Vita
1. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE – TEACHING
since 2009 – Associate Professor of German
University of Mary Washington, Department of Modern Foreign Languages
2004-2009 – Assistant Professor of German
University of Mary Washington, Department of Modern Foreign Languages
1998-2003 – Lecturer, Tutor, Teaching Assistant for German as a Second Language
University of Wisconsin, Department of German, Extension Services, Athletic Department
1991-1997 – Instructor for German as a Second Language
Eurozentrum Köln, Germany; Weimar, Germany; Wien, Austria
1994 -1995 – Instructor for German as a Second Language
Rheinisch-Westfälische Sprachschule, Köln, Germany
1992-1994 – Instructor for German as a Second Language
Universität zu Köln, Germany
1991 – Instructor for German as a Second Language
Inlingua Köln, Germany
1985-1989 – Teacher for German and Russian
22. Oberschule Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
2. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE – TEACHING SUPERVISION
September – December 2002, January – May 1999
Head Teaching Assistant for 4th semester German
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of German
July/August 1997 – Director of the Summer Language School
Eurozentrum Wien, Austria
July/August 1996 – Director of the Summer Language School
Eurozentrum Weimar, Germany
March-June 1996 – Director of semester abroad program in Germany
University of Chicago/Eurozentrum Weimar
March-June 1995 – Director of semester abroad program in Germany
University of Chicago/Eurozentrum Weimar
3. EDUCATION
1997-2004 Doctoral program in the Department of German
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Doctoral thesis „,Ätzende Bilder, beißende Worte’ : Kontinuitäten und Diskontinuitäten in der semiotischen Struktur von Text-/Bildmotiven im deutschen Propagandaplakat des 20. Jahrhunderts“ [„Acrid Images, Biting Words“: Continuities and Discontinuities in the Semiotic Structure of the German Propaganda Poster of the 20th Century] Advisor: Hans Adler
January – July 1988 Exchange program for Russian language teachers
Lomonosov-University, Moscow, Russia
September 1981 – July 1985 Masters program in German and Russian Pedagogy. Masters thesis “Rezeptionsmodelle der Weltliteratur im Gedicht von Eduardas Mieželaites.” [Reception Models of World Literature in the poems of Eduardas Mieželaites] Advisor: Georg Ristow.
Pädagogische Hochschule Erfurt, Germany
4. PUBLICATIONS
January 2019 – Book review of: Geteilte Kritiken. DDR-Literatur und bundesrepublikanische Literaturkritik. Heidelberg: Winter, 2018. In: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht, Volume 111, Number 2, Summer 2019, p. 322-324.)
September 2018 – „Mail Art in der DDR – Eine Übung im kritischen Denken“. In: IDT Fribourg/Freiburg 2017. Tagungsband, Teil 2, Sektionen. Ed. Thomas Studer et al., p. 380-386.
Spring 2018 – Book review of: Potter, Pamela., Art of Suppression. Confronting the Nazi Past in Histories of the Visual and Performing Arts. University of California Press, 2016. xvi + 389 pages. In: Yearbook for German-American Studies (forthcoming in August 2019)
Spring 2018 – Book review of: Lavian, Frank. Home Front to Battlefront. An Ohio Teenager in World War II. Ohio University Press, 2016. XIX = 378 pages. In: Yearbook for German-American Studies (forthcoming in August 2019).
Fall 2016 – Book review of: Richard Menkis and Harold Troper More than Just Games: Canada and the 1936 Olympics. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2015. In: Yearbook of German-American Studies. (forthcoming)
Spring 2016 – Book review of: Sophie Discovers America: German-Speaking Women Write the New World. Eds. Rob McFarland and Michelle Stott James. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2014. xi + 312 pages + 6b/w illustrations. In: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht. (in print)
Fall 2015 – Book review of: Elbing, Steffen. Heinrich Lersch (1889–1936). Eine literaturpolitische Biographie. Bielefeld: Aisthesis, 2014. 322 pp. In: German Studies Review, vol. 38, issue 3, p. 713-15.
2013 – Book review of: Traditions and Transitions: Curricula for German Studies. Eds. John L. Plews and Barbara Schmenk. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 414 pp. In: Yearbook for German-American Studies, vol. 48, p. 218-220..
March 2012 – “’Are you 100% American?’ – German Americans as Targets of Government Propaganda”. The Report, a Journal of German-American History. No. 46, 2011, p.11-32.
Fall 2010 – Book review of: Rolf Düsterberg, Hrsg. “Dichter für das “Dritte Reich”. Biografische Studien zum Verhältnis von Literatur und Ideologie. 10 Autorenporträts” In: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht, Volume 103, Issue 2, p. 319-21.
