What Our Students Say

"I've learned to think more deeply in new ways about an entire culture, and really just culture in general." - Robby Boyer '18

Robby Boyer '18

From: Sandy, UT

Majors: German Studies and Music

Minors: Japanese and Astronomy

Why are you learning German? 

I started learning German more out of an interest in linguistics than in German itself. I really liked how rational German is - even if the rules seem imposing at first, they really are rules, and it puts together concepts in a much more consistent and logical way than a lot of other languages. Since then my interest in the language has become more tied to German culture and history, ranging from academic interests to just enjoying some German books.

I started learning German out of a linguistic interest, and that has affected my time here at Whitman and the course I expect my life to take in ways I never expected. I've learned to think more deeply in new ways about an entire culture, and really just culture in general. The department is small, but lively, and I think because of that it provides an ideal learning environment - it's fun and engaging and you come to feel really connected to the work you're doing.

What are your other academic interests?

My other chief interest is classical music, and the German connections there are pretty obvious. All of the most famous composers are German or Austrian, and Germany is really where a lot of our modern conceptions of classical music come from.

What was your favorite thing to read in a German class?

Gad Beck's autobiography. He was a half-Jewish and gay young man in Berlin during World War II, but was never taken to a concentration camp. Besides just being a good story (sometimes his life reads like a work of fiction, and you have to remind yourself that it really happened) it also tells a different story about Nazi Germany than you normally hear. In part, you get a bit of a glimpse into what life was like for normal Germans during the time, but you also get to see more of what the resistance within Germany looked like.

What is your favorite German word?

Schweigen - to be silent. But it's more nuanced than that, and I really like how this action that is passive in English becomes active and meaningful in German.

How has German been useful to you outside the classroom? How do you think you might use it after Whitman? 

I spent a summer in Berlin, and so German was obviously helpful there. Beyond normal day-to-day activities, speaking German also gave me the chance to play with an orchestra and to do research in the State Library there. German also comes up surprisingly often in everyday interactions, even in the U.S. Something I've read or seen will come up, or knowing German will help me explain a concept to someone. 

I've already been working a fair bit with scholarship that only exists in German this past year, and I'm really interested in continuing that research. I'd especially like to spend more time working with primary sources. In connection with that, I'm considering graduate school abroad and I could easily see doing similar work abroad as life-long occurrence.

What was your German Studies thesis about?

In the 18th and 19th centuries, almost every aspect of life in Europe changed. Included in this were gender roles, which remained superficially similar but the underlying reasons were entirely new, and also a revolution in the ideas about music's role in society, especially in Germany. I compared the German ideal of music with the masculine and feminine ideals in music, with the national ideal and the masculine ideal being very similar. I argued that this is why most women composers failed to have much public success, while one, Emilie Mayer, was quite successful in spite (or, rather, because) of failing to meet society's expectations of women in nearly every way.

How was it to live in Das Deutsche Haus?

I found that living there was a great way to engage more with the language and culture, since it's a part of your daily life. More generally, I also felt that it was a good way to be involved with the campus and a nice step between life in the residence halls and life in an off-campus house.

What advice would you offer to an incoming student about choosing a major?

I wouldn't worry so much about it as an incoming student. I just took the classes I wanted to and ended up pursuing the degrees where I had already taken several classes, and that has set me up pretty well for post-college life. Your interests might change over your time in college, and certainly over your life, so nothing is really as big of a commitment as it seems. You learn a lot more from college than just what you get tested on, and those skills can be applied to anything.

What advice would you offer to someone learning German for the first time?

Use a variety of tools (websites, podcasts, Youtube channels, whatever) and see what works best for you. It's really common advice to suggest that you try to learn a foreign language like your first one and not worry so much about getting everything right. I did it the opposite way - I basically learned everything there was to know about German grammar before learning much vocabulary or having a single conversation. It worked really well for me, and I think it has really benefited me, but that doesn't mean that system will work for you.

"German always sounded beautiful to me." - Maxx Fidalgo '18

Maxx Fidalgo '18

From: New Bedford, MA

Major: Psychology

Minor: German Studies

Why German?

I like learning languages and German always sounded beautiful to me.

What are your other academic interests?

Psychology and creative writing! Psychology got kick-started by German physiologists and British empiricists!

What is your favorite thing you studied in a German class? 

I enjoyed watching Willkommen Bei Den Hartmanns in the Heimat und Heimweh course.

What is your favorite German word?

Handschuhe! I love that it's literally hand shoes, but means gloves.

