Inventing the German Nation in Travel Literature, 1738-1839

2025-01-01

Argues that German national identity was fostered, and even invented, in and through travelogues and other travel writing. Far into the nineteenth century, Germany remained a collection of separate principalities. Scholars have long debated the causes and implications of this "belatedness" relative to other European nations like England and France. This book offers a fresh perspective by arguing that travel literature helped shape a distinct and cohesive German identity well before political unification in 1871. Beginning in the eighteenth century, foreign travelers' accounts depicted "Germany" as a distinct place despite its political divisions, thus allowing German readers to imagine their fragmented nation as a conceptual whole. Ethnographic descriptions from distant places further aided this process as Germans learned to view themselves through this particular lens. Around 1800, Germans, too, began to explore their homeland and describe their experiences, creating travelogues that solidified the nascent sense of national identity. Drawing on a vast collection of German, British, and French travelogues, travel handbooks, and popular geographic texts, Karin Baumgartner examines how travel writing reflects shifts in geographic paradigms and national identity in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Germany. Incorporating discourses of nationalism and geography, including Edward Soja's influential concept of Thirdspace, Baumgartner illuminates how these texts encapsulated evolving perceptions of space that forged a specific German national identity.

7: Helmine von Chézy reports from Napoleonic France and highlights the achievements of women writers (1803, 1805, 1820)

Boydell and Brewer eBooks · 2025-12-11

Seán Allen and Jeffrey L. High. Inspiration Bonaparte? German Culture and Napoleonic Occupation. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2021. 345 pp.

