Dear all,
Please click here to see the list of German classes for Spring, Summer and Fall 2019. This list includes course levels, language of instruction (German, English, Yiddish), number of credit hours, and completion of other requirements (distribution, R&E, ULWR, cross-lists, meet-togethers). We hope you will want to take many of these classes 🙂 If you have questions, please contact one of the German Undergraduate Peer Mentors or contact Mary (mkrasan@umich.edu) and or Kalli (kallimz@umich.edu) during their office hours.
- One update: Ger 303–002 now meets together with CLCIV 350.004
If you are a Mechanical Engineer and are still looking for a summer internship, please consider this position with BMW in Regensburg. You should be in German 231 or doing well in German 102 if you would like to apply.
Plan ahead to see the performance of Blaubart – Hoffnung der Frauen by the RC Deutsches Theater at East Quad on April 6 or 7! See the “Upcoming Deadlines” section for more info.
Please be aware that today is the departmental funding deadline for Goethe Institut courses (Spring/Summer), summer internships in Germany, and the Middlebury German language school.
The CGIS application portal for studying during Winter 2020 in Tübingen is already open. The application deadline will be on Sunday, September 15.
Other highlights from this week’s email, and what section to check for more details:
- Study Abroad, Internships, Scholarship Deadlines – Study Abroad/Internships/Scholarship Info AND Upcoming Deadlines & Events
- RC Deutsches Theater presents: Blaubart – Hoffnung der Frauen (April 6 & 7) – Upcoming Deadlines & Events
- German Lab, Schokoladenstunde, Conversation/Free-Writing hour, Kaffeestunde, and Deutschtisch – Conversation Hours, German Lab
- German Club “Stammtisch” March 27 – German Club
- German Dept. Open Book Translation Contest March 28 – Upcoming Deadlines & Events
- Lecture on the Minimum Wage in the German Context March 29 – Local Events and Opportunities
- Advising Hours – German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German
- Conversation Partner Options – Miscellaneous
- The Story of the Umlaut – Miscellaneous
- Awesome German Products – Miscellaneous
- German Department Funding for Spring/Summer Language Courses at a Goethe Institut in Germany (Monday, March 25; Application Deadline)
- German Department Funding for Summer Internships (Monday, March 25; Application Deadline)
- German Department Funding for Studying at Middlebury College German Language School – Summer 2019 (Monday, March 25; Application Deadline)
- German Department Open Book Translation Contest (Thursday, March 28; 4 p.m., MLB 3310—RSVP by Monday, March 25; 5 p.m.)
- Internship Posting: Sales Internship for ZF in Northville, MI (Friday, March 29; Application Deadline)
- Heinz Prechter Scholarships for Internships in Germany (Monday, April 1; Application Deadline)
- Internship Posting: Internship in IT for ZF in Northville, MI (Friday, April 5; Application Deadline)
- RC Deutsches Theater presents: Blaubart – Hoffnung der Frauen (April 6 & 7)
- In this sometimes dark, sometimes hilarious play by contemporary German playwright Dea Loher, you’ll meet Heinrich Blaubart (Blaubart=Blue Beard), who bears some resemblance to Blue Beard from the French fairy tale by the same name, who kills his wives when they disobey him and enter the forbidden chamber of his castle. Like the original Blue Beard, Heinrich Blaubart brings death to women he meets. Unlike the original Blue Beard, though, he doesn’t seek to do so; in fact, his fear of relationships makes him try to avoid women. This, of course, makes him all the more attractive to the women he encounters. On a deeper level, the play suggests that everyone is searching for something different and for some acceptance. Perhaps one should take heed, though, of Maeterlinck’s warning that: “There is a Blue Beard room in everyone’s soul that should never be opened.”
- Presented in German by students enrolled in RCHums334: From the Page to the Stage. Surtitles will make it possible for even non-German speakers to follow the action on stage. Directed by Janet Hegman Shier. Saturday, April 6 at 8 PM and Sunday matinée, April 8 at 2 PM in the Keene Theater (lower level of East Quad). We recommend a donation of $5 or non-perishable food items though no one will be turned away at the door. Proceeds go to SAFE HOUSE and Food Gatherers.
