Iris Bork-Goldfield

Newer and Newest German Cinema

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Film Studies & German Studies will kick off their annual film series with Christian Petzold’s enigmatic thriller, Yella (2007). It  “offers a surreal X-ray vision of cutthroat capitalism in 21st-century Germany.”  – Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Powell Family Cinema, CFS, Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 7 p.m., with an introduction by Leo Lensing

We will continue our series in March with Maren Ade’s comedy drama, Everyone Else (2009).   “…watching the film is to watch the emergence of a very particular and potentially galvanic cinematic talent.” – Glenn Kenney, The Los Angeles Times

Powell Family Cinema, CFS, Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 7 p.m., with an introduction by Katja Straub

 

The Baader Meinhof Complex – German movie night

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The German department will show Uli Edel’s film The Baader Meinhof Complex (with English subtitles) on Monday, November 28, at 7:00 p.m., in Fisk 210. The film is based on Stefan Aust’s book of the same title. Prof. Leo Lensing will give an introduction to this thought-provoking film.

Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the yet fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation lead by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past. Their aim is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spread terror and bloodshed, they also lose their own humanity. The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold. And while he succeeds in his relentless pursuit of the young terrorists, he knows he’s only dealing with the tip of the iceberg. Written by Constantin Film

Movies are Fun – Bork-Goldfield presents at ACTFL

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On November 19, 2011 Iris Bork-Goldfield talked at the ACTFL conference in Denver, CO on how one can effectively integrate short movies into the foreign language classroom. Movies, she argues, motivate students, support listening comprehension, and convey much cultural and historical information. As a good example she used Ingo Rasper’s humorous film Dufte that tells the story about German coffee smugglers in 1952.

Bringing Students’ Culture into the Classroom

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Iris Bork-Goldfield presented at the Massachusetts Foreign Language association on October 28, 2011 on Digital Story Telling. She illustrated how Intermediate German students at Wesleyan University brought their hometown into the language classroom and created an engaging multicultural environment that enhanced students’ writing, speaking, and listening skills.

Prize-winning novelist, playright, and screenwriter Christopher Kloeble to read at Wesleyan

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The German Studies Department and the Writing Center invite you to meet Christopher Kloeble on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, at 6:00 p.m., in the Shapiro Center/Allbritton 311. Join us for stories by Christopher Kloeble and a sneak preview of his latest novel, Almost Everything Very Fast, which will be published in March 2012. Mr. Kloeble will read in English and German. English translations will be available for the parts he reads in German. A discussion will follow.

Christopher Kloeble grew up in Königsdorf, a small town in Bavaria. He has studied in Dublin and at the Literary Institute in Leipzig. Recently, he also attended the International Writers Program at the University of Iowa. For his debut novel, Amongst Loners, published in 2008, he received the Juergen Ponto-Stiftung Prize. A collection of 11 short stories followed a year later. His plays have been staged in major theaters in Vienna, Munich, Leipzig, Heidelberg and Nuremberg. The film,Inclusion, for which he wrote the movie script, will air on December 12, 2011, on BR-alpha, a German television station owned by the regional broadcaster Bayrischer Rundfunk. Kloeble lives and works in Berlin.

Kaffee und Kuchen

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Relax, speak German, and enjoy coffee and cake at the German House on 65 Lawn Ave. The German House is inviting to “Kaffee und Kuchen” on  Friday, October 7 from 4:30 – 6:00 PM.

 

Study Abroad in Regensburg

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Interested in studying abroad in Regensburg, Germany?

Join us for an informal information session on Wednesday, September 21 from 5-6 p.m. in Fisk 414. You will meet former Wesleyan students who have studied in Regensburg and our German exchange student Stefanie Schaffler. We will start with a presentation on living and studying  in Regensburg and then will have time for questions.

Kaffeestunde

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Relax, speak German, and enjoy coffee and cake at the German House on 65 Lawn Ave. The German House is inviting to “Kaffee und Kuchen” on  Thursday, September 15 from 4:30 – 6:00 PM.

 

Katherine Wolf interns at oqbo Galerie in Berlin

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German Studies major, Katherine Wolf ’12, has been studying at the Freie Universität in Berlin since Fall 2010 and worked as an intern at the Galerie oqbo last spring.  Katherine sent us the following article from Berlin. She will be back at Wesleyan this fall.

Friday, May 13, 2011, 7pm

Opening Evening, 7pm at both locations. Gallery Tour led by Katherine Wolf begins in Galerie oqbo at 8pm.

Friday, May 13, 2011, 7pm Opening Evening, Gallery Tour led by Katherine Wolf

Five months and the majority of the first semester had flown by, but returning to Berlin after the holidays, I felt as if I needed an activity to deepen the substance and purpose of my abroad experience. Dozens of emails and a rewritten version of my resumé auf deutsch later and I found myself at at a table with artist and co-founder of the Galerie oqbo Michael Bause: the acquaintance of the childhood best friend of my favorite German teacher. On our first meeting we chatted about the gallery while drinking cappuccinos. I got a tour of the petite gallery, with its main room, the kitchen and meeting area (with a fridge consistently stocked of white wine, cheap champagne, and beer),  and the narrow spiral staircase that leads to a second exhibition room in the basement.

Our second meeting was in the apartment of artist and American Abstract Artists member Gilbert Hsiao to meet about the upcoming exhibit celebrating the 75th anniversary of the creation of the American Abstract Artists organization. Gilbert was, so to say, the guardian of the artworks; on the walls of his home hung nearly every piece that would soon be presented in that lonely, empty gallery on Brunnenstrasse. They varied in style, in color, technique, and medium. I was astounded, thrilled, and filled with excitement for my tasks to come.

My main assignment for the moment is to formulate gallery tours (in German!) through that will be offered at the opening event, on the state-sponsored nation-wide “Kulturtag,” and during the last week of the exhibition.  It will offer insight into the development of abstract art and its public reception, from its development in the early 20th century through present day, as well as touch upon the differences between American abstract art and German abstract art. Depending on the availability of the American ambassador to Germany, I may be giving him and his council a private tour, too.

I am elated to be working with such an engaging and interesting group at oqbo. Though its small, the six co-founders are all working artists and fascinating, engaging, hilarious individuals. I have already been exposed to new discoveries about the behind-the-scenes workings of the art world, and am sure that more is sure to come.