DEPARTMENT OF GERMANIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES NEWSLETTER WINTER 2018 lsa.umich.edu/german TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Chair 3 Events 4 - 5 Faculty Focus 6 - 7 Graduate Student Focus 8 - 9 Undergraduate Student Focus 10 - 11 In the Classroom 12 Staying Connected 13 Dutch Studies 14 Scandinavian Studies 15 2 Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures LETTER FROM THE CHAIR to the engagement and and lectures, working hard his students, and he has dedication of everyone to get their bearings in a commented on the outcome in the department, from world that is witnessing of both the German and our outstanding lecturers, newly emboldened white the Austrian elections for professors, and staff to the supremacists, threats to the press (see our website graduate and undergraduate democratic institutions, and for links to his articles). students who give back a tidal wave of populism. so much, and across In these ways and more, all three undergraduate That wave has engulfed many of which you’ll find programs: German, Europe as much as the detailed in the coming pages, Dutch, and Scandinavian United States. Here in we strive to help make Studies. Please take a the department, we have students aware of the culture moment to congratulate certainly been following and politics that surround your favorite member of this fall’s elections closely, them, whether close to Dear friends, lieve the department for this first in Germany and home or in the German-, vrienden, kära vänner— collective achievement! now in Austria, after the Dutch-, and Scandinavian- Netherlands had voted in speaking countries across Liebe Freunde At the same time, we March. These elections have the Atlantic. We do so in nah und fern remain keenly aware that brought the far right into the firm belief that cross- Wherever it finds you, I hope our work does not take the mainstream of national cultural encounters of the this newsletter finds you well place in a vacuum, but in politics, a development that kind enabled by language in these tumultuous times. the overlapping contexts long seemed unthinkable learning, study abroad, and I’ll get to what I mean by that make up our current after the end of Nazi literary and cultural studies tumultuous in a moment; cultural and political moment. Germany. Students had the remain key for navigating, but first, I’m pleased to This fall, I taught “Fascist opportunity to engage with and hopefully ameliorating, report that the Department Cinemas”—a course on the these portentous political these tumultuous times. of Germanic Languages and history of film in Germany, developments, whose Read on to see the many Literatures is bursting with Italy, Spain, and Japan from consequences extend to the ways in which we approach activity once again, from the 1920s through WWII. It is European Union and beyond, this task in our diverse the classroom to faculty a course I’ve taught several in their classes—including departmental activities. research, from our ambitious times, but this past semester, Silvia Grzeskowiak’s 4th- schedule of talks and events it felt different. A number of semester language course to our efforts at outreach students who signed up for on “News and Media in the Sincerely, and community engagement. the class back in April, mainly German-Speaking World,” We’re especially proud to because it helps them satisfy Peter McIsaac’s upper-level have received—for the second distribution requirements, seminar on “Current Events time already!—the College of have told me that in the Through German Media,” wake of Charlottesville, and Andy Markovits’s course, LSA's Department Award for Johannes von Moltke understanding the history cross-listed with Political Outstanding Contributions [email protected] to Undergraduate Education, of fascism and fascist Science, on “German Politics which was officially awarded culture has taken on a new in Europe since 1945.” at the beginning of the urgency; others are looking Andy even organized an semester. This is a tribute outward from our screenings election viewing party for lsa.umich.edu/german 3 DEPARTMENT HAPPENINGS As a leader in the field of Germanic Languages and Literatures, the department continues to attract world class artists, authors, and academics to the University of Michigan. We sponsored many events in the fall of 2017 which brought together an incredible amount of talent and a broad range of perspectives. Importantly, these events also provided exciting outside-the-classroom learning opportunities for students, faculty, and the broader university and southeast Michigan communities. BeTroit. Berlin. Detroit. Places where devastation is still visible alongside new opportunities. Cities that are rough and at the same time interesting and