2025-04-17

Inventing the German Nation in Travel Literature, 1738-1839

Boydell and Brewer eBooks · 2025-04-24

Editorial

Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German · 2025-03-01

This issue of Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German brings together a diverse range of contributions that respond to core questions facing the field of German language education today: What does meaningful, inclusive teaching look like? How do we support students’ linguistic development while addressing the social, political, and institutional contexts in which they learn? And how can we assess learning in ways that promote equity rather than entrench existing preconceptions? The articles in this issue span pedagogy, theoretical critique, and institutional analysis, offering both hands-on teaching advice and critical interventions. The Praxis section showcases innovative course designs and reflective case studies that respond to shifting student demographics, disciplinary decolonization, and the demands of curricular transformation. The research articles offer timely insights into language ideologies, learner perspectives, and the role of space and technology in L2 development. The Forum on assessment addresses one of the most fundamental—yet often least examined—aspects of our work: how we evaluate student learning and with what consequences. Taken together, these contributions reflect a field actively reimagining its practices in light of both long-standing commitments to student-centered learning and emerging demands for justice, access, and critical reflection. The Praxis articles in this issue illustrate how educators are responding creatively to institutional constraints and evolving student needs while advancing pedagogies rooted in equity and critical inquiry. From decolonizing the canon to integrating multiliteracies into the language curriculum, these contributions model adaptable, reflective teaching practices grounded in broader social and cultural awareness. Sabine H. Smith provides a detailed case study of the German Studies program at Kennesaw State University, highlighting how strategic partnerships and high-impact practices have helped sustain and grow the program over a 10-year period. Her article offers actionable recommendations for faculty navigating resource constraints while seeking to maintain academic rigor, institutional visibility, and student engagement. Claudia Baska Lynn and Sibel Sayılı-Hurley present a multiliteracies approach to teaching graphic novels in intermediate German courses. Centering works that address migration and diversity, their curriculum does not only support language development but also creates space for critical conversations about racism and colonialism—offering a powerful model for inclusive, justice-oriented pedagogy. Lieselotte Sippel outlines a thematically rich advanced-level course on German soccer as a cultural lens. Through modules on history, sexism, LGBTQ+ issues, and racism in the sport, the course draws on a wide variety of authentic materials and aligns with interaction-based approaches to foster meaningful language production and cultural insight. J. Brandon Pelcher reflects critically on the challenges of teaching Black German culture as a White instructor. His article explores how the privileging of “evidence” over “anecdote” in academic settings can reinforce the very hierarchies such courses seek to dismantle. Through personal reflection and pedagogical suggestions, he models how instructors can reflect on their own positionality and epistemological assumptions. Yejun Zou's contribution, while methodologically aligned with research-based inquiry, appears in this Praxis section because of its deep pedagogical implications. Zou critiques the limits of merely expanding the canon in the name of decolonization and instead calls for a rethinking of the theoretical frameworks used to teach BIPOC-authored texts. Drawing on a course centered on Yōko Tawada, Zou proposes an integrative, translingual pedagogy that challenges the Eurocentric underpinnings of German literature instruction. The research articles extend these pedagogical conversations by exploring how language learners and educators navigate broader structures of power, belonging, and communication. These studies draw attention to how curricular materials, learner expectations, and institutional models shape the experience of German language acquisition today. Richmond Embeywa examines how course textbooks for German integration courses embed ideological positions in both visual and textual representations. Using critical multimodal discourse analysis, he reveals patterns of othering, tokenization, and erasure that affect minoritized social actors, offering a model for instructors and curriculum developers to adopt more reflexive and equity-conscious approaches. Nick Ott investigates how L2 learners perceive “standard language” during study-abroad experiences. His findings challenge the assumption that native-speaker norms are always the learner's aspirational goal and instead encourage instructors to promote sociolinguistic awareness and embrace linguistic variation as part of real-world German use. Nick Henry and Matthias Warmuth report on two programs designed to increase opportunities for oral practice: a home-institution Sprachmentoren initiative and an international Tandemprojekt. Both programs provided low-stakes environments for communicative interaction and cultural exchange, and survey results point to high student engagement and linguistic gains. Tanja Fohr explores the intersection of physical space, digital tools, and language learning through a smartphone-guided scavenger hunt. Her analysis of learner interaction in multimodal environments highlights the potential of extracurricular, context-rich experiences to enhance language acquisition and cultural learning. These articles share a common goal: to foster more inclusive, context-aware, and student-responsive practices in the German classroom. The forum on assessment underscores how the ways we measure learning shape not only students’ educational experiences, but also their sense of agency and belonging. Contributors in this section interrogate standard practices and advocate for more equitable, flexible, and transparent forms of evaluation. Gwyneth Cliver's article introduces the reader to labor-based grading implemented across all levels of a small university German program. Her study demonstrates that this alternative assessment system can reduce anxiety, strengthen student–instructor rapport, and increase motivation, while encouraging a shift away from normative grading practices. Lindsay Preseau opens the forum with a historical and practical overview of placement assessment in undergraduate German programs. Her article traces the shift from locally designed assessments to standardized, often outsourced, online tools and examines their implications for student recruitment and placement equity. Preseau calls for a more compassionate model of guided self-placement—one that better aligns with students’ needs and institutional advising structures. Beate Brunow turns our attention to a more quotidian but no less complex form of evaluation: participation. Often tied to student engagement and accountability, participation grades are also fraught with equity concerns. Brunow outlines these challenges and offers reimagined strategies that position participation as a tool for meaningful learning rather than compliance, particularly for students whose voices may otherwise go unheard. Petra Watzke's contribution highlights how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can serve as a framework for inclusive assessment. Drawing from her classroom experience, Watzke argues that assessments should be flexible and responsive to learner variability from the outset, rather than adapted retroactively. Her approach models how intentional design can empower all students, including those with disabilities, to demonstrate their learning authentically. Finally, Janice McGregor and Nicole Coleman interrogate the promises and pitfalls of ungrading (also see Gwyneth Cliver's article on ungrading). In their co-authored piece, they dismantle three common myths about ungrading's effectiveness and ease of implementation. Far from being a magic bullet, ungrading, they argue, demands thoughtful scaffolding, collaborative planning, and continuous dialogue with students to foster truly equitable and participatory learning environments. Together, these contributions make a persuasive case for reassessing our assessment practices and the pedagogical logics that underpin them. They remind us that just as our classrooms evolve, so too must the ways we define and recognize student success. The issue concludes with the invited reviews section that introduces six recent publications and tools relevant to German language instruction and pedagogy. The first two reviews focus on equitable language instruction: Claire Scott evaluates Social Justice Pedagogies: Multidisciplinary Practices and Approaches (2023), highlighting its relevance for advancing the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the German classroom. Patricia Haberkorn's review of the edited volume Deutsch als Zweitsprache und inklusive Bildung (2023) offers insights into inclusive approaches and practices for teaching DAZ, some of which are also relevant to the North American context. The following three reviews discuss resources that engage with literature, film, and other cultural artifacts: Bridget Levine-West's evaluation of The History of German Literature on Film (2023) praises the publication for its “remarkable depth and breadth,” making it “a practical reference for scholarly and educational use.” Cassandra Winkelman assesses Schlehweins Giraffe: 1. Wende-Reader für den Unterricht (2022). This online resource by the editors of Glossen is the first of four in their Wende reader series. It introduces students to the complexities surrounding the years of 1989/90 through accessible literary texts and other educational materials. Also available online are the Resources about Switzerland for Educators (2023), reviewed by Melanie Mello. The curated selection provides practical suggestions and materials for “integrating Swiss culture and language into the classroom.” Finally, Nick Ott's review of Quizlet (2024) considers how the app's current features can increase learner engagement and supplement traditional classroom activities.

