UChicago German Club

04/12/2022

Join us next Monday, and meet our speaker for this quarter: Dr. Carver! He will present in English about graffiti in Berlin. Food from The Nile provided🍴🍴.

04/04/2022

*Number denotes week of the quarter*
Here is a list of the remaining events we have for this quarter and their tentative dates! Check the Instagram often for other events that get added and for reminders!

03/29/2022

Join us!

03/17/2022

The end of the quarter is here, and we are so happy with all the support we have had! There will be no Bachelor this week, but we will finish it up the first and second week of next quarter! Here’s a picture of some Bachelor fans from the past two weeks.

03/03/2022

This week, we’ve had Karneval at the Dankhaus, Professor Christian‘s wonderful speech on her current work, AND we also have the Bachelor tonight at 7PM in Cobb 201 A/B?!? Wow! Make sure to join our WhatsApp group to stay posted on all our events (link in bio)!

03/03/2022

This week we’ve had Karneval at the Dankhaus, Professor Christian‘s wonderful speech on her current work, AND the Bachelor tonight at 7PM in Cobb 201 A/B? Wow! Make sure to join our WhatsApp group to stay posted on all our events (link in bio)!

02/24/2022

Bachelor in 201 A/B @ 7PM! See y’all there😎

02/22/2022

All students interested in German studies or culture at the University should make sure to register for our first speaker series of the year! Any questions about German studies and the club can be answered at the event. Food will also be provided from The Nile. To RSVP, please email [email protected] by Thursday at 5PM.

02/18/2022

Karneval is fast approaching, and the German Club has planned an outing to celebrate: a dinner and ball!

On Saturday, February 26th, we will head to a German restaurant in northern Chicago (Laschet's Inn). Afterwards, we will go to the Maskenball put on by the Dankhaus! We will meet at the Regenstein at 5:00PM to travel to these locations via public transportation. Tickets for the Maskenball are $25 a person, and dinner will be a subsequent expense. If you would like to attend or have questions, email Lucas ([email protected]) to be added to the email list for the event.
Also, if you would like to dress up (a tradition of Karneval), there is an opportunity to win prizes at the ball.

02/17/2022

The "Der Bachelor" (German Bachelor) saga continues in Cobb 201 (A/B) @ 7:00PM tonight! See you there!

01/26/2022

Come watch some German reality TV with us this quarter! Every Thursday starting this Thursday, January 27, we'll be showing an episode of Der Bachelor. You can find all of the details here: https://fb.me/e/62FaYkLsC.

11/05/2021

Theme

Festival Neue Literatur

Nov. 12 - 13 - 14, 2021

I invite you to participate in the 11th annual Festival Neue Literatur, "the first and only festival to spotlight German-language and American fiction". The festival is organized in NYC by a consortium of cultural institutions in NYC, but it is being held this year online, and participation is free of charge. This year's theme is Turn and Face the Strange: "The books featured this year explore the strangeness, uncanniness, and eeriness that sometimes lurks just beneath the surface of daily life and that can break out full force in times of change—whether large or small, internal or external, real or imagined, spatial or temporal."

This year the festival is featuring six celebrated, prize-winning authors with highly varied and international backgrounds, including the University of Chicago's very own Isabel Fargo Cole (BA 1995):

Anna Baar (Austria): Die Farbe des Granatapfels ("The Color of Pomegranate")
Isabel Fargo Cole (Germany): Das Gift der Bienen ("Bee Venom/The Poison of Bees")
Judith Keller (Switzlerand): Die Fragwürdigen ("The Questionable Ones")
Benjamin Quaderer (Liechtenstein): Für immer die Alpen ("The Alps Forever")
Sasha Marianna Salzmann (Germany): Ausser Sich ("Beside Oneself")
Ivna Žic (Switzerland): Die Nachkommenden ("Those Who Come Later")

See more detailed information as well as registration instructions at http://festivalneueliteratur.org/festival/theme

Here at the University of Chicago I will host a follow-up meeting on Monday, Nov. 16th (time and place TBD), where we will discuss any of the events that you attended. The festival has an ambitious program, and it's unlikely that any of our busy students will be able to attend everything. I recommend prioritizing these first two events:

1. Words With Writers - Friday, November 12 at 12:00 PM

Selected students from Columbia University, Rutgers University, New York University and the University of Chicago -- including our very own James Korzenik (BA Germanic Studies, 2021)!! -- take on FNL authors in a lightning round of literary interviews.


2. The Author's Voice - Friday, November 12 at 6:00 PM

The six German-language authors of Festival Neue Literatur pair up with past participants of Festival Neue Literatur to give a sampling from their work in both the original and English-language translation, providing a taste of new writing from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

Please rsvp to [email protected] if you plan to attend any events of the festival and participate in the follow-up meeting. I will work with those who rsvp to find a time on Monday, Nov. 15th, that works for everyone.

