Greta Sandnas and Jessica Argabright win S. Margaretta Nathe Scholarships totaling $2000              Greta and Jessica pictured here.                                           These annual scholarships are awarded to CSB students who demonstrate academic distinction, especially in German. S. Margaretta was known for her outstanding teaching of German for CSB/SJU and for founding abroad programs in Switzerland and Germany before the beginnings of our Salzburg program. Congratulations, Greta and Jessica!

                                 

More than $25,000 Raised for the Otmar Drekonja German Cultural Studies Scholarship Fund

Scholarships Will Benefit Promising Students Seeking Undergrad Degrees in German Studies Saint John's President Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, the Mayor of Saint Cloud, the Minnesota State Senate and Minnesota's Governor Tim Pawlenty all came forward to recognize Professor Emeritus Otmar Drekonja for his many contributions as German Professor at CSB/SJU, including directing more than 15 groups to central Europe and founding our current program at the University of Salzburg in 1977. Otmar, your career has been stellar in every respect, and generations of students will continue to benefit from your visionary spirit -- both in our department and abroad programs.  Your performance of the opening monologue of Goethes Faust at our recent cabaret was magnificent!  How can we ever thank you adequately for the inspiration, positive spirit, hard work and sheer breadth of imagination you brought to the department?  May this scholarship in your name help inspire us to teach and lead with the same kinds of energies you demonstrated  throughout the many years of your career!

Otmar and Ingrid Drekonja.  Ingrid also taught German for us for 17 years.

                                                                     

 

German Faculty Awarded $2500 for Summer Curriculum Development

We'll be working for you this summer!  German Professors Andreas Kiryakakis, Lisa Ohm, Wendy Sterba, John Kulas and Mark Thamert will be in workshops together this summer to carry out the activities of their grant proposal, Excellence and Coherence in the German Curriculum. The grant was awarded by Provost Henry Smorynski on behalf of the CSB/SJU Faculty Curriculum and Program Development Committee.                                                                

                                                                     

 

Keith Spinali Takes History Course Under the New German Option with History Professor Gregory Schroeder

Keith Spinali

This coming fall SJU junior Keith Spinali and professors Gregory Schroeder and Mark Thamert will be piloting the German Option, a new program under which a student can take a course in departments like History, Philosophy, Economics, Psychology or Music and have the course count toward the German major.  The course must treat some aspect of German history, culture, literature or social thought.  Before the course starts, the student simply contracts with the professor of the course along with a German professor to do significant readings and writings in German on topics related to the course.  It may also include a final oral presentation and conversation in German with the two professors.

                                                                     

 

German Students and Professor Lisa Ohm Visit Twin Cities Mosque

Recently Professor Lisa Ohm and her students visited a mosque in the Twin Cities after reading about the Moslem Turkish community in Germany.  Students were treated to a full-fledged tour in German and were invited to attend the evening prayer service. Their host was born in Turkey but lived in Germany for 25 years and is employed by Siemens. He has been in Minnesota for six years and was delighted to be speaking German once again. Pictured to the left is Professor Lisa Ohm.

                                                                        

 

Thoralf Knoll from East Berlin Heads to Maxwell School for International Relations at Syracuse University for Grad Studies

Thoralf will miss Saint John's and Saint Ben's.  When asked to say something about his experience as an international student here, Thoralf said, "I know everyone says this – and it’s tough to put into words – but it’s the community here and having the monks on campus that I will remember most.  It’s a truly unique atmosphere.  I grew up as an atheist in East Berlin, but I am definitely much more interested in matters of faith and the Catholic Church since living at Saint John's. What a gift this place has been or me!  I was also fairly grounded in the jock culture at home, but Saint John’s has opened me up to the intellectual life and books in a way I never thought possible.”

German Majors Complete Senior Presentations

Eine Untersuchung von weiblichen Geschlechtsrollen in den Kinder- und Hausmärchen der Gebrüder Grimm.  Kate L. Hartmann.  The Grimm Brothers’ Children’s and Household Tales are a hallmark of German history which provide a place for an oral tradition of stories to be recognized and remembered. First published in December of 1812, the stories gained instant popularity, being the most read book in Germany, second to the bible.  I have chosen to concentrate on female gender roles in the stories, particularly those dealing with the values of beauty, passivity, and purity. 

Märchen.  Sarah A. Miller  There are six monolithic theories used to define fairy tales: 1) all fairy tales are nature fairy tales 2) fairy tales are etiological 3) fairy tales as Charters 4) Structuralism 5) Psychological theories involving Freud and Jung and 6) Ritual theory of fairy tales. Throughout this paper I will explore the different ways to interpret fairy tales. Then I will use a Jungian approach created by Maria Louise von Franz with seven distinct steps to interpret The Little Red Riding Hood.   