Praxis articles and Forum on recruitment and retention

Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German · 2024-03-01

In the previous issue, we presented the new submission templates (Baumgartner & Schulze, 2023, p. 100) for the three main manuscript types in Die Unterrichtspraxis—Praxis article, Research article, and Forum article (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/17561221/homepage/forauthors.html). These templates contain guidelines for each manuscript type. To showcase our new article category, this issue begins with three Praxis articles. The Forum articles in the second part are in response to our call for papers on “Recruitment and Retention: Challenges, Strategies, and Best Practices.” These are followed by four Research articles. Three Invited Reviews complete the issue. Praxis—the “practical application of a theory” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)—is, of course, taken from the name of this journal Die Unterrichtspraxis. A Praxis article serves as a valuable resource for German teachers, professors, and students in German Studies or in teacher training, who are seeking to translate theoretical knowledge into practical action. Thus, these articles are meant to bridge theory and practice and offer insight, guidance, and real-world examples. They support colleagues and graduate assistants in implementing theories or concepts in their teaching of the German language and culture. Beginning with a solid foundation in theory, these articles demonstrate how ideas can be practically applied in the classroom. They provide actionable steps, strategies, or recommendations. Praxis articles are often accompanied by case studies, examples, or teacher reflections. They address common challenges or obstacles encountered by German teachers and their students and offer suggestions for overcoming them. Crucially, Praxis articles provide evidence for the likely success of the discussed procedures or approaches and clarify the specific educational or institutional settings. A good Praxis article will show how its insights can be transferred to another context. Typically around 4000 words in length, these articles may extend to 8000 words, including references. The first of the Praxis articles in this issue is titled “Using music reviews in the intermediate L2 German classroom: An exploratory lesson in genre-based writing.” Sophia Strietholt, Julie Larson-Guenette, and Gemini Fox present an exploratory, genre-based writing lesson, which they conducted in a third-year collegiate German language course. The authors address the lack of pedagogical strategies and materials for intermediate-level German language classes by introducing a lesson on consumer music reviews. Their lesson incorporates genre-based pedagogical principles, the flipped-classroom approach, and the use of the DWDS corpus tool [https://www.dwds.de/] for vocabulary building. The second article in this category, “Texts and contexts: Linguistic landscapes, graffiti, film, and literature in L2 classes” by Susanne Wagner and Gisela Hoecherl-Alden, familiarizes readers with the concept of linguistic landscapes—the visibility and saliency of languages in a specific territory or region—and how it can be used effectively in L2 instruction. The authors showcase how a range of activities aids language learners in understanding their sociolinguistic environment. Sarah Painitz, in her article “A comparative analysis of literary testimony,” offers a way to teach about the Holocaust through a comparison of a diary with a memoir. Her analysis serves a dual purpose: Through an emphasis on Holocaust testimonies, students delve into themes of persecution, injustice, and oppression, heightening their awareness of global issues, interculturalism, and social justice. Furthermore, by juxtaposing two distinct types of autobiographical texts, students attain a richer understanding of the intricacies, contradictions, and tensions inherent in autobiographical writing. The topic of this issue's Forum in part 2 is recruitment and retention. As the latest Modern Language Association (MLA) report (Lusin et al., 2023) showed, German in the United States lost 32.2% of its student body between 2016 and 2020. This is a stunning and unmatched decline in language learner enrollment that did not just affect German language enrollments. The overall decline of 15.4% for all languages was the steepest decrease since the beginning of the MLA data collection project and a surprise since language enrollment had steadily increased between 1995 and 2009. The language enrollment drop was particularly precipitous at 2-year institutions. We believe that the MLA report (Lusin et al., 2023), authored by Natalia Lusin, Terri Peterson, Christine Sulewski, and Rizwana Zafer, is important for all teachers of German at all levels and in different educational settings. For Die Unterrichtspraxis, we had called for contributions that describe different strategies and practices for student recruitment and retention at elementary, middle, and high schools, community colleges, and universities and colleges and asked authors to offer actionable solutions for all programs. Alexander Lorenz opens the Forum with his article “Who's responsible? The German language learner perspective.” An assistant professor at a public regional comprehensive university serving minority students and Pell Grant recipients in the South, he argues that German instructors must be cognizant of their students’ motivations for taking German. The curriculum must be continually adapted to the evolving needs of new student populations, in particular first-generation and non-traditional students. Lorenz advocates for administering regular surveys to understand student beliefs so that the curriculum and teaching materials can be adapted. Nina Morais and Kathryn Holihan, teaching at a 4-year, private, coeducational, residential college committed to the liberal arts and sciences, argues similarly in “Back in business! Professional German(s) at Rhodes College.” Recognizing student interests is paramount. Students, she writes, are interested in encounters beyond the classroom. She modified a business German course, which now also brings guest speakers from the community to campus. The course offers its students experiential learning opportunities coupled with language learning and thus caters to students’ professional interests. Gwyneth Cliver, who teaches at a regional public university in the Midwest, suggests making the German classroom more inclusive. Her article “Retaining students through labor-based grading