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.

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.

William Krieger ’11: Other than German Studies, I also majored in Art History. I wrote a thesis in both departments about the contemporary German artist Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997), focusing on three of his major installation projects from the 1990s.

Next year, I will continue working on my thesis at Humboldt University in Berlin under a Fulbright grant and hope to continue my interest in German studies in a graduate program after that.

Ben LaFirst ’11: I have a double major in German Studies and Sociology. My senior essay in Sociology is entitled “Monopoly Capitalism and Network Neutrality: The Future of the Internet as a Material/Discursive Body”. I studied one semester in Regensburg and am excited to go to Austria, where I will be teaching English to Austrian high school students this fall. This is part of the United States Teaching Assistantship program sponsored by the Fulbright Commission in collaboration with the Austrian-American Educational Commission.  After my year as an ESL Assistant in Linz, Austria, I hope to enroll in a Master’s program to study history and eventually get a job as a history teacher.

Ryan Moses ’11: I am a German Studies and History major with a concentration in European history. My particular interests in history focus on Germany. I wrote an extensive research paper on German companies and their ties to the Nazis, and  another paper that examined the evolution of the relationship between German companies and their Nazi pasts, focusing on certain key events that forced them to reevaluate how they address their troubled history.

After Wesleyan, I’m hoping to pursue a career in finance.

I would recommend to anyone considering studying a foreign language that they study abroad. Living in Germany was one of the best times I’ve ever had. Whether it be for a summer, a semester, or an entire year, you’ll have a great time and learn more about the language and the culture than you can imagine.

Anya Olsen ‘11: I am a College of Letters and German Studies Major.

I wrote my thesis on the portrayal of women and gender in four selected works of German literature in the period after World War II, comparing two from West Germany and two from East Germany.

After I graduate, I will be going to Tübingen and studying there as part of the Connecticut-Baden-Württemberg Exchange Program. I will continue looking at issues of gender within German literature, as well as taking German history courses.

Catherine Steidl ’11: At Wesleyan, I have majored in both German Studies and Archaeology. I wrote my thesis within the Archaeology Department on specific female votive statuary from the Athenian Acropolis and the ways in which we can use them to learn about women’s roles and social experiences in Ancient Greece. My studies in German were extremely critical to my thesis, however, as a good portion of my research relied on German texts and archaeological reports!

Next year, I am taking part in the CT-BW exchange and attending the University of Tübingen to improve my German and continue my studies in Archaeology before applying to PhD programs in Classical Archaeology, for which German is essential.