That weekend there will also be three panel discussions, all of which will be available online:

3. Poisoned Roots - Saturday, November 13 at 1:00 PM

The after-effects of war—hot or cold—reverberate through generations. This panel will explore how experiences of war shape even generations and societies who believe they’ve been spared. This is nothing new: as Homer warned, “Beware the toils of war . . . the huge dragnet sweeping up the world.” Can literature build antibodies by bringing those toxins to light?

4. Who are You Calling Strange?: How Translation Can Challenge Established Norms and Narratives - Saturday, November 13 at 4:00 PM

The festival’s signature translation event returns to explore how translation can refine and even redefine dominant historical and socio-political norms and narratives. Translation Pairings: I. Sawako Nakayasu and Katrine Jensen II. Jill Schoolman and Archipelago Translators Peter Wortsman, Mary Ann Newman, and Tess Lewis III. Isabel Fargo Cole and Jennifer Croft


5. Alternate Realities - Sunday, November 14 at 1:00 PM

How can fiction help us question our assumptions about what seems most familiar? This panel will explore the way literature can sharpen our sense of realit(ies) by unsettling us. If Wittgenstein was right that the limits of our language are the limits of our world, how can we expand those limits?

--
Colin Benert
Associate Instructional Professor of German
Department of Germanic Studies
The University of Chicago
1050 E 59th St.
Chicago, IL 60637

FESTIVAL NEUE LITERATUR brings New York audiences new writing from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, as the first and only festival to spotlight German-language and American fiction. We are delighted to announce that our 2021 Festival will take place from November 11 through Nove...

04/06/2021

Here is our Events Calendar for the quarter. Hope to see you there! 😄🇩🇪

02/28/2021

We are recruiting! If you are interested in organizing events, gaining leadership experience and/or want to be involved in the UCGC community, you can find the application here:
https://forms.gle/PFamDCaP8Auh9TsE6
Note that no prior German language experience is required, only enthusiasm! Applications close Monday, March 29th, at 11:59PM CST Danke 😃
(Questions? Contact: Luca Strohmeier at [email protected])

02/11/2021

We are recruiting! If you are interested in organizing events, gaining leadership experience and/or want to be involved in the UCGC community, you can find the application here:
https://forms.gle/PFamDCaP8Auh9TsE6

Note that no prior German language experience is required, only enthusiasm! Applications close Monday, March 8th, at 11:59PM CST Danke 😃

(Questions? Contact: Luca Strohmeier at [email protected])

01/10/2021

*DEADLINE TONIGHT*

Curious to explore a career as a German teacher and find a meaningful job while pursuing what you love? Eager to polish up your German skills next summer at Middlebury’s German School? The Goethe-Institute is offering scholarships in support of German language acquisition for instructors in the SPARK for German program (see attached flyer for more details). The scholarship could be a great way of advancing your German skills.

SPARK is a program designed to reach K-12 students and teach them German. UChicago students create lesson plans and will soon begin working with students at Kenwood Academy, and possibly beyond! Through thematic learning, the program aims to provide access to German language instruction through face to face meetings and lots of fun activities (of our own design). And of course, please reach out to Prof. Nicole Burgoyne ([email protected]) or Peter Camporeale ([email protected]) to learn more about the SPARK program and how you can become involved!

07/24/2020

Watch M

Hallo Deutsch Klub!

The Department of Germanic Studies invites you to:

Kaffeestunde für Anfänger (Coffee hour for those who have completed about a year of German)
Wednesday, July 29th at 4-5pm (central time)
Wednesday, August 26th at 4-5pm (central time)

Stammtisch für Fortgeschrittene (The regulars' table for those who have completed at least two years)
Wednesday, August 5th at 4-5pm (central time)
-suggested film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari https://uchicago.kanopy.com/video/cabinet-dr-caligari

Wednesday, September 2nd at 4-5pm (central time)
-suggested film M https://uchicago.kanopy.com/video/m

Please contact Professor Burgoyne at [email protected] for the Zoom link.

A simple, haunting musical phrase whistled offscreen tells us that a young girl will be killed. "Who Is the Murderer?" pleads a nearby placard as serial killer Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) closes in on little Elsie Beckmann . . . In his harrowing masterwork, Fritz Lang merges trenchant social commenta...

09/25/2019

Hope everyone enjoyed their sommer! We're excited to share a book reading opportunity on Tuesday, Oct 15 at 4:30 pm with the German Department. We will be looking at Das Judaskreuz, a historical crime novel by William Boehart.