How has German been useful to you outside the classroom?

It was great when I was abroad in the UK and went to different German markets. I was able to communicate with vendors on a whole new level. Also, I love consuming German writing, film, and music.

What advice would you offer to an incoming student about choosing a major?

Take your time. You get two years to decide at Whitman. It's great. 

"I feel incredibly lucky to be at a school where the program is so strong and works so hard to build a strong community of German speakers." - Missy Gerlach '19

Missy Gerlach'19

From: Portland, OR

Major: Film and Media Studies

Minor: German Studies

Why German?

It's been a big part of my family, although, funnily enough, none of them are actually German. My parents lived in Switzerland for a long time, where I was born, and both speak the language. I started taking German my freshman year of high school and haven't stopped since!

How is German Studies connected to your major?

Germany has a really rich and interesting film culture and history, which I've loved learning about in previous classes (I'm looking at you, German Cinema Culture). I especially enjoyed studying Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann, which we watched in that class.

What is your favorite German word?

Dudelsack. I learned this in my German fairytales course and it has always stuck with me because 1. it's funny and 2. it sounds exactly like what it is: bagpipes.

How has German been useful to you outside the classroom?

The summer after my sophomore year, I had a Soden fellowship to do academic research for Professor Emily Jones on the literary works of Yoko Tawada, a German-Japanese author. Speaking German allowed my research to cover a lot more breadth, because I could read German academic articles as well as English ones. The experience was both challenging and rewarding.What advice would you offer to an incoming student about choosing a major?

How was living in Das Deutsche Haus?

Living in Das Deutsche Haus was definitely one of my favorite parts of sophomore year and my time at Whitman in general. I got to live with good friends from I had made through the German program and it was really fun to speak the language in a more relaxed, casual environment. My German definitely improved during the semester and I would recommend living in das Haus to anyone. 

What advice would you offer to someone learning German for the first time at Whitman?

Go to the German events! I can say first-hand that the German department is incredibly helpful, encouraging, and excited about helping people. Stammtisch and Deutscher Tisch are both fun, low-pressure ways to improve and get more comfortable speaking German.

Any other thoughts?

I may only be minoring in German Studies, but the German program has been a defining part of my Whitman career. Over the years the German language has only become more and more important to me and I feel incredibly lucky to be at a school where the program is so strong and works so hard to build a strong community of German speakers. Above all I would say: Take German!!

"I've lived in Germany, been paid to help do research for a History professor at Whitman in German, and been able to enjoy a lot of media I wouldn't have been able to engage with otherwise." - Jane Kern '18

Jane Kern '18
From: Seattle, WA

Majors: German Studies and History

Why are you learning German language?

I started learning it years ago when my family lived in Switzerland.

What was your favorite German Studies class?

I loved the "The German Fairytale" class I took my junior year.

What is your favorite German word?

der Gipfel: It's both the word for the crest of a mountain and the Swiss-German word for a croissant (as "Gipfeli").

How has German been useful to you outside the classroom?

I've lived in Germany, been paid to help do research for a History professor at Whitman in German, and been able to enjoy a lot of media I wouldn't have been able to engage with otherwise. I'm going to continue studying Germanic languages and culture after Whitman!

What was your senior thesis about?

An enormous amount of political change, and by extension social change, occurred in the early nineteenth-century in the area now known as Germany. Cities and towns went from belonging to Holy Roman Empire, to being part of Napoleon's Empire, and then becoming part of an entirely new German Confederation. This thesis project examines three literary productions of that time which use the Germanic Water Sprite character, in order to show how that character and her use reflected the historical turmoil of the authors' lives.

How was living in Das Deutsche Haus?

Awesome! The whole experience was delightful - particularly the people!

What advice would you offer to an incoming student about choosing a major?

Take your time and don't stress too much - try new things and see what you enjoy - it'll all end up being useful in some way!

What advice would you offer to someone learning German for the first time?

Be patient with yourself and memorize the gender of all the nouns you learn!

"Majoring in German Studies has allowed me to also study history, politics, art, film, gender, and social issues." - Alexandra Moore '20

Alexandra Moore '20

San Jose, CA

Majors: German Studies and Biology

Why are you learning German?

I started speaking German at a young age with my Oma who was born in Germany. I knew I wanted to improve my fluency by taking German in college and studying abroad in a German-speaking country, but I decided to major because of the great experience I've had with the German department at Whitman and the passion for the language and culture that I've found.

What are your academic interests?

