Events
German Events this Fall
Also see Olivia Drakes article on our events.
“The Wallpeckers” Professor Krishna Winston introduces Günter Grass’s novel “Too Far Afield”
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Please join us for our fourth and last lecture in the German Department’s fall series on commemorating the 25th year of the fall of the Berlin Wall, this Thursday, November 6, in the Downey House Lounge at 4:15 PM. In her talk, “The Wallpeckers,” Krishna Winston introduces and reads from Günter Grass’s novel, Too Far Afield.
Refreshments will be served.
OPEN HOUSE
DO YOU WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT …
- THE GERMAN STUDIES MAJOR & MINOR?
- STUDYING IN GERMANY?
- SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS?
THEN JOIN US THIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4th, at 4:15 PM in FISK 403.
REFRESHMENTS SERVED!
NPR -Journalist Bellamy Pailthorp ’89 will speak about “The Fall of the Wall — An Eyewitness Perspective.”
“25 Years: Fall of the Berlin Wall” is co-sponsored by the German Embassy in Washington D.C. All events are free of charge and open to the public. For more information call 860-685-3359.
Sarah Wiliarty will speak on The Fall of the Wall – A Political Perspective
Please join us for the first lecture in the German Department’s fall series on commemorating the 25th Year of the 
Fall of the Berlin
Wall.
This Wednesday, October 15 in FISK 210 at noon, Prof. Sarah Wiliarty will speak on “ The Fall of the Berlin Wall – A Political Perspective.”
Refreshments will be served.
“25 Years: Fall of the Berlin Wall” is co-sponsored by the German Studies Department and the German Embassy in Washington D.C. All events are free of charge and open to the public. For more information call 860-685-3359.
CONTEST – 25th Year of the Fall of the Wall
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German Studies Department has received a grant from the German Embassy in Washington DC and is looking for creative submissions pertaining to the historic event. Submissions can include a poem, a 1000-word essay, a one-page cartoon, a digital story, or even a collage. The best three submissions will receive gift card prizes of $200, $100, and $50 respectively. Please submit all entries to Debbie Pozzetti in Fisk 401 by November 9 at 4:00PM.
If you have any questions, or would like to submit your work electronically, please contact Prof. Iris Bork-Goldfield
For more events about the Fall of the Wall, please visit the many talks on campus throughout the month.
Deutscher Mittagstisch
Eat and speak German
Faculty Dining Room
USDAN im dritten Stock
Freitag, den 3. Oktober
12.30 – 13.30 Uhr
Fragen? Schreiben Sie Iris Bork-Goldfield
Erik Grimmer–Solem on The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Please join us for the first lecture in the German Department’s fall series on commemorating the 25th Year of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
This Wednesday, September 24 in FISK 210 at noon, Erik Grimmer –Solem will speak on “From Great War to Great Wall: The Fall of the Berlin Wall in Historical Perspective.”
Refreshments will be served.
Glücksgefühl für die Ewigkeit
Deutschland gewinnt die Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft. Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
“Angst essen Seele auf” auf der Bühne des Gorki Theaters
Review by Grace Nix’15
In einem der wichtigsten Theater in Berlin spielte man vor kurzem ein neues Stück — Angst essen Seele auf. Es ist gut möglich, dass manche von euch diesen Titel erkennen. Das Maxim Gorki Theater hat einen von Rainer Werner Fassbinders beliebtesten Filmen (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul) für die Bühne bearbeitet. Die Geschichte handelt von einem unwahrscheinlichen Paar–Emmi, einer älteren verwitweten deutschen Frau; und Ali, einem viel jüngeren marokkanischen Gastarbeiter. Die Aufführung war ganz erfolgreich. Das stärkste Element, das man der Geschichte hinzugefügt hat, war ein Erzähler in der Form eines amerikanischen, jüdischen, Jiddisch-sprechenden Klavier-Gitarre-Accordion-Spielers. Er hat die Stimmung der Geschichte ganz verändert. Was bei Fassbinder ein meist ruhiger und grüblerischer Film war, wurde hier in eine zeitlose Volksgeschichte umgesetzt. Durch diese Form der Darstellung bekam Ali nicht nur Geist, sondern auch viel Humor, und neben Emmi noch einen echten Freund in dem Musiker. Wenn man an diesen Film denkt, denkt man an die starke Inszenierung und die Farben der Bilder. Es gab diese schönen Elemente auch im Stück. Das beeindruckendste neue Element war der anhaltende Aschenregen. Er hat niemals aufgehört, wurden nur noch stärker. Am Ende gab es eine echte Wiese aus Aschen am Boden. Ich möchte keinen Spoiler geben und daher nur sagen, dass diese Änderungen einfach das Ende der Geschichte ändern mussten. Es gab im Stück keinen tragischen Epilog, sondern ein kurzes und (für uns, die den Film schon geguckt haben) verfrühtes Ende. Manchmal sind diese großen Änderungen etwas ärgerlich, aber nicht dieses Mal. Das etwas fröhlichere Ende des Theaterstücks war sinnvoll, erwünscht, und voll Sinn fürs Leben. Fassbinder wäre vielleicht nicht völlig zufrieden damit – wegen des viel positiveren Schlusses – aber wir können ihn natürlich nicht dazu fragen. Wenn Ihr Berlin in der Zukunft besucht, würde ich gerne dieses Stück und einen Besuch im Maxim Gorki Theater empfehlen.