You can RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2382838505168246/

06/27/2019

The Goethe-Institut in Chicago is looking for volunteers for a ten-week program in the fall of 2019. Participants will receive $350 to work with a program designed to teach children ages 8-12 basic German and science concepts simultaneously as part of their German + STEM in After-School Programs: The German Digital Kinderuniversity, which will take place between October and December 2019.

Here's the Goethe-Institut's blurb for the program! If you're interested, contact Nicole Burgoyne ([email protected]) from the UChicago German Department.

STEM and German are a winning combination: German is considered, after English, one of the key languages used in science professionally and in research. In the US and Germany there is genuine demand for STEM professionals, so students combining STEM and language competencies have access to a wealth of academic and professional opportunities. Bringing STEM and German language learning together is at the heart of the Goethe-Institut’s STEM initiatives.

This fall, the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s cultural and language institute, will work together with schools at elementary and middle school level to offer free after-school programs in German and STEM. These programs are based on the resources of the German Digital Kinderuniversity, an educational project introducing STEM-topics and basic German language at the same time.

Our selected trainers from high schools and universities will present these afternoon sessions on a weekly basis for up to 10 weeks in the fall of 2019.

We are currently looking university students with a good command of German who are interested in participating in this project as trainers.

What we offer:
- a lump-sum honorarium of $350 for up to 10 after-school sessions of ‘German and STEM' for students between the ages of 8 and 12 years between Oct. and Dec. 2019
- introduction to the modules and resources of the German Digital Kinderuniversity
- didactic training and guidance by the Goethe-Institut Chicago
- an opportunity to gather teaching experience with kids
- a certificate of participation
What we ask for:

- motivated students with a good command of the German language, affinity with STEM and interest in working with kids at elementary and middle schools
- commitment to conducting up to 10 after-school sessions at a school - commitment to attending the (online) introductory seminar in September
- commitment to evaluating this program by the end of 2019.

05/08/2019

We are recruiting! If you are interested in organizing events, gain leadership experience and/or want to be involved in the UCGC community, you can find the application here: https://forms.gle/K5pgUUPCZbhEiuet5

Note that no prior German language experience is required, only enthusiasm! Applications close Saturday, May 11 at 22:59. Danke :D

03/08/2019

'Laschet's Inn' Restaurant Trip

We still have a few seats available for dinner at Laschet's Inn tomorrow at 7:30 pm! We’ll be subsidizing everyone’s order by $10, so take this opportunity to enjoy delicious German cuisine on us! No language experience is required. We'll be leaving from the North Campus Lobby at 5:45. Sign up via this Google Form:

Friday, March 8th Meet at 5:45 PM at North Campus Lobby (Or meet us there at 7:30 PM) Join us for dinner at Laschet's Inn! We’ll be subsidizing everyone’s order by $10, so take this opportunity to enjoy delicious German cuisine on us! Feel free to invite friends by sending them this form. Lasche...

03/07/2019

From our friends at BCG to all students in interested in consulting in Germany!
Deadline to apply is March 31, 2019.
Feel free to reach out to with any questions!

03/06/2019

Germanic Studies Professor Awarded the Golden Goethe Medal

Congratulations, Professor Wellbery!

Professor David Wellbery was awarded for his research on the conceptual links between Goethe and German philosophers at the time.

02/20/2019

Elektra Opera Tickets

We still have a few tickets for Strauss's "Elektra" on February 22nd (Friday)! We'll be meeting at 5:30 at Dollop to hand out tickets for the 7:00 show. Sign up through this Google Form and reserve your ticket: https://goo.gl/forms/1DBznwUqnwdtBuAU2

Join us to see Strauss's "Elektra" on February 22nd (Friday). Meet at 5:30 PM in Dollop in Campus North for a 7 o'clock show. Each ticket for only $20!

01/24/2019

Want to explore German film? Join us for a free screening of Berlin: Ecke Schönhauser tomorrow at 3:00 pm in Cobb 311! We won’t have subtitles, so this will be an event for advanced language learners and those excited for a challenge. We hope to see you there!

01/11/2019

There's a FREE film screening today 3-4:30 in Cobb 311! English subtitles and free popcorn! :D

"Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World"

A Weimar period masterpiece, in which an avant-garde, fragmented narrative is used to tell the story of a working-class family in Berlin in 1931.

Survival is difficult, with massive unemployment in the wake of the Great Depression. After Anni's brother commits suicide in despair, her family finds itself forced to move to Kuhle Wampe, a lakeside camp on the outskirts of Berlin, now home to increasing numbers of unemployed. When Anni's relationship with Franz ends, she moves back to Berlin and gets involved in the workers' youth movement.