I love many subjects and I've found that majoring in German Studies has allowed me to also study history, politics, art, film, gender, and social issues. 

What is your favorite thing you've studied in a German class?

I really enjoyed reading Jakob Arjouni's Happy Birthday, Türke in GER 302: German Crime and Justice. It was not only a really funny book with an exciting plot, but it had underlying themes of racism and the life and integration of ethnic minorities in Germany.

How was it living in Das Deutsche Haus?

Living in Das Haus has been such a great experience. I love getting close with my housemates and being able to practice our German together in a more relaxed way than in a classroom. We have so much fun and are always laughing. It is so nice to come home to a quiet house and not a loud dorm room. The programs we put on are really fun and I like getting to share something I'm passionate about with my friends and peers. The larger IHC community is also great and I love visiting other houses and having our IHC brunches.

What advice would you offer to someone learning German for the first time?

German is an awesome but challenging language. However, I think the intro courses offered at Whitman are very good for getting a foundation in the language. I'm amazed at how advanced students are after just one or two years of taking German.

What is your favorite German word?

Gemütlichkeit: It roughly translates to the feeling of comfort or comfortableness, but has no direct translation. I see why this word exists in German when my German family sits for hours together after a meal just talking and sipping on coffee. It's cool to recognize the sensations of complete comfort and warmth in my life as this Gemütlichkeit.

"German is a great language to learn and there is so much history and culture embedded in it." - Buyaki Nyatichi '20

Buyaki Nyatichi '20

From: Kenya

Majors: German Studies and Computer Science

Why are you learning the German language?

I started learning German in high school and developed a strong interest in the culture and language. I would like to go to graduate school in Germany and live there for a bit before moving back home. Germany is definitely a great place to pursue an engineering career! And the German language is an integral part of being in Germany.

What is your favorite thing you've studied in a German class?

I watched the film M by Fritz Lang in GER 302: German Crime and Justice and this is so far the best thing I have watched. What made it my favorite was mostly the discussion that followed about justice and the different justice systems we had seen in other material for the class.

What advice would you offer to someone learning German for the first time?

German is a great language to learn and there is so much history and culture embedded in it. You don't want to miss that!

"Remember that it's called German Studies. While you'll be learning German the whole way through, you'll also be able to learn about German culture and history." - Chris Rumbaugh '19

Chris Rumbaugh '19

From: Olympia, WA

Majors: German Studies and Physics

Minor: Math

Why German? 

Aside from the countless German scientists and mathematicians, there's also plenty to be said about the opportunities to further your studies in Germany.

What have you enjoyed studying in German classes?

I've enjoyed almost every film we've watched in class because it's easier to understand the themes and humor while still experiencing the perspective of another culture. Also, remember that it's called German Studies. While you'll be learning German the whole way through, you'll also be able to learn about German culture and history.

What is your favorite German word?

Der Dudelsack (bagpipes)! I think my reasons are self-explanatory.

What advice would you offer to an incoming student about choosing a major?

Don't commit yourself to a major because you think it's what you should do. Think of which classes you enjoy most, and take more of those.

"The German program has given me endless amount of support and pushed me to question aspects of culture and history I don't think I would have explored otherwise." - Taylor Salaguinto '18

Taylor Salaguinto '18

From: Bothell, WA

Majors: German Studies and Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology

How was it living in Das Deutsche Haus?

Amazing! Living in a house with others that speak German was essential for developing my German fluency. It was also important for me to live with a native speaker to gain insight into the culture and traditions of German speaking areas.

What advice would you offer to someone learning German for the first time?

It's an amazing, beautiful language and not nearly as "harsh" as non-German speakers may initially expect. There is so much more you can do/say when you know German!

Also, my Whitman experience would not have been the same without the German program. It has given me endless amount of support and pushed me to question aspects of culture and history I don't think I would have explored otherwise.

What are your favorite German words?

Fernweh: the feeling of wanting to get away, wanderlust

Vokuhila: mullet (the haircut, not the fish). It's short for "vorne kurz, hinten lang"

What is your German Studies thesis about?

I'm looking at the intersections of generational bicultural identity in Germany's largest minority population, Turkish Germans. The way I am analyzing this dynamic is through the scope of film. Turkish German cinema has developed a subculture in Germany following second and third generations being born in Germany (as opposed to immigrating) and encountering their transnational identity in today's complex Europe.

What advice would you offer to an incoming student about choosing a major?

Don't have your mind made up going in. There are opportunities to grow, change your mind, or combine interests.