Grace has been studying in Berlin since last fall with Duke/Wesleyan in Berlin.
OKTOBERFEST at Wesleyan
Come and celebrate and try some
Weißwurst (veal sausage), Sauerkraut, Kartoffelsalat (potato salad) and Apfelsaftschorle (sparkling apple juice)
at the German House on 65 Lawn Ave.,
on October 11, at 6 p.m.
sponsored by the German House and the German department
Hannah Arendt, directed bu Margarethe von Trotta
Please join us for the screening of Hannah Arendt, directed by Margarethe von Trotta.
September 27, 8:00 p.m. at the Goldsmith Family Cinema
Introduction by Leo Lensing (Professor of German and Film Studies), followed by a Q&A with Pam Katz P ’16, the film’s co-screenwriter
A second screening will take place on September 28, at 10:00 a.m. at the Powell Family Cinema.
Exercising Judgment in Ethics, Politics, and the Law
Wesleyan University is hosting a conference on Hannah Arendt on September 26-28, 2013. The conference is made possible by the generous support of David Rhodes, COL ’68. It is hosted by the Center for the Humanities and co-sponsored by the College of Letters; Jewish and Israel Studies; German Studies; Government; Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory; and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).
Uli Plass is moderating the session on Judging Evil on September 27, 4:00-6:00 p.m. in Bechkam Hall.
Leo Lensing is introducing the the film Hannah Arendt, directed by Margarethe von Trotta on September 27, 8:00 p.m.
German Studies Majors 2013
Shemuel Garber ’13, a double major in German Studies and the College of Letters, wrote his thesis for COL, entitled, The Circular Cut: Problematizing the Longevity of Civilization’s Most Aggressively Defended Amputation.
He will spend this summer in Brooklyn before leaving for Germany with a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to teach English at a high school in Mainz, Germany.
James Gardner ’13 is a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow and a German Studies major. His Senior Honors Thesis explores Afro-German history from 1871 to 2013. He has been awarded the Prentice Prize for his excellent work in German, the Heidemann Award, for helping others in the Wesleyan community, and the Butterfield Prize for his leadership, intellectual commitment and concern for the Wesleyan community.
James will continue his work with the Afro-German social work organization, Joliba, in Berlin, where he worked while studying abroad in Berlin in 2012. At Joliba, James will coordinate initiatives, tours, and events in line with his Afro-German academic work. He also hopes to obtain the International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS), which offers young people the opportunity to gain practical experience in parliamentary work during a 15-week internship under the auspices of a Member of the German Bundestag. James is planning to apply for a DAAD scholarship this fall in order to continue his studies at the Free University of Berlin.
Max Kaplan ’13 will be working at The Fund for the Public Interest in Philadelphia. This is a national non-profit organization that works to build support for progressive organizations across the country. They run campaigns for USPIRG, Environment America, the Human Rights Campaign, and Environmental Action.
Adam Rashkoff ’13, a double major in German Studies and the College of Letters wrote a senior essay for both departments on Freud’s theories of psychological repression to analyze Theodor Adorno’s appropriation of the German Idealist concept of Naturschöne, or natural beauty. He will spend the upcoming academic year teaching English at two secondary schools in Vorarlberg, Austria, under the auspices of USTA-Austria, a program administered by the Fulbright Commission and funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture. This summer, he will split his time between Stanford University, where he will work at a literature and arts summer camp for middle and high school students, and Brooklyn, NY. In New York, he will intern on a project to develop a humanities curriculum for a network of charter schools. Ultimately, he plans to pursue his interest in German Studies at the graduate level.
Avery Trufelman ’13, a double major in German Studies and the College of Letters, wrote a senior thesis in both departments. Avery translated the autobiography of Hans Rosenthal, an iconic German gameshow host and holocaust survivor. She received high honors for this work. Avery is also the recipient of the Scott Prize, awarded for excellence in foreign-language study. She will go on to intern for NPR Berlin (produced entirely in Washington, DC).
Mari Jarris ’14 This summer, Mari will conduct her thesis research on the Frankfurt School’s critique of German Idealist philosophy using the archives and libraries at the University of Frankfurt and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. She received the DAAD Undergraduate Scholarship, the Davenport Grant, and the Blankenagel Prize to support her summer research.
Maddy Smith-Huemer ’14 She is a German Studies and History major who has been studying at the Free University of Berlin with the Duke in Berlin program since January 2013. She will continue her studies there until the end of July, while also conducting research for her senior year thesis on resistance movements in the former GDR.
Oscar Takabvirwa ’14, a double major in German Studies and Mathematics, hopes to be working for a consulting firm in New York City this summer. He will start research for his honors thesis for German, a translation of works by authors whose parents migrated to Germany and who grew up in a multi-cultural environment.
Jaqueline Heitkamp ‘15, Colin O’Connor ‘15 and Daniel Hurlbert ‘15 have been studying in Regensburg since January 2013 and will continue their studies there until the end of July.
In the photo below, Colin is joined by former Wesleyan students and Regensburg exchange students who visited the Regensburg Dult, an annual folk festival, in May 2013.