Events

 Distinguished Lecturer gives talk 

• Recently the German and Slavic Studies Department hosted Dr. Joachim Von Puttkamer.
  
  

Doctor, Professor and Head of the Imre Kertsz Collegium for the Study of History  of Central Europe, University of Jena

The talk was held on March 4th the topic was "Poland in 1989: Crisis and Transition".

•  Professor Dietmar Felber coaches actress for Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained

Getting the call to tutor a famous actress in a blockbuster film is not high on the list of typical things a Tulane faculty member may be asked to do.  But that is exactly what happened to German & Slavic Studies visiting lecturer Dietmar Felber. 

For more on Professor Felber's experience, click here.

For an interview with Reese Osta, a German Studies major who saw the film and heard Kerry Washington speak here at Tulane, click here.

• Former German minor gets teaching fellowship in Germany

             “I have been on my Fulbright in Germany for just over three months now and, thus far, it has been a whirlwind of an experience. I was placed as an English Teaching Assistant at a Gymnasium in the city of Würzburg. Würzburg is one of Germany's oldest university cities and is also the heart of the Franconian wine growing region. This has provided a one-of-a-kind backdrop for my time in the classroom where I am sharing American culture with eager German students. Ironically, their outside perspective is helping me learn as much about my own country as about Germany itself. Outside the classroom, my time here is proving to be incredibly personally rewarding. The Fulbright scholarship is allowing me to pursue my own ambitions in a limitless, priceless way my first year after graduating from Tulane.I appreciated the openness and flexibility of the German and Slavic program in helping me spend a semester abroad in Berlin. Professor Brancaforte helped me to transfer my credits to fulfill a German minor and fostered my interest in and passion for German language and culture.I am confident that I will come out of the program in June with lessons and experiences that resonate with me as I move forward to the next stage of my life. I am grateful for Tulane and for the late Senator Fulbright for making all of this possible.” - Jeffrey McInnis

• Russian Poetry Reading 

             In conjunction with the ASEEES conference in New Orleans (Nov 15, 2012), we held an undergraduate panel discussion on Russian literature on campus and had a poetry reading by Polina Barskova.   Polina Barskova, born in 1976, is widely regarded as one of the most important Russian poets of her generation. Her first book of poems was published when she was still a teenager, and she has released seven volumes since.  Last year, Barskova’s latest collection was short-listed for the prestigious Andrei Bely Prize.  She recently published an English-language collection, The Zoo in Winter (Melville House, 2011), translated by Boris Dralyuk and David Stromberg.  Barskova read her works in Russian and in English translation, with a warm conversation about Russian literature in general and how to translate poetry.

                                    

Stay tuned for updates from the faculty and from the German Club about upcoming events for AY 2012-13. For a sample of what will be in store, please click the link below!

• Recent Past Events

Student Awards

• 2011-12 DAAD Ambassador: Lance Waters ~ Congratulations!

It is our department's great pleasure to congratulate Lance Waters, a senior pursuing a double major in German Studies and political science, for his selection as a 2011 DAAD Young Ambassador.

click here for the Lance Waters' Interview

"My experience as a student in Berlin was marked by accessible professors, a broad academic curriculum, modern facilities, and contact with students from around the world."
~ Lance Waters, German Concentrator at Tulane.

Professional Faculty Activities

Professor and Departmental Chair Elio Brancaforte has recently been featured in an article in the Times Picayune from October 23, 2011.

'Once Upon a Time' and 'Grimm' bring fairy-tale characters to prime time.

The article discusses the new ABC TV series "Once Upon a Time" and the new NBC TV series "Grimm" which both showed their Pilot episodes late October.  This shifting trend of interest towards fairy tale lore in pop culture led Times Picayune writer Dave Walker to obtain a comment from Professor Brancaforte, who does much academic work on fairy tales and folklore.  He recently hosted a talk given by Harvard Professor Maria Tatar, a world famous fairy tale specialist, which was open to the Tulane community.  Professor Brancaforte also regularly  teaches the course "Grimm Reckonings".

Tulane's Elio Brancaforte studies fairy-tale references in popular culture

This online article has questions and answers with Professor Brancaforte regarding the previous article.  It asks for his expert opinions of the upcoming TV series "Grimm" and "Once Upon a Time", which are based off fairy tales and folklore, along with several other questions about his studies and work. 

"I know that my (future) students will be watching, so I will watch so that I know what the series are all about…I'll be interested to see what approach the series will take to the "classic" tales, and how they will adapt them and try to make them relevant for a modern audience."

For past Faculty Activities, click here.