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Germany in Class
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March 2009 |
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Dear Educators, The deadline for the Annual Essay Contest is fast approaching! ALL ENTRIES ARE DUE APRIL 15, 2009. You and your students could win gift certificates from amazon.com or other Germany Info prizes. How do you enter? Simply read the instructions below, pick your topic and away you go! The topics this year are especially relevant: the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and climate policy for the future. Germany Info will spend 2009 focusing on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and transatlantic cooperation on climate policy.
The fall of the Berlin wall 20 years ago marked the beginning of a new era in history. It was the end of the Cold War, the beginning of a fully united Europe and proof that peaceful change is possible, even in the moments when it seems most unlikely. All year the German Information Center USA will focus on 1989, changes in the past 20 years, where the future is leading Germany and some things that remain with us today- such as the Sandmännchen! You can also read other reader's stories about where they were when the wall came down. Keep checking back with our Freedom Without Walls InFocus for more information throughout 2009.
For decades, Americans and Europeans have joined forces successfully to address the key challenges facing us. Today, an opportunity exists to tackle the common challenge of climate change and energy security together in the form of the Transatlantic Climate Bridge. This call to action for transatlantic cooperation will be another focus for 2009 on Germany Info. Topics from renewable energy, environmental policy, green careers and more are spotlighted on the Transatlantic Climate Bridge InFocus. "Germany in Class" is looking for a few good educators to share their wealth of knowledge! Have a great classroom idea of your own that is begging to be shared? It can a lesson plan or article that provides food for thought. Send it to jennifer.clardy[at]germany.info and if your lesson plan is featured in "Germany in Class," you'll receive a gift bag full of Germany Info goodies for your own classroom! In this issue of "Germany in Class:" Want to study Value Studies? It's now possible! Ever wonder what the institute that developed the MP3 has up its sleeve for the future? How about your gestures as the remote control! Famous German author Christa Wolf celebrated her 80th birthday. Goethe-Insitut is now podcasting music. This and more are here for your enjoyment! Sincerely, Jennifer Clardy jennifer.clardy[at]germany.info |
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In this issue
Annual Essay Contest
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Annual Essay Contest |
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| German Information Center USA 4th Annual Essay Contest | |||||||||
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ABOUT THE CONTEST
The German Information Center USA fulfills the public diplomacy mission of the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. To encourage American students to get to know modern Germany, the GIC provides classroom materials to educators in the United States. The purpose of the essay contest is to familiarize students with today’s Germany. In addition, the contest offers students and their teachers an opportunity to discuss traditional and modern German culture, language and society. Detailed contest information such as rules, deadlines and the essay questions can be found below. All entries must be submitted electronically by April 15, 2009. There will be three grade groupings for the contest: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12. Winners will receive prizes and certificates; their essays will appear on this website (www.germany.info), as well as the German Information Center USA’s newsletters. GUIDELINES Students must choose from one of the following topics: a. 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was erected in 1961 by the communist regime of East Germany, separating Germany's capital and its citizens for 28 years until November 9, 1989. People from the eastern part were no longer allowed to travel to the western sections. Imagine what it would be like if your hometown or neighborhood were to be suddenly divided overnight by a wall, meaning you were cut off from your friends and relatives and not able to travel. What would your life feel like? How would things be different? Would anything remain the same? b. Climate change and environmental policy are large issues that will affect our future. Germany and the United States have created the Transatlantic Climate Bridge to cooperate on climate and environmental policy in order to better exchange ideas and knowledge on those issues. Which topics, inventions or ideas should the two countries focus on for the Transatlantic Climate Bridge? Do you have any great ideas you can bring to the table? Here's your chance to have your say! Essay must be in English and in paragraph format. 