Schokoladenstunde (with games!): Tuesdays 5-6 and Wednesdays 11-12, in the Language Resource Center in North Quad.
- Schokoladenstunde will take place in the comfy seating area between the two computer classrooms in the Language Resource Center. There will be some German chocolate there 🙂 All students at all levels are welcome to come and chat and play games in German (e.g. Tabu etc.). Schokoladenstunde will be facilitated on Tuesdays by Mary Gell, and on Wednesdays by Silvia Grzeskowiak.
- If you ask Silvia/Mary to email your instructor that you were there, you can use this to make up 2 “A&P points” in 101-232.
Conversation and Free-Writing Hour: Fridays 11-12, 3117 MLB
- Informal conversation and free-writing activities. Open to all levels of students.
- Conducted by Shubhangi Dabak (dabaks@umich.edu) – contact her for more info!
- If you ask Shubhangi to email your instructor that you were there, you can use this to make up 2 “A&P points” in 101-232.
Max Kade Kaffeestunde (Tuesdays 9-10 pm) & Deutschtisch (Sundays 7-8 pm)
- Kaffeestunde at the Max Kade Haus takes place Tuesdays 9-10 pm in the Said Lounge on the Residential Side of North Quad – but please check this page for occasional updates!
- The Said Lounge is in the residential portion of North Quad, which is only open to residents ==> when you go, please email Jon (jonjan@umich.edu), so that someone can come to the front door and let you in. You can also just knock on the door of the residential portion and tell a residence staff member that you are there for the Max Kade House event, and you will be let in.
- Deutschtisch in the North Quad dining hall: Sundays 7-8 pm.
- You will need a meal plan or Entrée Plus to enter, or you can purchase a meal at the door (note that this is not cheap) – but you may also be allowed to come in just to talk and not eat, if you say at the door that you are there for the Max Kade event.
- The group has yellow signs with “Max Kade Deutschtisch” to identify where they are sitting.
- For questions, contact Jon (jonjan@umich.edu).
- German students at all levels (101 and up) are welcome at all Max Kade events. You can make up “A&P” points in 101-232 by attending Max Kade Deutschtisch or Kaffeestunde [NOT Spazierstunde!]. Just ask Jon to email your instructor that you were there!
German Lab in Alcove B in the Language Resource Center in North Quad is open Mon-Thu 1-4 pm.
- The German Lab is open Monday-Thursday 1-4 every week. It’s in Alcove B in the LRC (ground level of North Quad, Room 1500).
- Go to the German Lab for any kind of help (except we can’t proofread your essays for you): if you need help with homework or a test review sheet (we can proofread your test essays for German 101-231), if you need grammar topics explained or reviewed or need more practice, if you just want to speak some German for fun and/or for your AMD etc. If you have time in the afternoons from 1-4, do your homework in the LRC! Then if you get stuck on something, you can just stop by the German Lab alcove so we can get you unstuck.
- Click here for more info!
LRC Conversation Partner Site
Go to this page to sign up or find a conversation partner. Please notify the LRC if you notice problems (e.g. outdated records etc.). Don’t be shy: the more people sign up, the better the site will work!
RC Coffee Hour: Mondays 4-5, Greene Lounge, East Quad
- All are welcome to come to this German conversation hour!
- This is NOT something you can do to make up an absence, but you can still go for fun and/or write about it for an AMD.
Ann Arbor Stammtisch
- A German Stammtisch meets once a week, usually on Thursdays at 8:00 pm at Grizzly Peak or another bar near Main Street. Join the email list to stay up-to-date on where and when the group will meet.
- There’s also a facebook page: look for “German Table / Stammtisch”
- Alternatively, contact Andy Kasten at apkindland@yahoo.de for the current location and for more information. Wherever the Stammtisch meets, he’ll be wearing a VfB Stuttgart soccer jersey — Debitel on the front, Bordon #5 on the back. It’s white with a red collar and stripes.
- This is NOT something you can do to make up an absence, but you can still go for fun and/or write about it for an AMD.