and dual-modality” explains how she developed principles for labor-based grading and taught all of her classes in hyflex mode: in the classroom and synchronously online. Cliver argues that labor-based grading reduces student anxiety, makes language education more accessible to all, and redirects the focus in the classroom back to the joy of learning. Furthermore, allowing students to switch between in-class and online participation reduces absenteeism among students. Sebastian Heiduschke, at a regional public university in the West, similarly argues for multi-modal access to German classes. His article, “Unlocking enrollment growth and visibility: The impact of German microcredentials at Oregon State University,” lays out how his program adapted to the changing situation of teaching German by offering online degrees that align with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) standards. The program now offers micro-credentials that are attracting both degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking students, leading to increased enrollment and higher retention rates. The last two articles in this Forum address the collaboration between K-12 and the college level. In “A collaboration between a high school and college German program: Retention and articulation,” Meagan Tripp, faculty at a residential liberal arts college in the heart of Amish country, showcases a two-part collaboration between a high school and a college German program that fosters communication and language practice beyond the classroom. The collaboration comprised online guest teaching for intermediate-level students and a semester-long, asynchronous virtual exchange among beginners. Katherine Kerschen and Wiliam Layer, serving two different institutions in St. Louis, describe an innovative collaboration between a graduate institution and a local high school. In “Partnerships between K-12 and higher education: New opportunities for students and teachers,” the authors describe how the dearth of German teachers in the United States can be addressed by introducing graduate students early to high school German teaching. Their project provides opportunities for graduate students to shadow a German teacher for a day, during which they observe and participate in classes and meet with the teacher and an administrator to discuss pathways for a career in K-12 education. The goal is to create connections between different institutions and levels of German instruction to strengthen and sustain German programs at all levels. The geographic and institutional diversity of our contributors makes it painfully clear that no institution has survived the drop in enrollment unscathed. At the same time, these articles point to the creativity and ingenuity of German instructors all across the United States, who are taking steps to make German language courses more inclusive and central to their students’ learning experience. As editors, we are committed to exploring these issues further in subsequent issues where we will concentrate on K-12 German programs and 2-year institutions. The next section includes four research articles. Their topics range from an inquiry into literature selection for advanced courses to student motivation and grammar instruction. Brigitte Rossbacher argues in her article “Reading Wolfgang Herrndorf's Tschick (2010)” that this novel is particularly well suited for advanced German language courses that are focused on cultural and linguistic enrichment. The article introduces the novel, argues its suitability for advanced college courses, and discusses teaching strategies tailored to advanced language learners. In “Going above and beyond: Motivations of L2 German learners (dis)continuing language study,” Megan Wadas, Julia Goetze, and Carrie Jackson similarly address student retention—also the topic of this issue's Forum. Employing Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), the study investigates whether L2MSS facets differ between students intending to continue (or discontinue) learning German past the language requirement at a university and whether any relationship exists between the different (conceptualization of) selves within the L2MSS, students’ L2 learning experience, and their willingness to communicate. The next study, by Scott Windham and Kristen Lange “I still don't get it: Easy/hard grammar in intermediate German” looks at the suggested progression of grammar topics in textbooks to determine which grammar topic should be taught at which level. The authors of this 3-year study aim to give instructors a solid framework for selecting and sequencing grammar topics. Most provocatively, they suggest not teaching certain grammar points at the intermediate level as these are not retained by students. Daniel Walter suggests teaching complex grammatical features through Kafka's Vor dem Gesetz. “Uncertainty is in the form: A functional, meaning-based approach to teaching ambiguity as author choice in Kafka's Vor dem Gesetz” shows how using a close reading of Vor dem Gesetz, with a linguistic emphasis on Kafka's use of indirect speech versus direct speech, ambiguous vocabulary, and discourse particles can enrich students’ understanding of subjunctive 1. This innovative approach goes beyond analyzing news articles and reports, a method often used for teaching the grammatical features of indirect speech in German. Form, so prominent in Walter's article, will be the focus of the next issue, which is a collaboration between the two journals of the American Association of Teachers of German: German Quarterly and Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German. The topic will be “form” with all its facets and dimensions in language, literature, and teaching. As always, the last section contains the Invited Reviews of teaching and learning materials. Zoë Burgard reviews “Das Leben: Deutsch als Fremdsprache A1 (Kurs- und Übungsbuch),” a German textbook for beginners from the Cornelsen Verlag GmbH. Léa Jouannais Weiler reviews the second volume of the same textbook series “Das Leben: Deutsch als Fremdsprache,” geared toward the A2 level of proficiency. Karin Maxey reviews “Literacies in Language Education: A Guide for Teachers and Teacher Educators,” a practical volume for educators who aim to switch to a multiliteracies approach. We hope that you, the readers of Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, will find the three Invited Reviews and the 13 articles of this spring issue interesting to read, helpful to implement in your own teaching praxis, and inspiring for your own creativity and innovation.

