German Chairs & Coordinators Meeting at the University of Michigan

Thursday January 25, 2018 at the Michigan Theater
5:10 PM, 603 East Liberty Street 48104

For those arriving Thursday evening, consider attending the Penny Stamps Lecture on Hito Steyerl, Bubble Vision. Hito Steyerl’s prolific filmmaking and writing occupy a highly discursive position between the fields of art, philosophy, and politics and explore capitalism’s social, cultural, and financial imaginaries. Her films and lectures have increasingly addressed the presentational context of art, while her writing has circulated widely through publication in both academic and art journals.

Friday January 26, 2018 at the Michigan League
Rooms D and A (3rd floor) and the Hussey Room (2nd floor)

8:30-9:00  Registration and light breakfast, Room D, third floor

9:00-9:15  Welcome
Anne Curzan, Associate Dean for the Humanities
Johannes von Moltke, Chair, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures  Room D

9:15-10:30  German Departments in Tumultuous Times: Our Challenges, Our Roles in the Current Campus and Political Climate  Room D

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-12:00 Administrative Challenges, Best Practices, Opportunities
1. Chairs’ session  Room A
2. Language Coordinators’ session  Room D

12:30-2:00  Lunch Talk: “An Abandoned Wretch and a Meddlesome Crank: Xenophobia, Academic Freedom, and the Intimidation of Un-American faculty at U of M during WWI (1917-1918)” by Melanie Tanielian, Department of History, University of Michigan  Hussey Room

2:00-2:15 Break

2:15-3:45  Graduate Education – New Ideas and Initiatives, Room D
With presentations on:
          – “20/20” Mellon Project by David Porter, Chair, U-M English
          – The Humanities PhD Project by Matthew Woodbury, PhD Candidate, U-M History
          – Dual Title Graduate Placement by Thomas Beebee, Chair, Penn State

Open Topic (if desired) Room A

3:45-4:00   Coffee Break

4:00-5:00   BTAA German Department Data: Trends & Comparisons  Room D

6:30  Dinner at Aventura  216 E Washington St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Saturday January 27, 2018 at the Michigan League

8:30-9:30  Hot breakfast buffet  Room D

9:30-10:45  German/Dutch/Scandinavian Undergraduate Programs – Challenges, Initiatives, Best Practices (possible topics: curricular initiatives; study abroad; social media; recruiting / outreach, …) Room D

With a presentation on:
– Indiana’s German Instructor Summer Program by Troy Byler, Outreach Coordinator, and Bill Rasch, Chair, Indiana U

10:45-11:00 Break

11:00-12:00  Wrap Up: Future of the Discipline, Action Items & Agenda Items for Next Year  Room D