German Club – “Stammtisch“ (Wednesday, March 27; 7-8 p.m., Michigan League Underground)
Questions/Comments: email Parker Hill (pbhill@umich.edu)
Email germaneboard@umich.edu to get put on the email list, or “like” the club on Facebook at facebook.com/germanclubumich for updates!
Please note that by attending German Club meetings, you can make up “A&P” points in German 101-232. Just ask one of the German Club officers to email your instructor (or write a note) saying you were there!
Faculty Advisors Mary Rodena-Krasan & Kalli Federhofer
- Contact our two faculty advisors, Mary or Kalli, for advice on study abroad, internships abroad, a German major/minor, upper-level German courses, career opportunities in German, study-abroad and work-abroad opportunities, etc. They have frequent office hours in Fall/Winter, as follows:
- Mary Rodena-Krasan (MLB 3128; mkrasan@umich.edu):
- Her office hours in the Winter term are:
T,TH 11-4 p.m.
- Her office hours in the Winter term are:
- Karl-Georg Federhofer (MLB 3422; kallimz@umich.edu):
- His next office hours will take place on these days:
Monday, March 25: 10-11:30, 1:30-3 p.m.,
Tuesday, March 26: 10-12:30 p.m.,
Wednesday, March 27: 10-11:30, 1:30-4:30 p.m.,
Thursday, March 28: 10-12:30, 2:30-4:30 p.m.,
Friday, March 29: 10-11:30, 1:30-4:30 p.m.,and by appointment
- His next office hours will take place on these days:
- To reach either advisor: germanadvising@umich.edu
- You can also schedule appointments with Mary & Kalli by clicking here
German Peer Advisors/Mentors
If you would like to get in touch with a peer mentor in our Department, please write to: germanmentors@umich.edu. Their expertise includes:
- Current classes and potential courses
- Study abroad, internship, and traveling in Germany
- Academic requirements (major/minor, LSA language requirement) and combination (engineering, pre-health, etc.)
- Max Kade House
- Departmental scholarships/fellowships
- On- and off-campus German opportunities (German Club, German Day, etc.)
- Career/job search
- Getting involved – enhancing your undergraduate experience with the German Department
- Study Abroad in Germany – Winter 2020 Term in Tübingen (Sunday, September 15; Application Deadline)
- LSA Internship Funding Page
- Fulbright Program for U.S. Students 2020/2021: English Teaching Assistantship – Information Sessions (Wednesday, March 27; 12-1 p.m., Weiser Hall 447)
- PICS Events – Graduate Studies at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin: Information Session (Monday, April 1; 3-4:30 p.m., Weiser Hall 555)
- Mark and Myra Sorensen International Travel Scholarship (Sunday, April 28; Application Deadline)
- LSA Internship Scholarship (Saturday, June 8; Final Application Deadline)
This page will only include entries in this category when there is a job/internship etc. aimed at German students at all levels. To see more internship and job opportunities, scroll through Kalli’s blog, addressed to all upper-level German students
Attila Lindner, University College London: “Labor Economics: Reallocation and the Minimum Wage – Evidence from Germany” (Friday, March 29; 1-2:30 p.m., Lorch Hall 201)
There are two German Department facebook groups:
- “German Advising at University of Michigan” [Read news here!]
- Join this group to see much of the information you see in this email, as well as other relevant info, in the form of individual announcement posts.
- “German Program at University of Michigan – Vorwärts Blau!” [Post things here!]
- You are encouraged to join this group to in order to read and post interesting/fun items related to German language and culture. If you have trouble joining the group or posting something, please email Hartmut!
AND there is a German Department facebook page. Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/umichGerman/
You can find weekly updates similar to this email but with lots more content on this blog.
We also encourage you to join us on our LinkedIn site: ‘University of Michigan German Department’
You can also follow us on Twitter: @umichGerman
Conversation Partner Options: Various options for finding conversation partners are listed on this page.
The Story of the Umlaut
- Click on the link to see a fun video about the history of the Umlaut!
Awesome German Products
- Click on the link to see a fun video about “Awesome German Products” from the YouTube series “Germany vs USA”