The concept of form in language teaching and learning

Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German · 2024-09-01

The concept of form is ubiquitous and used frequently and in different areas. The Merriam-Webster (n.d.) lists 18 different definitions for the noun form; some of these entries have additional meaning variants. It is no surprise that the concept of form is used widely in language education and in literary and cultural studies. Both journals of the American Association of Teachers of German—The German Quarterly and Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German—offer an issue that explores form in German Studies and in the teaching of German from a variety of perspectives. For language teachers, spelling and grammar often come to mind when thinking about form. Particularly for applied linguists, the notion of focus on form versus negotiation of meaning has permeated the discussions of interaction in (communicative) language teaching. As the following three Research Articles, six Praxis Articles, and three Forum Articles show, however, form has many more facets and allows for perspectives on language, performance, learning, teaching, the arts, and many others. This issue of Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German leads with three Research Articles. In the first of these articles, “Racial literacy and performative pedagogies in the German theater practicum,” Morgan Koerner makes an argument for performing the process of students’ encounter with the literary form using theatrical means. He discusses a case study of a performance-oriented unit in a theater practicum course for German students at the B2 language proficiency level, which combined work on performing and staging poetry with a discussion of the Enlightenment's entanglement with White supremacy and scientific racism. The second article takes a different perspective on form and meaning. Exploring a form-meaning connection—conventional metaphors—that is a fundamental component of everyday communication but is often overlooked in the teaching of German, Jacob Lavoie's study highlights the interplay between students’ lexical knowledge and cross-linguistic differences in figurative language. The results of “Insights into metaphor (mis)understandings” underscore the necessity of nuanced instruction, especially in comprehending metaphors. Carolin Jolitz and Natacha Hélène Gilberte Mally focus on form in oral communication. Their article “The effects of deductive versus inductive pronunciation instruction in combination with captioned video on the acquisition of incongruent grapheme-phoneme correspondences in L2 German” shows that technology-enhanced teaching can help students overcome the orthographic interference in German pronunciation among English speakers. For the Forum of this thematic issue, we invited short articles discussing approaches to teaching German grammar—as language form—at schools. In her Forum Article “Putting PACE into action in a high school German classroom,” Helen Miller discusses her application of the PACE (PACE stands for P: Presentation of meaningful language, A: Attention to form, C: Co-construction of an explanation, and E: Extension activities) model, which Donato and Adair-Hauck (1994) called “a model to focus on form,” to teach various grammatical constructions. The second article, “Erwerb der Wortstellungsregeln im DaF-Unterricht” by Marija Stanojevic Veselinovic, uses simple mathematical patterns to teach the word order of short sentences to novice-level students. The Forum is completed by “Mastering modal verbs lays the groundwork for higher proficiency.” Traci O'Brien, Margaret Boynton, and Tracey Patterson argue that presenting the forms and use of modal verbs one by one can be more effective than providing an overview of all six modal verbs at once, as suggested in many textbooks. The Praxis Articles of this thematic issue concentrate on different forms of language-teaching methods. Braden Ross provides an evidence-based discussion of “Effective warm-ups in the German language classroom: Form and function” and argues that warm-ups ought to adhere to certain guidelines to be effective. The mnemonic for these guidelines is J.A.R.R.: jumpstarting language use, capturing attention, and building rapport through relevance. The subsequent two Praxis Articles focus on case studies in the context of an entire course. Nina Vyatkina, in her article “Focus on meaning and form for advancing proficiency: The case of a multimedia online German course,” underscores the necessity of combining attention to linguistic form and meaning to optimize learning. She concludes by offering a model for online courses that can be adapted to various upper-level university contexts. Juliane Schicker discusses the form of the often-maligned traditional university survey course in her article “Redesigning the survey course: A focus on music, historically excluded identities, and the canon.” Her redesigned course counters tokenization, juxtaposes non-canonical and canonical works, and focuses on inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility work as well as universal instructional design principles and social justice education. Two other articles look at the impact of emerging technologies on teaching and the form of emerging processes and products. Jennifer Redmann, in “Genre-based writing in the German classroom in the age of generative artificial intelligence (AI),” explores how generative artificial intelligence (AI), as a new form of technology, can enhance genre-based pedagogies. She shows the positive effects of genre-based instruction on student writing, for example, modeling an AI-generated film review. Domenic DeSocio explores another emerging technology in his article “Mapping Queer Berlin: The potential of virtual reality pedagogy for the language classroom.” He argues that immersive virtual reality as a new form promises to transform the delivery of language and cultural instruction and students’ production of language. This set of Praxis Articles is completed by the invited, peer-reviewed contribution by the review editor of Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, Lucian Rothe, entitled “An analysis of reviews related to grammar teaching and learning in Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German (2000–2023).” This article provides an opportunity to reflect on and discuss the relevance of grammar-related resources in German studies and segues to the three reviews in this issue: Todd Heidt evaluates the textbooks Willkommen: Deutsch für alle (2020) and Deutsch für alle 2 (2022) by Claudia Kost and Crystal Sawatzky. Lisa Steiner analyzes the latest version of the language learning app Duolingo (2024), and Amanda Randall provides a book review of Rehumanizing the Language Curriculum (2023) by Megan M. Echevarría (editor). Our authors have embraced the diverse applications of form in the context of language learning, illustrating its multifaceted role in shaping effective pedagogy. By examining form through different lenses—whether grammatical structures, digital innovations, or inclusive course design—the 2024 fall issue of Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German highlights dynamic and evolving approaches to teaching German. Together, these contributions underscore the adaptability, creativity, and critical engagement of German language teachers. We also invite you to peruse the articles in the thematic issue on form in our sister journal The German Quarterly 97.4. The authors there highlight how form, as meter, theory, morphology, and style, is perceived and constructively employed in literary studies. Hannah Eldridge writes about Meter Against Essentialism, while Mari Jarris contributes an article on Marxism's matriarchal origins in Forms of the Mother Right: Marxism's Matriarchal Origins from Friedrich Engels to Lu Märten. Margareta Ingrid Christian reflects on morphologies in The Sociality of Form: Camillo Sitte's Urban Morphologies and Elisa Ronzheimer considered the problem of style in “Das Problem des Stilwandels”: Stylistic Transformation in the Work of Emil Staiger. The co-editors wish to thank Hester Baer and Karin Schutjer for the idea and invitation to collaborate on a joint issue with The German Quarterly.