December 2009 – Book review of: Pamela E. Swett/Jonathan Wiesen/Jonathan R. Zaitlin, eds. Selling Modernity: Advertising in Twentieth-Century Germany. In: German Studies Review, 33 (1), p.195 – 196.
December 2009 – Book review of: Dagmar Barnouw, Germany 1945: View of War and Violence In: Journal of Contemporary European Studies, Volume 17, Issue 3 December 2009, pages 452 – 454.
August 2009 – Book chapter “Berlin in Posters – Posters in Berlin: Mass Advertisement und Urban Space in Berlin 1900-1945” in Berlin and Modernism, Göttingen: Vandenhoek und Ruprecht, 2009, p. 27-49.
Fall 2008 – Book Review “Die schwarze Schmach am Rhein” in Journal for Contemporary European Studies (16:3), pp. 482-484.
Summer 2008 – Book review „The Erotics of War in German Romanticism“ in: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht (100:3), 2008, p 430-432.
Fall 2007 – Article „When Money Goes to War: Functions of War Bond Posters during World War I” in: Mid-Atlantic Almanack: The Journal of the Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association, 16 (2007), pp. 69-109.
Summer 2007 – Book review „Seelenarbeit an Deutschland – Martin Walser in Perspective” in: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht (98:4), 2007, pp. 252-255.
Winter 2006 – Book review „Germany’s Two Unifications. Anticipations, Experiences, Responses.” in: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht (98:3), 2007, pp. 638-640.
Spring 2006 – Book review „What History Tells” in: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht (98:3), 2006, pp. 460-61.
Spring 2005 – Book review: “Kürschners Literaturkalender” in: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht (97:3), 2003, pp. 526-8.
Fall 2003 – Book review: “Digitale Bibliothek Deutscher Klassiker” in: Monatshefte für deutschen Unterricht (95:4), 2003, pp. 706-8.
2001 – Book chapter “Waiting for Goethe” – Jewish Goethe Biographies from Geiger to Gundolf. (Co-author and presenter) in:
Goethe in German-Jewish Culture. edited by Klaus L. Berghahn and Jost Hermand. Rochester, N.Y.: Camden House, 2001, pp. 84-103.
1985 Book chapter “Rezeptionsmodelle der deutschen Klassik im Gedicht von Eduardas Mieželaites”
in: 21. Literaturkonferenz des Bezirkes Erfurt. Erfurt: Verlag der Pädagogischen Hochschule , 1985.
1984 Book chapter “Gedanken beim Lesen eines Buches: ‘Die Fichte, die gelacht hat’ von Justinas Marcinkevičius” in: 20. Literaturkonferenz des Bezirkes Erfurt. Erfurt: Verlag der Pädagogischen Hochschule , 1984.
5. PROFESSIONAL PAPER PRESENTATIONS
April 13, 2019 – “Towards a New Curriculum for Teaching German-American History at the College Level,” Annual Symposium of the Society for German-American Studies (SGAS), Madison, WI.
October 4, 2018 – Roundtable Participant on the Virginia K18 Fall Forum on Language Education, Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) Annual Conference, DoubleTree Hotel, Williamsburg, VA.
October 6-8, 2017 – “‘Künstler rührt euch, sonst werdet ihr weggetreten,‘ GDR Mail Art in its International Context“ as part of the 3-day GSA seminar “Transnational Aesthetic Trends in Cultural Criticism of the German Democratic Republic,” Annual Conference of the German Studies Association (GSA), Atlanta, GA.
September 16, 2017 – “Spracharbeit nach DDR Mail Art,” GETVICO – Second German Teacher Virtual Conference (organized by Goethe Institut New York City
August 3, 2017 – „Mail Art in der DDR – Eine Übung im kritischen Denken,“ Internationaler Deutschlehrertag (IDT), University of Fribourg/Freiburg, Switzerland.
November 18, 2016 – “The Visual Language Learner – Art in the German Classroom,” Annual Conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Boston, MA.
March 30, 2016 – “’…as one only knows from animals’ – Racial Communication Strategies in the ‘Olympiazeitung’ during the 1936 Olympic Games” at Conference: The Nazi Games: Berlin Olympics After 80 Years, Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers, FL.
November 20, 2015 – “East-German Mail Art – An Exercise in Critical Thinking,” Annual Conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), San Diego, CA.
November 22, 2015 – Moderator: “Integrated Performance Assessment: Program Implementation and Evaluation,” Annual Conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), San Diego, CA.
September 24, 2015 – Preparing state-wide World Language Days, Annual Conference of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia, Williamsburg, VA.
2015, July 17 – Workshop,“Leistungs-messung – Testen oder nicht testen?” (Assessment – to test or not to test?), Goethe-Institut Summer School, Denver, CO.
