2011-2012
„Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt.“
-Ludwig Wittgenstein
Learning German can connect students with 120 million native speakers around the globe. As the official language of Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein as well as Germany, the world’s largest exporter, German is the language with the largest number of native speakers in the European Union. It is the native language of a significant portion of the population in northern Italy, eastern Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, eastern France, and parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Romania. It is the second-most commonly used scientific language and the most widely spoken language in Europe. In a radius of 1000 kilometers (625 miles), Germany lies at the center of a European population of 300 million people, taking a decisive role in the political, economic, and educational dynamics of the continent.
Studying German offers students access to a culture of scientists and innovators, philosophers and theologians, writers, artists and composers. German is the language of Gutenberg and Hertz, Fahrenheit and Einstein, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud, of Luther, Goethe and Kafka, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Mahler.
The German Department offers courses on campus and abroad in German language and culture, including literature, history, and film for both majors and non-majors. A pivotal component of German language study at St. Olaf is study abroad. In keeping with a German tradition dating back to medieval times, German universities today have opened their doors to students from around the world, sharing their research in science and technology, their specialized training in the fine arts, and their rich archival collections in the humanities, with only one requirement: German language proficiency. With adequate proficiency in German, St. Olaf students may study for a semester or a full year at the University of Konstanz or the Humboldt University in Berlin.
Beyond the classroom, students may also participate in the weekly German conversation table (Stammtisch), the Fall of the Wall 20th Anniversary film series, and events in Deutsches Haus, an honor house where St. Olaf students live together with an exchange student from Germany.
um ja ja
Fachbereich Germanistik
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Department Chair (Margaret Hayford O'Leary):
oleary@stolaf.edu
(507) 786-3569
Current Events
Deutsche Writing Clinic
(German 252 & 270)
Tuesdays 7-9 PM BC222
Thursdays 7-9 PM BC 220
Sundays 4-6 PM BC221
Deutsche Sprech und Schreibklinikk fur Anfanger
(German 112 Help Sessions, Spring 2012)
Tuesdays 7-8 PM TOH 200 (except 4/17 in TOH212)
Thursdays
7-8 PM TOH 210 (except 4/26 in TOH 300)
Sundays 5-6 PM TOH 200
Stammtisch (German
conversation table)
Wednesdays, anytime between 5:30-7:00 PM
BC221.
Deutsches Haus Event
Join the German House students at an open house on November 11. There will be food, games and conversation. Watch for more information.
Deutscher Chor (German Advent Choir) conducted by Peter Sepulveda, sang for the Adventsgottesdienst (German Advent Service) in Boe Memorial Chapel on Wednesday, December 7, 2011. (photos)
Dienstag, den 8. November: 19.00 – 21.30 Uhr (116 Minuten) im Viking Theater
Auf der anderen Seite („The Edge of Heaven,“ Fatih Akin, 2007) This film interweaves the stories of two generations, transformed as they travel back and forth between Germany and Turkey, oblivious to those whose lives they touch. Best Screenplay at Cannes 2007, five Antalya Golden Orange Film awards, European Parliament LUX prize, Lino Brocka Award, Critics Award at the European Cinema Festival in Seville, European Film Award for best screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Hanna Schygulla) from National Society of Film Critics. In German with English subtitles.
World Film Series Transformations Theme Event
The Edge of Heaven, Nov. 8th
7:00 p.m. in Viking Theater
Kulturquatsch German culture table)
Sundays.
6:00-7:00 PM
BC Black Ballroom. Back again in February!
Deutscher Chor (German Advent
Choir) conducted by Peter Sepulveda, will sing for the German Advent Service (Adventsgottesdienst) in Boe Memorial Chapel on Wednesday, December 7, 2011. All students are welcome! Rehearsals begin Saturday, October 22, 10:30-11:30 a.m. in 233 CHM (Christiansen Hall of Music) Subsequent rehearsals on Saturdays, 3-4 pm in 233 CHM (Christiansen Hall of Music)
Courses for Interim and Spring:
German 147:
Folktales, Fairytales and Fables
ALS-L, HWC
Interim: Professor Vern Rippley
No prerequisites. Taught in English, open to first-year students.
German 246:
The Age of Goethe
HWC, WRI
Interim: Karl Fink
Taught in English; Open to first-year students
German 249:
German Cinema
ALS-A, HWC
Interim: Professor Achberger
Taught in English; open to first-year students
Interims Abroad
Vienna Interim 2011 Abroad: German 239
Top 5 Ways to Get Involved with German at St. Olaf
1. Take a class. St. Olaf has many levels of German, from beginning to intermediate and advanced. The Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum (FLAC) program offers students a chance to work with original German texts in areas like Religion, Music, and Film Studies.
2. Attend German activities on campus. German films on Tuesday nights, activities in German House, a German conversation table ("Stammtisch") brings together students learning German and native German exchange students every Wednesday evening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Our website lists German events this semester as well as what we have done in the past.
3. Study abroad in Germany.
St. Olaf students choosing to study abroad in Germany can spend a semester or a full year at the Humboldt University in Berlin or the University of Konstanz.
4. Live in St. Olaf's Deutsches Haus. Students in the Deutsches Haus are immersed in German language and culture as they share a living community with native German exchange students.
5. Become a major. A major in German enhances any career choice, and rewards students with an education that is the embodiment of St. Olaf's core values.