„Mein Vaterland hat mir nie Fragen gestellt. Ich ihm schon.“

Aisthesis Verlag eBooks · 2024-01-01

Schällibaum, Oriana. Wahre Erfindungen. Medialität und Verschränkung in Reisetexten der Gegenwart

2024-09-23

Wahre Erfindungen examinesc ontemporary German travelogues that draw inspiration from and rework earlier historical travel accounts and expedition reports.The author introduces the concept of the double(d) journey ("doppelteReise")asa structural principle, analyzing how contemporary writers make visible the mediality of their texts, or,inother words, how preexisting sources are integrated in, or afoundation for,the new text.Schllibaum considers acorpus of novels that play with the truth claims attached to archival materials and, in doing so, bring to the forefront how all texts, includinga rchival sources and historical documents, are mediated.Wahre Empfindungen mainlyf ocuses on four German authors -Uwe Timm, Michael Roes, Raoul Schrott,a nd Felicitas Hoppe (with the notable inclusion of Christoph Ransmayr,T homas Stangl, and Christof Hamanni nt he third chapter) -who have produced fictionalized travelogues based on historical material.Such material might include photographs, maps,q uoted text,i tineraries, and marked or unmarked text snippets.Schllibaum employs atext-and media-analytical approach to explore how these texts reproducer eality and "truth," and she concludes that the intertwiningo fa rchival and fictitious elements lends these texts ac omplex medial status.Indeed, the author'sc entral claim is that mediality produces theset exts.T he contemporary travelogues and fictional travel texts no longer focus solelyonnarrating ajourney.Instead, the authorsconsciouslyreflect on the act of travel itselft hrough their commentary on the cited sourcem aterial.Schllibaum positions her book within post-colonial and post-modern discourses,e mphasizing the dichotomyo ff act and fiction in travelogues.Notably, she addresses this opposition withoute xplicitly referencingn umerous studies in the field that have alreadyexplored this aspect extensively.

