Dear all,
Deutschtisch hiatus: The Spring Term ends on Monday (6/24) ==> the last Deutschtisch for the Spring (next Monday, 6/24) will be open only to the students in German 100. Deutschtische will resume in the Summer Term, and will be associated with German 230. The first Summer term Deutschtisch (Wed 7/3) will be just for the German 230 students. As of Mon 7/8, all will be welcome again to attend the Summer Deutschtische!
Kalli’s last summer office hour is tomorrow (Thu 6/20) from 10 am – 1 pm. See the “German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German” section for more info!
The CGIS application portal for studying during Winter 2020 in Tübingen is open. The application deadline will be on Sunday, September 15.
Please click here to see the list of German classes for Spring, Summer and Fall 2019.
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
- Conversation Partner Options – Miscellaneous
- Some YouTube links for fun – Miscellaneous
- Mark Twain: The Horrors of the German Language – Miscellaneous
Deutschtisch
See the note at the beginning of this email regarding the upcoming “Deutschtisch hiatus”!
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 Please notify the LRC if you notice problems (e.g. outdated records etc.).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!
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 events will resume in the Fall!
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, but more limited availability in Spring/Summer. Please use the email info or the link below to contact them!
- Mary Rodena-Krasan (MLB 3128; mkrasan@umich.edu)
- Karl-Georg Federhofer (MLB 3422; kallimz@umich.edu)
- Kalli’s next office hours: Thursday, June 20: 10-1 p.m.,
- To reach either advisor: germanadvising@umich.edu
- You may also be able to 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 availability may be limited in the summer! The peer mentors’ 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
- German Bundestag Internship Program 2020 (Wednesday, July 31; Application Deadline)
- Fulbright U.S. Student Program 2020-2021 (Friday, August 30; University of Michigan Campus Application Deadline)
- Fulbright Program for U.S. Students 2020/2021: General Information Session (Wednesday, July 24; 12-1 p.m., Webinar)
- Study Abroad in Germany – Metropolitan Studies in Berlin (Sunday, September 15; 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]
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.
Some YouTube links for fun
Flula: American Football, Your Name It Is Strange
[No, he’s not serious. If you’ve never seen him, look e.g. for “Shooting fish in a barrel”] Found by a German 101 student – vielen Dank!
Fun song around this phrase for saying things are “so-so.” Click the link for more info about So la la, including a link to the lyrics.
Mark Twain: The Horrors of the German Language
Here is the text: The Horrors of the German Language
Despite its title and half-serious message, this is a marvelous text, not only because of its obvious humor, but because Twain wrote (and delivered) the speech in excellent German, and also translated it literally word-for-word into English – i.e. yes, Twain is making fun of German, but he spoke it so well that he had earned the right to do so 🙂 Reading through the parallel columns of this text can be a great activity for expanding your vocabulary, and getting a feel for German grammar and syntax, and for some of the differences between German and English – though Twain is of course also using a somewhat older form of the language, and manipulating it to suit his purpose.
Excerpt/Highlight: “I might gladly the separable verb also a little bit reform. I might none do let what Schiller did: he has the whole history of the Thirty Years’ War between the two members of a separable verb in-pushed. That has even Germany itself aroused, and one has Schiller the permission refused the History of the Hundred Years’ War to compose – God be it thanked!”