German Department Newsletter
Fall 2024
Poster exhibit in the ICC Galleria about the 75th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift
Liebe Studenten, Kollegen und Ehemalige!
As we are rapidly – too rapidly?? – approaching the end of the academic semester and the calendar year, it is time to reflect on our activities and actions these past few months and on some of the plans for the future that we have developed. The institutional contexts for our department have been challenging. Our president, Jack DeGioia, had a terrific stroke in early June. We all hoped that he would be better by this time and continue his extraordinary tenure as president, but he informed us a few weeks ago that he will need to focus on his medical recovery. We have great confidence that the Interim President, former Provost Bob Groves, will lead the University with compassion and great administrative acumen. We are equally confident that Interim Provost Soyica Colbert will provide strong and confident direction for the Main Campus. We are also hopeful that the current search for a permanent dean for the College of Arts and Sciences will bring a leader with institutional knowledge and stamina to provide the direction and steadiness we will need in these transformative times.
Closer to home, we had a successful semester with many events and two major conferences that brought together the two distinctive yet intertwined orientations of our Department, Second Language Acquisition and Literary and Cultural Studies. First, there was a workshop on digital storytelling with contributors from around the world, co-organized by Professor Marianna Ryshina-Pankova and a colleague from the Italian Department. Secondly, Professor Verena Kick convened a conference on digital projects focused on Franz Kafka, whose 100th anniversary of death is memorialized across the globe.
You will find stories about these conferences and many other activities in the Department, including the very successful tenure of this year’s Max Kade Visiting Professor, Dr. Steffen Siegel. You will also read about the passing of our dear colleague Professor Kurt R. Jankowsky earlier this year.
Looking forward, there will be a generational transition in the years ahead and we are moving to lay the groundwork of continuing to have a department that will be known for its excellent and exemplary education of German language, literature, and culture, both at the undergraduate and the graduate level.
Your continuing support has been and will continue to be critical for our success. So, thank you! I hope you will enjoy this newsletter, and best wishes for a peaceful and joyous holiday season and a blessed New Year.
Schöne Feiertage und einen guten Rutsch!
Herzlich,
Peter C. Pfeiffer
German Department Professor and Chair
Newsletter – Fall 2024
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Fall 2024, Past Events
Prof. Anja Banchoff with the Berlin Airlift poster display The German Department is proud to have presented a large variety of events during the Fall 2024 semester! During the first week of…
December 17, 2024