300 words or fewer for Grades 3-5; 500 words for Grades 6-12. (Note: More does not mean better! Focus on the quality, not quantity.) Students may submit only one essay per person. Submit entries as .doc (Microsoft Word), .pdf (Adobe Acrobat), .odt (OpenOffice), scanned-in graphic files (jpg, etc.) or .txt (Simple Text) files only. Email your essay to Jennifer Clardy (jennifer.clardy[at]germany.info). Entry must include the author’s name, email address, grade level, teacher's name, teacher's email address, school name and school address at the beginning. RULES All students enrolled in 3rd through 12th grade in the U.S. are eligible. (Seniors graduating in 2009 are eligible.) Each essay must be the sole work of the author. Entries may be submitted by individual writers or by their teachers. Entries must include the name of the student & teacher/advisor, the grade level of student, the email address of student & teacher, and a postal address for the student & teacher. This information enables the GIC USA to quickly award prizes and prize packages. No personal or contact information will be handed over to a third party. Only electronically submitted essays will be accepted. Entries must be 300 words or fewer for elementary students; 500 words or less for middle and high school students. Submitted entries will become the property of the German Information Center USA; they may appear in GIC USA or associated publications. The decision of the panel of judges from the German Information Center USA and German Embassy Washington is final. Students are encouraged to review spelling, grammar and punctuation. Receipt of essays will be confirmed by email. Please contact us if you do not receive a confirmation within a week. DEADLINE for entries is April 15, 2009. Winners will be notified by May 15, 2009. CRITERIA FOR JUDGING Winners will be determined by a panel of judges from the German Information Center USA and the German Embassy Washington. Entries will be judged based on their content, style and grammar. Successful entries will: Follow the guidelines. Show that student has done research on her/his subject Include the author’s own opinions Demonstrate superb critical and creative thinking PRIZES Amazon.com gift certificates will be awarded to first place winners in each age group. 1st place - grades 3 - 5: $50 bookstore gift certificate For Teachers or Advisors of 1st place winners: In addition, 10 runners-up will receive a package from the German Information Center USA. Good luck! |
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German Langauge |
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| Need a little German music? Check out Popcast! | |||||||||
Goethe-Institut is ready to help out teachers searching for German music for their classroom. Together with Zündfunk, the scene Magazine of Bavarian Radio, Goethe-Institut produces a monthly podcast of Popcast. It's not just pop that gets showcased- rock, pop, hip hop and electro are all in the mix. The music is taken from clubs and studios across the nation. You can listen to the podcast through the Goethe-Institut's website directly or download the podcast with a subscription. |
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| German Writer Christa Wolf Turns 80 | |||||||||
Christa Wolf, one of Germany’s most important contemporary writers, celebrated her 80th birthday on March 18, 2009. In her best-known works, Wolf, whose books are also widely read in the West, deals with her experience of life in a divided Germany and under the political conditions of the GDR. In particular, she portrays the individual human being and different personalities in this political system. Her extensive narrative and essayistic oeuvre have been translated in many languages and have won national and international awards. Born in Landsberg an der Warthe in 1929, Christa Wolf (née Ihlenfeld) completed her Abitur – the German university-entrance examination – in 1949 and went on to do German studies in Jena and Leipzig. It was around this time that she joined the Socialist Unity Party (SED), of which she remained a member until 1989. After completing her studies, she worked as an academic collaborator for the German Writers’ Association and, from 1956 onwards, was employed by the publishing houses Neues Leben (New Life) in Berlin and Mitteldeutscher Verlag (Central German Publishers) in Halle as well as by the journal Neue Deutsche Literatur (New German Literature).
It was during this period that she published her first prose works. Moskauer Novelle (Moscow Novella) appeared to great acclaim in the GDR in 1961 but was not published in the Federal Republic of Germany. The book, a critical examination of fascism, is today considered one of the most important works in the history of East German literature. From 1962 onwards, Christa Wolf worked as a freelance writer and published further books. The work that established Wolf’s literary reputation was her highly successful novel Der geteilte Himmel (Divided Heaven), published in 1963. It deals with the relationship between a female student and a chemist – a relationship that fails as a result of Germany’s partition. The book gained wider popularity through a film adaptation and garnered her the Heinrich Mann Prize. Wolf’s attitude towards the GDR remained ambivalent up until the fall of the East German regime. She defended the country and system in which she lived; however, she also publicly criticized it. For example, her 1968 novel Nachdenken über Christa T. (The Quest for Christa T.), which was hotly debated in the GDR and even banned at first, deals with the conflict between the individual’s personal development and socialist society. From 1968 until 1989, the writer was under surveillance by the Stasi (State Security Service) for expressing opinions at variance with official doctrine. She later sought to come to terms with this experience in the semi-autobiographical story Was bleibt (What Remains), published in 1990.
