German & Slavic Studies

  Events  |  Student Awards  |  New Faculty  |  Faculty Activities   

Events

• Upcoming Events

Stay tuned for updates from the faculty and from the German Club about upcoming events for AY 2011-12. 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.  The DAAD Young Ambassador program encourages students who have gone abroad to become "Young Ambassadors that will help inspire their fellow students to study in Germany by working their universities' study abroad offices, volunteer at study abroad fairs, answering questions from students and organizing their own events on campus."  It is an amazing achievement that demonstrates his passion for the German culture and his ardent desire to help his peers find their passion as well.  Here are some of his thoughts from an interview conducted by the German department.

click here for the Lance Waters' Interview

"The decision to participate in a study abroad program is always a good one, though studying in Germany is—in my opinion—a better one. Despite having previously studied in Madrid, my time in Berlin exceeded all my expectations.  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. In many ways, the country also acts as a counterweight to the prevailing cynicism toward social and political issues. Fascinating for any student of the liberal arts, the German model demonstrates how a state can successfully contend with issues such as reunification, identity, multiculturalism, and social welfare. Germany offers students not only the opportunity to study at renowned academic institutions but also the opportunity to get to know a country posed to expand economically and play an ever greater role in global affairs." ~ Lance Waters, German Concentrator at Tulane.

NEW FACULTY!

A BIG HEARTY WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST PROFESSOR -- PROF. VALERIE WEINSTEIN!!  

Prof. Weinstein comes from the University of Nevada, Reno and joins the Tulane German & Slavic Department as a Visiting Assistant Professor of German and will be teaching German classes this fall.  For more information on Professor  Weinstein, click here.

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.