(Re‐)Discoveries in a Time of Disruption

Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German · 2023-04-25

In November 2022, the two new co-editors—Karin Baumgartner and Mathias Schulze—took over from Angelika Kraemer and Theresa Schenker. Theresa and Angelika are to be commended for their 6 years of excellent editorial work. Under their leadership, the Die Unterrichtspraxis blossomed with cross-over issues (with the German Quarterly) on fairy tales, for example, and tackled timely topics such as sustainability and community engagement. They left the journal in excellent form despite the COVID-19 pandemic that reshaped (not only) our profession. With the first issue of 2023, we affirm our commitment to publishing Original Articles (ca. 6000–8000 words) on research on the teaching and learning of the German language, the culture(s) of its peoples, and their societies as well as Invited Reviews of printed and digital resources for or about the teaching of German. In addition, we are reviving the Praxis Article (ca. 4000 words) on practical matters of teaching German in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education and an entirely new submission type: the Forum Article. These shorter articles—about 2000 words—are contributions to a discussion forum of diverse voices on different facets of a challenge, from various educational perspectives and institutional contexts, and from a range of geographical locations. Since Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German is the society journal of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG), these discussion topics arose and will arise from important discourses in the Association. We encourage AATG members to contact the co-editors Karin Baumgartner and Mathias Schulze with ideas for future sets of Forum articles. A forum on disruption therefore seemed timely and necessary. With our authors and readers, we hope to gain a better understanding of recent disruptions and to share first answers, successes, and possible solutions. Disruptions pose a challenge for teachers of German at all levels of education, personally and professionally. Thus, the set of 21 short articles in this issue is intended to help us as a community to give meaning to current challenges and to share what we have learned. The Forum was announced in November with a deadline of only 6 weeks for finished short articles. The response was formidable: Within days, 45 authors expressed interest with the submission of a short abstract; 37 full manuscripts were submitted for a first review. We asked some of the authors to write a research article since we believed that their topics, and you as the readers, will benefit from a full-length treatment. Other authors felt that their writing was triggering for them, and they put their articles aside for right now. We received submissions from around the world pointing to the fact that disruptions are a global phenomenon and—as German instructors—all of us are dealing with similar adversity. As we reviewed the contributions, we saw them fall into three groups: overcoming COVID-19, the enrollment crisis in German, and articles addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This issue of Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German assembles the articles from the first two groups. Our next issue in November will focus on current discourses and activities in DEI in the teaching and learning of German. It takes many people for a journal issue to come together. We are grateful to all submitting authors and would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all reviewers. They worked to tight deadlines, some reviewed more than one submission, and all were dealing with a new manuscript type. As editors, we are humbled by the goodwill we experienced from colleagues we have known for years and from others we just met. It is heartbreaking that a forum on disruption was disrupted by a school shooting. As we prepared the manuscripts for production, one of our authors asked for an extension since their university endured a shooting. We granted the extension—of course—and the author submitted their article in time for production. This extreme example illustrates that, despite daily challenges, German Studies professionals research, write, revise, … in addition to doing their daily job of teaching and mentoring students. These Forum articles are a testament to the dedication and resilience of German teachers everywhere. The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be the singular event that disrupted everybody's life. It affected technological development, mental health, study abroad, mentoring, the curriculum, and what books to assign as well as assessment and student retention. Many authors reflected on the almost instantaneous pivot to teaching online required of them and the general absence of reflection in the rush to technology. Instructors looked for ways to bridge the physical isolation in which they and their students felt trapped. Several instructors rediscovered reading practices that they had abandoned in the busy pre-pandemic curricula. Elizabeth Mittman's “The Intimacy of Reading, or: an Argument for Slowing Down” argues for decluttering the pre-pandemic syllabus and focusing on key readings to provide students and the instructor with an opportunity to reflect on how catastrophes change lives. Mittman reminds readers that it is imperative to see students as holistic persons. Renata Fuchs (“A Re-Discovery of Collaborative Vocal Reading in Times of Disruption”) describes how she re-introduced collaborative reading aloud in her intermediate German class. Fuchs draws on her research on the Romantic salon and its practice of reading aloud, to allow students to experience the texts through embodied presence—their voices. In “A Cold War Text for the Covid Generation,” Alyssa Howards reports how Marlene Haushofer's The Wall, a text that had not seemed to resonate with students before, became an important canvas for students to reflect on their loneliness during the pandemic. Howards is planning to include this text in her post-pandemic syllabi to provide students with opportunities to reflect on changes in their values and practices as they read about the narrator's existential crisis. Instructors rediscovered not only texts they had discarded earlier. Martina Caspari (“Ganz entspannt im Hier und Jetzt: Fostering Social Presence in Communicative Language Instruction”) went back to the natural approach and total physical response, which were popular in the 1980s. She shows that it is possible to encourage students to participate also physically via Zoom, in that they accompany their communicative actions with appropriate or symbolic moves and some body-acting. Other authors reflected on including activities that might support student mental health in foreign language instruction. Heidi Denzel and Nicolay Ostrau write in “Responding to the Mental Health Crisis among our Language-Learning Community” that it is possible, and necessary, to develop an approach that integrates wellness and universal design. Especially in beginning language classes, students can reflect on their personal lives and their lifestyle choices. A unit on grocery shopping can easily include nutrition information and explore the connections between food and mood. Penelope Kolovou similarly argues that instructors can include modules in their German teaching that strengthen student resilience. “Teaching Resilience in Fragile Times” lays out that our curricula can incorporate self-care, mindfulness, and self-reflection. “Preparing the Unprepared: Introducing Nudge Theory to the Language Classroom” describes a systematic approach to nudging students away from undesirable behavior toward best practices. Nudge theory is a basis for Jacob van der Kolk's approach to student learning. He discusses how instructors can support students, who are often unprepared for college-level time management and are highly anxious, in completing essays and assignments. Personal writing and speaking assignments can be tailored in such a way as to nudge students toward healthy work habits and strong community bonds. In a similar vein, Sabrina Link (“Teaching German in the Post-Pandemic Era and the Benefits of Busting Technological Tools: Examples of Project-based Learning”) argues that, by changing assignment types, instructors can nudge students toward community and collaboration. Digital repositories that are accessible to all students allow them to view their assignments as contributions to and for the community. Also drawing on ideas from universal design, Kathleen Condray asks, “Is German Truly for All? Reflection on Universal Design for Learning in the Teaching of German.” She reflects on how the pandemic taught her to improve access for all students, not just those with health challenges. Flexible and extended deadlines, a hybrid attendance policy, and project-based assessment driven by students