beautiful. In October, author Merle In 2016, artists from both Kröger and filmmaker cities—poets, emcees, Philip Scheffner brought a singer/songwriters, beat fascinating collaboration to producers—came together Ann Arbor. Havarie (Collision), in Detroit and created an combines a web of stories entire album in just one in which worlds intersect week of rich collaboration. In and collide—refugees September, the department in the Mediterranean, a hosted many of those artists Miami-based cruise ship, in Ann Arbor for a screening Russian and Ukrainian of Philip Halver’s inspiring tankers, and a Spanish documentary about the maritime rescue crew are process alongside live artist set against a flood of news Top image: Still from film Havarie images about the refugee performances. We also (Collision) © Philip Scheffner. welcomed a delegation of Bottom image: Group shot © be-troit.com 2017 crisis. Havarie (Collision), social workers from Berlin Scheffner's film and Kröger's to the event for an evening novel, radically redirects that was an inspiring, cross- our imagination of Europe cultural and multi-media. to a set of coordinates in For more information visit the Mediterranean Sea. The http://be-troit.com/ novel is a maritime thriller by one of Germany’s most celebrated crime writers, building suspense through the eyes of a diverse array of memorable characters. The film premiered at the 2016 Berlin Film Festival and won the German Film Critics Award for Best Experimental Film of 2016. 4 Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures Global Cultural Encounters Germanic languages & between the Material and the literatures, and East Asian Immaterial, 1750-1950, was studies. Assistant Professor a three-day interdisciplinary Kira Thurman presented workshop in August which her paper on the musical explored our world’s diaspora, "Encountering interconnectedness since Beethoven in Rural Alabama: the modern era. It brought German Music and Black together scholars from Education in the United many disciplines, including States, 1870–1940." history, anthropology, religion, performance studies, German students from workshop for our language area high schools and classes. You can view their U-M enjoyed a live musical music videos in German performance by the Munich through Deutsche Welle hip hop group EINSHOCH6 in and the Einshoch6 Youtube November. This free concert channel. U-M students have was held at the Neutral been particularly enjoying Zone, Ann Arbor’s teen "Deutschlehrerin" and "Lass The Department of Germanic "Presence as Profanation: community center. The band uns reden." Languages & Literatures German Naturalism's also conducted an on-site 2017-2018 Speaker Series Anti-Apotheoses" with included many significant Erica Weitzman, Assistant names in the field and Professor Northwestern beyond, bringing together University. Weitzman’s students and professors to teaching and research explore: interests include German literature, philosophy, and "Weather as a Problem culture of the nineteenth and in Media Theory" with John early twentieth centuries; Durham Peters, the María aesthetics and poetics; Rosa Menocal Professor theories of the comic; realism The 2017 Annual Werner of English and Professor and naturalism; critical Grilk Memorial Lecture of Film and Media Studies theory, phenomenology, and on "Music, Work, Society: at Yale University. Peters is psychoanalysis; law and Speculations and Mediations an interdisciplinary media literature; fin-de-siècle and at the Jahrhundertwende." historian and theorist with World War I; and literatures was presented by Professor allied interests in cultural of Mitteleuropa and Celia Applegate, Vanderbilt and intellectual history, Southeastern Europe. University. Applegate studies anthropology, religious the culture, society, and studies, philosophy, sound politics of modern Germany, studies, and the history of with particular interest science and technology. in the history of music, nationalism and national Top image Einshoch6 performing. identity. She is the William Bottom image: Medieval blacksmiths illustration by R. Kenan, Jr. Chair of History Jost Amman, 1568. and Professor of History at Vanderbilt University and an Edward T. Cone Member in Music Studies. lsa.umich.edu/german 5 FACULTY FOCUS Bicentennial Celebration of U-M's Museums - Object Lessons Recollecting Museum Histories at Michigan OBJEC T LESSONS October 13 - December 30, 2017 Exhibition dates: Kerstin Barndt, Associate Oct 13– cycle of collections, on points Professor of German and Dec 30, 2017 of origin and decline, and Museum Studies at U-M, Curated by on the shifting valorization teaches European and Kerstin Barndt of objects over time. U.S. museum history and in collaboration theory as well as twentieth with Richard Object Lessons draws Barnes