From 1976 up to the present, Christa Wolf has lived in Berlin, where she has continued to work as a writer. In 2005, she published her most recent book Mit anderem Blick. Erzählungen (From Another Point of View: Stories). In 2002, she was awarded the Leipzig Book Fair’s German Book Prize for her life’s work. To mark her 80th birthday, she received a special gift: Sich aussetzen. Das Wort ergreifen – Texte und Bilder zum 80. Geburtstag von Christa Wolf (Exposing Oneself. Having One’s Say – Texts and Pictures on Christa Wolf’s 80th Birthday) is the title of the book due to be published in March 2009 with over 70 contributions by German-speaking and international writers, artists and public figures. The book is edited by Therese Hörnigk, who has collected original texts and artwork in celebration of the occasion. The contributors include Volker Braun, Günter Grass, Durs Grünbein and Klaus Wowereit, all of whom offered Christa Wolf their congratulations. Source: Federal Foreign Office |
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| iPoint3D – Der Finger als Fernbedienung | |||||||||
Mit dem iPoint3D kommuniziert der Mensch durch simple Gesten mit einem 3-D-Display – berührungslos, ohne 3-D-Brille oder Datenhandschuh. Was bisher nur in Science- Fiction-Filmen zu sehen war, zeigten die Experten des Fraunhofer- Instituts für Nachrichtentechnik, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut HHI auf der CeBIT. |
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Social Studies |
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| First B.A. in Value Studies Uses Novel Approach to Engage Future Leaders | |||||||||
Graduates with a diverse, interdisciplinary background are increasingly at an advantage in a changing global economy. To train tomorrow's leaders, the European College of Liberal Arts (ECLA) will offer the first ever 4-year English-language Bachelor of Arts Program in Value Studies beginning in October 2009. The program will take a novel approach in both its teaching and curricula. The Berlin-based ECLA will be a college without traditional departments dedicated to the study of values. Students will be taught in small classes and in individual tutorials by professors from the fields of philosophy, literature, political theory, art history and film theory. There is a faculty student ratio of 1:7 and students live and study together on a small residential campus created around 8 renovated former GDR embassies. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to participate in a six-week International Summer University and a one-year program for undergraduates and recent graduates. Admission will be open to all qualified students worldwide and philanthropic grants will allow admitted students regardless of finances to attend. The program provides a new and distinct European approach to the humanities and liberal education, beyond the specialized division of knowledge into faculties. The intention is to provide students with a vast knowledge base that is more suited to the rapidly changing knowledge and creative economies.
The program also seeks to encourage a new generation of leaders with a more dynamic, interconnected thinking about global institution building to meet the growing political, economic and social challenges facing the world today. The program was designed by a young faculty, recruited from some of the world’s best research universities. Students work with faculty from diverse backgrounds to address moral, political, epistemic, religious and aesthetic topics. Half of their study time is spent in a so-called “core course” that looks at values through an intense study of texts and works of art that impact our morals today. Students can then choose to concentrate on two of the following: art and aesthetics, ethics and political theory, or literature and rhetoric. The ECLA faculty began a set of curricular experiments in 2002 which have resulted in a reformulation of the classical model, instead teaching a “values-based” approach to liberal education. Questions about justice and truth are placed at the center of the curriculum. This values-based curriculum brings together academics from diverse backgrounds to teach in a way that is also more flexible than the traditional reading of classical works. The approach is more intercultural and encourages the application of theories into praxis rather than for the academy alone. The values-based approach to learning is intended to encourage political and cross-cultural dialogue beyond the usual paradigms. It also looks at teaching more than just students, but citizens in a common world. The program is especially well-suited for students interested in careers in politics, humanitarian work, public policy law, journalism and the arts. It also provides an excellent foundation for postgraduate study in philosophy, literature, political theory and art history. The ECLA cooperates with Bennington College in Vermont, Bard College in New York and Bucerius Law School in Hamburg. Source: Young Germany |
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| Gesturing is the Remote Control of the Future | |||||||||
