2011, German
B.S. 2011, Finance and International Business
Consultant at Deloitte Consulting

“The Language Alumni Reunion was fantastic. Returning to Folwell Hall after two decades really opened my eyes to how far I had come since graduating. As a senior about to graduate in 1994, the question I heard most often was: "A degree in Scandinavian Languages? What are you going to do with that?" At that time, I honestly didn't know and was quite nervous about my prospects, as well. The worry proved to be needless. Twenty years later, I am a successful language professional and the reunion brought together nearly two hundred other language alumni who have succeeded in many industries and professions with their language degrees.

“The format of the reunion made it easy to connect with other attendees. Sitting in the newly renovated classrooms for the mini-courses was a thrill. There was definitely a nostalgic quality about taking a seat in Folwell Hall for a course with the some of the same instructors I had twenty years ago. At the same time, it was fresh and fun. I hope the reunion can become a regular event for language alumni in the future, perhaps even in an expanded format.”

- Kyle Vraa
B.A. 1994, Scandinavian Languages
Owner, Vraa Translation

Photos from the event
Event program

New website highlights student work from Ger 3610

A new website has been launched to highlight student work from DAAD Prof. Hilde Hoffmann's Spring 2014 German course "Pleasure & Distraction: Urban Entertainment Culture around 1900."

The first part of the undergraduate seminar focused on the cultural history of European metropolises near the turn of the century (1880-1930) through works from theorists including Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Krakauer, and Georg Simmel.

In the second part of the seminar, the class explored historic spaces of distraction in the Twin Cities in weekly field trips. Students presented their research papers on site.

The class learned a lot about Minneapolis and St Paul, culture theory, modernity, capitalism, and art.

Hover over the images at the top of the homepage to trace where the students located their projects and read more about their research.

"Pleasure & Distraction" Homepage

Moritz Meutzner awarded research support from Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach

Moritz Meutzner has received a stipend from the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach (the German Literature Archive in Marbach) to support his research on German-Jewish exile in Turkey in Summer 2015.

Chris Burwick accepts visiting lecturer position

Chris Burwick has accepted a position as a visiting lecturer at Scripps College for the academic year 2015-16.