Pictured here:  Professor Andreas Kiryaykakis and his advisees,  Sarah Miller, Kim Skramstad, Kate Hartmann -- and in the back, Will Rogers and Pater Mark Thamert.  Professor Kiryakakis is head of the German section.

Der Stress des Westens.  William Rogers. The Western world has long been the leading force in modern medicine and technology, but even with all advances in scientific research, individuals from Western societies seem to be on the decline emotionally and ethically.  Buddhist and Jungian thought allow individuals to examine their world from a totally different perspective, opening new possibilities to affective coping strategies.  All forms of religions can be used as a way of coping with psychological issues, but it is the duty of the every human being to find a method that suits them best, or to find an alternate method if religion doesn’t fit into one’s scope. 

Märchen: der Wert für Kinder.  Kimberly Skramstad.  Fairy Tales have been told and accumulated through many different lands, and through many different centuries. Two of the most famous collectors of fairy tales are Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. Although both of these collections are beautifully written, the Brothers Grimm “Kinder und Hausmärchen” are psychologically more important. The Grimm fairy tales have many obvious and hidden morals and messages that help children grow into stable young adults.   

                                                         

German-Management Major Brian Schnese Featured in Spring 2005 CSB/SJU Magazine

A few months ago Brian applied for both the Austrian and German Fulbright Scholarships -- and won both!  Since September Brian has been living in Luckau, 80 km. south of Berlin.  At the beginning of his year-long experience in Germany, Brian said,  “I am hoping that this year abroad will help me determine if a career in education lies ahead. However, I am still very interested in using my business background on an international level. Either way, I see graduate school as a must in the near future.”

Editor's Note: Included here is Brian's letter for all students thinking about taking more German (and becoming a minor or major!) -- Brian states emphatically that college students simply must become fluent in a second language in order to broaden their range of opportunities in the future -- no matter what career choices you might make.  We simply need to know other cultures from the inside.

Liebe CSB und SJU Freunde!
    Es ist nur drei Jahre her, wo ich mich gefragt habe:  Was kann ich eigentlich mit einem Deutsch-Diplom tun?  Wieso brauche ich so etwas?  Lasst mich eben nur ein bisschen erzählen, was ich gerade mache.  Zurzeit bin ich Fremdsprachen-Assistent in Deutschland.  Ich wohne in Luckau, in der Nähe von Berlin, in einer ehemaligen Kirche und arbeite mit Schülern aus den 7. bis 10. Klassen.  Jeden Tag fahre ich mit meinem Fahrrad durch die Stadt zur Schule.  Und jeden Tag werde ich glücklich überrascht.  Die Gebäude sind alle aus der 18. Jahrhundert und sehen wunderschön aus.  Wie ein Märchen! 
    Wir haben noch eine unzerstörte Stadtmauer und Stadtgraben.  Und die Leute... die Leute freuen sich jeden Tag mich wieder zu sehen!  Hallo Brian!  Guten morgen Brian!  Jeden Tag lerne ich jemand neu kennen.  Jeden Tag erfahre ich was Neues über diese Kultur und diese Leute.  Als ich noch an der Uni war, habe ich gesagt: Nachher will ich was Großartiges machen.  Ich will mit Leuten arbeiten.  Ich will ein Abenteuer!  Und das mache ich jetzt. 
    Ich bin der einzige Amerikaner in einer Stadt von 5000 Leute und bin in Prinzip ein Botschafter für die Vereinigten Staaten.  Ich habe jeden Tag die Möglichkeit, die Beziehungen zwischen Deutschland und den USA positiv zu unterstützen. 
    Ich würde es Euch empfehlen!  Wenn ihr die Möglichkeit habt ein Auslands-Semester zu machen - tut es!  Nehmt doch Deutsch als Haupt- oder Nebenfach.  Heutzutage, egal was du beruflich machen willst, musst du eine zweite Sprach haben und eine Menge von verschiedenen Erfahrungen haben.  Diese Welt wird kleiner und das heißt, man braucht eine bessere Idee von anderen Kulturen zu haben.  Bereitet Euch auf die Welt vor!  Inzwischen wünsche ich Euch Viel Glück und Erfolg! 
     Mit freundlichen Grüssen,
     Brian Schnese

Brian, You and all our other Fulbright winners do us proud!  Thank you for your fine example of scholarship and initiative!