It looks like a scene from the futuristic film Minority Report. But this is even more high-tech. The iPoint 3D display, developed by researchers at the Berlin-based Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, responds to simple gestures without the user even touching it. What until now has only been the stuff of science fiction was presented at the CeBIT technology trade fair in Hannover by experts from the Fraunhofer Institute. "The heart of iPoint 3D is a recognition device, not much larger than a keyboard, that can be suspended from the ceiling above the user or integrated in a coffee table. Its two built-in cameras detect hands and fingers in real time and transmit the information to a computer," said Paul Chojecki, a research scientist on the project. The system responds instantly, as soon as someone in front of the screen moves their hands. No physical contact or special markers are involved. The small device is equipped with two FireWire cameras – inexpensive, off-the-shelf video cameras that are easy to install. Uses for the new technology? In addition to its obvious appeal to video gamers, iPoint 3D can also be useful in a living room or office, or even in a hospital operating room, or as part of an interactive information system. "Since the interaction is entirely contactless, the system is ideal for scenarios where contact between the user and the system is not possible or not allowed, such as in an operating room," said Chojecki. The invention can thus be used not only to control a display but also as a means of controlling other devices or appliances. Someone kneading pastry in the kitchen, whose hands are covered in dough, can turn down the boiling potatoes by waving a finger without leaving sticky marks on the stove. In an office, for example, an architect can peruse the latest set of construction drawings and view them from all angles by gesture control. The finger is the remote control of the future. Source: Young Germany Related Links: Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications - Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (Berlin) |
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| Tom Sorosiak Receives Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany | |||||||||
On Monday, March 9, German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth presented Mr. Tom Sorosiak with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which was bestowed on him by President Horst Köhler of the Federal Republic of Germany. Mr. Sorosiak was honored with the Order of Merit for his commitment to improving and intensifying transatlantic relations. Mr. Sorosiak is co-program director of an exchange program for American social studies teachers sponsored by the Atlantik-Brücke, an organization dedicated to fostering greater German-American understanding. Mr. Sorosiak’s extraordinary commitment to that project, which was originally limited to Ohio, has helped expand it to a total of thirteen US states. Mr. Sorosiak intensively prepares the study trip participants for their stay in Germany and offers the opportunity for returning teachers to attend a seminar on modern-day Germany, taught at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Approx. 2,000 teachers have been able to participate in Mr. Sorosiak’s seminars on modern-day Germany and thus pass on their knowledge to an estimated 500,000 students.
Mr. Sorosiak does not, however, limit himself to the social studies project in his Germany-related activities. Thanks to his commitment, a university partnership was established between his home-state university and the University of Hildesheim which was launched with an exchange on the occasion of the U.S. presidential elections in November 2008. In 2009, students of his university will travel to Germany to observe the German parliamentary elections firsthand. In presenting the award to Mr. Sorosiak, Ambassador Scharioth described him as a “tireless partner” in the effort to build bridges between Germany and the United States and a “true and committed friend of Germany.” Related Links: |
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Announcements |
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| Visit the German Embassy during the EU Open House on May 9, 2009 | |||||||||
After the enormous success the EU Open Houses in 2007 and 2008, the European Union embassies in Washington DC are again opening their doors to area residents and visitors for a day of family fun. Hop from the Seine to the Rhine, across the Alps to the Pyrenees, up the Danube, over the Carpathians, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, all without leaving the District. |
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| Step into German - Enter the online contest today! | |||||||||
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There's still time to enter the Step into German online contest! If you win the online contest, you can win basketball summer camp or an IPod Classic 120 GB. The deadline for the online contest is April 17, 2009. For more information and instructions on how to enter the contest, pelase visit Step into German's website. |
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| International Parliamentary Scholarships (IPS) | |||||||||
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Are you interested in politics? Would you like to gain insight into the workings of our democracy? Every year, 120 young people from 28 countries have the opportunity to take part in the International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS) program in Berlin. IPS offers recent graduates an internship in the office of a Member of the Bundestag, the German parliament. Combined with a supplementary academic program organized by Berlin’s three universities and the fun of being together with people from other nations, a unique experience awaits you in the German capital. What the Bundestag expects of you:
What you can expect:
Find out more on the Bundestag’s homepage: IPS Information |
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