replaced older, more rigid assessment procedures. Several authors reflected on the benefits of the pivot to technology-enhanced teaching and learning during the pandemic. Often, it is not that the technologies used are innovative; commonly used technologies for videoconferencing and learning management systems—perhaps not mainstream before COVID-19—have now become embedded through the transfer to online teaching. Albrecht Classen's “Productivity and Creativity Triggered by the COVID-19 Pandemic and New Technologies” lays out how the pandemic accelerated his adoption of methods and digital tools, which he had begun utilizing before. Written chat in a literature class, for example, increased and deepened student contributions. Adam Oberlin (“Technology, the Flipped Classroom, and Exigent Paradigm Shifts, or Being Forced into the Present”) is equally enthusiastic in his discussion of Princeton University's forced pivot to a learning management system and to online learning. While some universities have been hesitant to engage with technology-mediated teaching, the pandemic made clear that there are many benefits for students in the pedagogically sound use of digital technologies as Oberlin illustrates with his examples. Alysha Holmquist's article “Pivoting to a Virtual High School Exchange: The Gave Program” takes up Condray's challenge to design syllabi through the lens of universal design. Her German American Partnership Program (GAPP), the highlight of the high school year, was suspended in 2020, and she changed GAPP to GAVE—a virtual exchange between US American and German high school students—which is also organized by the Goethe Institute. As Holmquist experienced the program, she realized that GAVE allows students, who cannot go to Germany for various reasons, to gain a similar beneficial experience. She argues that GAVE enhances GAPP even now that study-abroad travel is possible again. Felicitas Starr-Egger reports on Imperial College London's turn to online oral examination (“Re-Evaluating Online Oral Examination”). Her data and reflection show that online examinations save time in administration and commuting for faculty and students. It is now the examination modality preferred by students; and the rigor and results of the oral examinations are not compromised, also because it is easier to record them, when conducted online. Beate Brunow and Kerstin Kuhn-Brown emphasize the connections engendered through digital technologies during the pandemic lockdowns. “Cultivating Social Well-Being: (Re-)discovering the Impact of Positive Relationships” describes how new technologies such as Zoom make collaboration between faculty at far-flung universities possible. The authors argue that such technologies help foster a new sense of belonging to a larger scholarly community among (sometimes isolated) faculty members. Digital tools also facilitate students’ participation in class, even when they are suffering from anxiety. Online office hours make it easy for students to call in, and they do not have to commute to campus. In these contexts, the pandemic prompted opportunities for connection rather than separation. The last article in this section, “DaF, COVID-19 and Newer Technologies: Experiences from an Indian University,” offers a caveat to the previous authors’ enthusiasm. Abhimanyu Sharma describes his experience pivoting online at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India. While many of the strategies are similar to those practiced in the United States and Europe, his students’ access to broadband Internet was often limited. Indian students, having returned to villages without broadband Internet, accessed the learning management system and the instructor's lectures on their phones. This limited the instructor's ability to use the full range of digital tools, even those available for free on the website of Deutsche Welle. Sharma's article is a timely reminder that technology is not available equally to all students, just as a crisis such as COVID-19 affects some students more than others. As we progress further in technology-enhanced language learning, universal design reminds us to ensure that we can reach all learners of German. German programs had been shrinking already before the pandemic. The rapid transition to online learning under lockdown conditions generated additional pressures on teachers of German. However, the use of simple technologies also triggered positive change. In her personal reflection, Lynn Kutch (“Disruptive Innovation for Language Teaching in a Multimodal Format”) describes how she expanded her ways of teaching so that she could offer remote and in-person students similar learning experiences. With students from different colleges of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in her classes, she ensured full participation and positive language learning outcomes for all participants. This pandemic-induced change has been sustained to continue to offer German to students from distant colleges, where such classes were not offered any longer. Often it is necessary to adapt the German program to dominant student needs as Melissa Elliot (“Growth despite [Major] Disruption: Curricular Innovations in a Small German Program”) shows. For example, her small German team offeres specialized reading courses in English for the largest student body on their college campus—theology. Karin Schutjer, Kaleigh Bangor, and Robert Lemon also argue for curricular flexibility to counteract the nationwide enrollment crisis. As captured in the title of their Forum Article—“Big Challenges, Small Solution: Microcourses at the University of Oklahoma”—it is increasingly challenging to sustain German programs at high schools, colleges, and universities. Yet, small steps can take us a long way. The authors piloted microcourses, which are one-credit-hour upper-division courses on special topics. These courses accommodate the varied interests of students in the program and can be redesigned to reflect current events or special opportunities. Such opportunities often lie in the practical utility of learning German. Anita McChesney (“Training Transferable Skills: Using SPARK as a Stepping-Stone to Career Readiness, Social Engagement, and Program Relevance”) explores opportunities to make the study of German more relevant to students’ life plans and aspirations. Her experience indicates that SPARK (i.e., Structured Program for the Acquisition of German in the US—Resources and Know-How) has benefits for participating university students—and not only for the young elementary school students to whom they teach German—in that they gain life skills that benefit them personally, make them more socially minded global citizens, and help them be more career ready. Such challenges are not unique to postsecondary education in the United States alone. Marija Stanojevic Veselinovic describes the situation of German as a Foreign Language in Serbia in her Forum Article “Deutsch lernen an Serbiens Schulen.” She sees great promise in content-based learning—the integration of practical work and language learning—to motivate students to learn a language other than English. In “Assessments and Accessibility: Building a Critical German Program at Carleton College,” Kiley Kost, Seth Peabody, and Juliane Schicker re-imagine the first-year German curriculum by focusing on equity and inclusion. They are reporting a first positive impact: enrollments have increased and student interest in the program has grown, while students still meet national language proficiency standards. This last Forum Article of this issue bridges the topics of enrollment crisis and DEI, which will be the primary focus of the second issue (56.2) of this volume of Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German. This Forum issue is rounded off with three reviews of teaching-and-learning resources for teachers of German. With this volume, we are abandoning the arbitrary division of reviews of printed materials, mainly books, and digital materials, such as websites, apps, services, and hardware; you will find their reviews in the same rubric. Catherine McNally analyzes the content of the textbook Sammelsurium: A Reader and Workbook for Intermediate German critically. Bobbette Leu-Timmermann describes how the web-based platform Edpuzzle can engage German learners of all levels and institutional contexts. Beth A. Burau reviews the online tool Classroomscreen, which offers classroom management tools and features that provide feedback and display daily lesson objectives. We will continue to provide a discussion venue for important matters—with shorter Forum articles—also in November 2023. Several teaching perspectives on DEI will be featured in the next issue. For now, we hope you enjoy reading the 21 articles in this issue. And alert your colleagues and students to rediscover new and inspirational ways teachers of German address and overcome the challenges of a global pandemic and declining enrollments.