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.
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.
ShemuelProfessor Leo Lensing addressing German Studies majors and minors and facultyat our luncheon on May 10, 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
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. Healso 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
Adam Rashkoff ’13,a double major in German Studies and the College of Letterswrote 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
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
Mari Jarris ’14This 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 (right)
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
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.
Colin, Steffi and Dan
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.
The third and last movie in our German film series for this semester is When We Leave (Die Fremde), Germany 2010, directed by Feo Aladag, with Sibel Kekilli, Nizam Schiller, Derya Alabora. 119 min.
A young German woman of Turkish descent flees a difficult marriage by moving to Berlin, but her fight for more freedom and independence causes strife within her family. Introduced by Katja Straub, Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies
The second movie in our film series in the crime thriller Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt), Germany 1998. Dir: Tom Tykwer, with Moritz Bleibtreu, Franka Potente. 81 min.
The film begins with Lola receiving a phone call from her distraught boyfriend Manni, a small-time criminal, who lost 100,000 marks belonging to his crime boss. Manni fears for his life. Can Lola help? Introduced by Leo Lensing, Professor of German Studies & Film Studies.
Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland is the first movie in our spring film series. Hüseyin Yilmaz came to Germany from Turkey in 1964, and later brought his wife and children. With warmth and a sense of humor, his granddaughter recounts their family history during a family vacation back home in Turkey. An uplifting, funny film about heritage and intercultural family life. Directed by Yasemin Samdereli, 95 min., Germany 2011 Introduced by Iris Bork-Goldfield, Professor of German Studies.More Information and Trailor
Friday, December 7th, 6:30 p.m. Deutsches Haus at New York University, 42 Washington Mews New York, NY 10003
Please join the German House in New York City for a discussion with Fatima Naqvi (Rutgers University), Christoph Bartmann (Goethe Institut NYC), Klaus Kastberger (University of Vienna), Heike Polster (University of Memphis), Krishna Winston (Wesleyan University), and Thorsten Carstensen (The Indiana University School of Liberal Arts).
Peter Handke in America is an important theme for understanding the writer’s work. Because of his life-long fascination with America, Handke was among the first German-speaking writers of his generation to present a positive image of the United States against the anti-imperialist aversions of the European 1968-movement. Particularly in his early work, scholars have traced his fascination with writers such as John Ford, Walker Percy (whom he also translated), as well as the blues, New York City, the image of the “Native American” and with the beauty of the American landscape. His 1971 novel Short Letter, Long Farewell makes his fascination with the United States the central motif. Handke also lived in New York (after lengthy travels through Alaska), where in 1979 he wrote his important novel The Long Way Round. In his film Three American LPs, he co-produced with Wim Wenders, many of these themes can also be clearly identified. More information
William Donahue, Professor of German and Professor of Literature as well as a member of the Center for Jewish Studies and the Center for European Studies at Duke University, will discuss new research on the reception of the Holocaust for a work in progress and for Holocaust Lite, the recently published German translation of his book Holocaust as Fiction. Bernhard Schlink’s “Nazi” Novels and Their Films. Holocaust in Fiction is “the first scholarly study to probe the ‘Schlink phenomenon’ and to analyze its profound role in coming to terms with the Holocaust. Donahue dissects the seductive, transnational appeal of his work and the ways in which popular culture more generally has contributed to the success of Germany’s normalization campaign” (Todd Samuel Presner).
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 7:30p.m. Downey 113
Sponsored by German Studies and Jewish & Israel Studies
Meet Jochen Wohlfeil, Adjunct Associate Professor of the Practice in German and Resident Director of Duke in Berlin
Jochen Wohlfeil, usually omnipresent in Berlin as Director of Duke University’s academic program there but in residence in Durham this semester, will give a presentation on Duke in Berlin and discuss student life in Germany’s greatest city.
