Here are some examples of other kinds of events that we like to undertake in the German program:
Cultural Outings
Last year the German department went to the symphony for Beethoven and Mendelssohn!
(top) Katie Heard, Lindsay Saterlund, Bob Tobin, Martin von Michaelis, Mark Prentice; (bottom) Kyle Martz, Susan Babilon, Lisa Silverman, Suzanne Zitzer
We also went to see the production of Brecht's
Caucasian Chalk Circle.
German House Events
In addition to the traditional Oktoberfest Party, das Deutsche Haus helps Whitman and its German speaking community celebrate many events. At the holiday party in December there were lots of "lecker" German sweets, treats, and beverages. Residents of the Haus also deliver chocolates and candies to the other members of Interest House Community on St. Nikolaus Tag (December 6th)... as long as they leave their shoes out on their front porches in traditional fashion.
On Valentines Day, the Haus hosted a Lebkuchen decorating event and helped students learn sexy or romantic phrases - auf Deutsch, of course. Das Haus is also a regular contributor to the Mardi Gras festivities on campus as the last house on the progressive party list. In addition, the German House regularly hosts movie nights and holds lectures on aspects of German culture, language, or history. In addition to the always-wonderful people who live there, the house is known for being one of the oldest surviving houses in Walla Walla!
One of 11 Interest Houses in the IHC (Interest House Community), das Deutsche Haus houses seven students, including the native speaker and Resident Assistant. Kirstin Bernhardt, from Berlin, will become the new native speaker for the 2006/7 academic year, and Jana Stone will continue the illustrious line of German House RAs until the end of 2006. Please feel free to stop by and visit or take a tour if you are ever in town!
Stammtisch
We try to meet regularly to practice our German at Stammtisch-usually it's Fridays at 5 at the Brewpub, but check with faculty if we're not there and we can let you know what's up!
On the left, starting from the left: John van Open and Chantal Stieber, followed by unidentified children. Starting from the Right: Ned Schaumberg, Celi Schoenicke, Suzanne Zitzer, unidentified, Susan Babilon, Martin von Michaelis, unidentified.
Undergraduate Conference
We had a strong presence at the Undergraduate Conference in 2006, packingn them in at a panel called "Perspectives on Modern Germany: Gender, Sex and Violence," moderated by Suzanne Zitzer. The speakers and their talks were:
- Lea Simek, "Pedagogy and Psychoanalysis."
- Mark Prentice, "Sex in the Third Reich: The Sexual Politics of the Nazi Regime."
- Kathryn Heard, "After the Wall: Post-Nationalism and Right Radicalism in Eastern Germany."
- Eric Lindsay, "Prison Reform in Eastern Germany Post-Reunification."
- Lindsay Satterlund, "The Turkish-German Woman in Contemporary Germany: Multiculturalism and Gender in Film and Literature."
Visiting Speakers
We had a number of visiting speakers this year. In the fall
Dr. Albert Gouaffo came and gave a lecture on the German colonial experience in Africa. Dr. Gouaffo, the recipient of numerous scholarly awards, is a professor of German Studies at the University of Dschang in western Cameroon, currently doing research at the University of Saarbrücken in Germany. His talk was in German, but we still managed to fill the room. He edits an on-line journal called "Mont Cameroun," an interdisciplinary journal focusing on German Studies in Francophone Africa. Check it out at
http://www.mont-cameroun.com.
In the spring,
Jennie Hirsch, Hannah Seeger Davis Post-doctoral Fellow at Princeton University, came to speak on the Holocaust in Italian film. This was part of Lisa Silverman's course on the representation of the Holocaust in film and literature.
