Weekly Email for German 101-231 – 23. April 2024

Hartmut Rastalsky Weekly Email Archive

Liebe Studis – Dear students,
 
Please note that (1) weekly conversation opportunities for the semester have ended, and will resume in the Fall, and (2) the German Lab is now closed and will reopen in the Fall.
 
If you have enjoyed your German courses here, please tell your friends about the opportunity to complete the language requirement over the summer by enrolling in German 100 this Spring (click the link to see a flyer!), and German 230 this Summer. The Spring/Summer classes typically have smaller numbers of students, and the intensive format makes for more efficient learning. If you are currently in German 102, you could complete the language requirement sequence by taking German 231 in the Spring and German 232 in the Summer – or you could take the super-intensive 8-credit German 230 course in the Summer half-term, which covers German 231 and 232 in one course. In the Spring term, we also offer a 3-credit course in English, German 386- Fairy Tales.
 
Simon Mikolayczyk, one of our alums, is the Chief Administrative Officer for UniCredit in New York City. He has approached us as they are interested in hiring Michigan undergraduates for paid internship positions this spring/summer. If interested, please apply by Friday, April 26.
 
If you can imagine pursuing a graduate degree in German, you are invited to apply for a ‘Grad for a Day’ Scholarship to visit the German program at the University of Minnesota in October. The application deadline is Wednesday, May 15.
 
If you are looking for some paid opportunites for the upcoming academic year, you may want to secure an internship with the Institute for the Humanities (application deadline: May 17), or be a Paid Student Leader at the LSA Opportunity Hub (application deadline: May 31), or become a Peer Advisor at CGIS (application deadline: August 1).
 
Undergraduates in the German Department have uploaded submissions for “Schriftlich“. You can find the publication here.
 
Here is the list of German dept. classes offered in Spring, Summer, and Fall 2024. Please note that even if you already know your plans for German language classes, the list also includes a wide variety of interesting courses in English. If you have questions please contact our advisors, Mary and Kalli. We also strongly encourage you to contact one of the German Peer Mentors, who are undergraduates and who have taken/are taking our German courses. See the “German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German” section below for contact info.
 
Advisor office hours and contact info: You can reach the German advisors through a general email: germanadvising@umich.edu. We have two advisors. They are available for advising hours throughout the semester:
A link to their current office hours will always be included in the full text of these weekly emails, which you can find online:  scroll down to the section “German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German.” You can schedule appointments with Mary and Kalli here.
 
Other highlights from this week’s email, and what section to check for more details:
  • Conversation Opportunities – Conversation Hours, German Lab
  • Study Abroad, Internships, Scholarship Deadlines – Study Abroad/Internships/Scholarship Info
  • Advising Info – German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German
  • Conversation Partner Options – Miscellaneous
  • International Center Global Engagement and Education Abroad email list – Miscellaneous
  • Finding German Films and Series Online – Miscellaneous
  • Chrome Extension for Dual-Language Subtitles – Miscellaneous

Upcoming Deadlines and Events

  1. Michael Löwy, “Franz Kafka’s Trial and the Antisemitic Trials of His Time” (Thursday, April 25; 4 p.m., North Quad Space 2435)
 
 
  3. DAAD German Studies Research Grant (Wednesday, May 1; Application Deadline)
 
  4. ‘Grad For A Day’ Scholarship Opportunity at University of Minnesota (Wednesday, May 15; Application Deadline — See Attachment)
 
  5. Public Humanities Internship Program 2024-2025 (Friday, May 17; Application Deadline)

Conversation Hours, German Lab

Weekly conversation hours and Max Kade events will resume in the Fall. Check these weekly emails in Spring/Summer for information about Deutschtische [lunchtime conversation hours] associated with German 100 in the Spring [if there is sufficient enrollment], and German 230 in the Summer.

The “German Lab” will also reopen in the Fall.

LRC Conversation Partner Site Check out this site to find a conversation partner, and/or register so others can find you on the site. 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!

A2 Stammtisch

  • Meets every other Thursday at 8:00 pm at Grizzly Peak, 120 West Washington St. Pre-registration is requested: Contact Mechthild Heerde-Olind at heerdeolind “at” yahoo.com to be added to the email list. You can also check the event listings in the Ann Arbor Observer for info on meeting times and locations. [last verified: 1/23/2023]
  • 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

German Club events will resume in the Fall!
 
Check the “Upcoming Deadlines and Events” section to see upcoming German Club events. You can earn 2 “A&P” make-up/bonus points by attending any of these events!
 
The German Club works to connect students of all levels with a passion for German language and culture to opportunities for language practice, cultural events, and networking. You are encouraged to come to as many or few events as you would like!

Email germaneboard@umich.edu to get put on the email list, or “like” the club on Facebook at facebook.com/germanclubumich for updates!

German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German

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.

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

German-Related Jobs and Opportunities

[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]

UofM German bei Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn und Blogger

There is a German Department facebook group, and a German Department facebook page:

  • “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 Department facebook page: Check it out!

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

Miscellaneous

Conversation Partner Options: Various options for finding conversation partners are listed on this page.

Sign up here for the International Center’s Global Engagement and Education Abroad email list. Weekly emails include info on workshops regarding travel and work abroad, conversation groups, cultural info sessions etc. SEHR interessant!

Finding German Films and Series

Chrome Extension for Dual-Language Subtitles

A German 101 student has found a Google Chrome extension that allows for subtitles in two languages, and has found this very helpful for watching e.g. “Dark” in German for his AMDs. I have not had time to try this, but if you find the dual language subtitles in the “Easy German” videos helpful, then this may be worth checking out. The extension is called Language Reactor.