2015, July 16 – Workshop, “Medien – Wie? Wo? Warum?” ([Electronic] Media – How? Where? Why? Goethe-Institut Summer School, Denver, CO.
2014, November 20 – “History in the German Classroom – The Elephant in the Room” Annual Conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), San Antonio, TX.
2014, September 25-27 – “New Apps and Websites for the German Classroom” Annual Conference of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia, Williamsburg, VA.
2014, September 18-21 – Seminar co-facilitator: “Teaching the Holocaust in the 21st Century at U.S. Universities” Annual Meeting of the German Studies Association, Kansas, City, MO.
2013, June 13 – “No Teacher Left Behind – Connectivity In Culture Classes For K-12 Teachers”, Conference of the International Association of Language Learning Technology (IALLT), Florida Atlantic University, Ft. Lauderdale.
2012 – March 23 – “Why the (won’t) blog – an updated perspective” Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT), Atlanta, GA.
2011 – October 7 – “There is Life after PowerPoint: Prezi as a neat Presentation Alternative” Annual conference of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) in Richmond, VA
2011 – October 7 – “Turkish-German Movies in the German classroom II” Annual conference of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) in Richmond, VA
2011 – April 15 – “Are you 100% American? – German-Americans as target of U.S. propaganda in World War I. Annual Symposium of the Society for German-American Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
2011 – March 26 – “Turkish-German Movies in the German classroom” AATG Spring Workshop at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
2010 – October 9 – “Turkish-German Movies in the German classroom” Annual conference of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) in Richmond, VA
2009 – October 10 – “Celebrate Languages: How to Organize a World Language Day”, Annual conference of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) in Richmond, VA.
2009 – October 2 – Keynote Address at the Culmination Dinner of the week-long celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall: Life with(out) Walls. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
May 29 – 2009 – “Why They (won’t) Blog” Bi-annual conference of the International Association of Language Learning Technology (IALLT) in Atlanta, GA.
2009 – May 13 – “Student-centered learning in upper-level language courses: authentic news and wikis as textbook 2.0” Faculty Academy on Teaching and Learning Technologies, UMW.
2009 – March 5 – “The Loss of the Ornament – Poster Design and Urban Space in Weimar Germany” Southwest German Studies Workshop in Columbia, SC.
2008 – December 27 – “Pedagogical Implications of Blogging in Foreign Language Education” MLA convention in San Francisco, CA.
2008 – October 31 – “Sprechen Sie Blog? Pedagogical Implication of Blogging in Foreign Language Teaching” Annual conference of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) in Richmond, VA.
2008 – October 3 – “’So hilft dein Geld dir kämpfen’: Economic Mobilization during World War I on Both Sides of the Trenches” Annual national conference of the German Studies Association (GSA) in St. Paul, MI.
2008 – September 17 – “The GDR – Memories of a Country” [invited talk] Loyola College, Baltimore, MD
2008 – September 16 – “Are you 100% American? – German-Americans as Target Group of Propaganda during World War I” Keynote Address at the annual meeting of the Society for the History of German-Americans in Maryland, Zions Church, Baltimore, MD
2008 – July 15 – “Speaking Walls: Poster and the Metropolis in 20th Century Germany” International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 – April 17 – “Jakob Sternberger and his Circle: Bohemians in Search of a Communist Utopia in the New World” 32nd Annual Symposium Society for German-American Studies commemorating the 400th Anniversary First Germans in America at Jamestown, Virginia; Williamsburg, VA
2008 – March 29 – “Die zarteste Versuchung” Advertisment in the German Classroom, Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, New York, NY
2008 – March 21 – “The Dazzled Metropolis: The Changing Relationships between Urban Space and Poster Advertisement in 20th Century Berlin” Joint Conference of the National Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, San Francisco, CA.
2008 – February 14 – “‘Weapons for Liberty?!’ – Propaganda Techniques of Four Belligerent Countries during WWI” Southwest Texas Association of Popular Culture in Albuquerque, N.M.
2008 – February 1 – “To Blog or Not to Blog. Pedagogical Implications of Blogging in Foreign Language Education” Mid-Atlantic and South-East Association for Language Learning Technology in Fort Lauderdale, FL
2007 – November 17 – “Business and Culture” (with Jose Sainz and Scott Powers) American Council for Teaching of Foreign Languages, San Antonio, TX
2007 – November 2 “‘If You Can’t Enlist, Invest’ – Communicative Strategies of U.S. and British War Bond Posters during World War I” Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association , Philadelphia PA
2007 – October 13 – “Die zarteste Versuchung” Advertisment in the German Classroom FLAVA, Richmond, VA
April 28, 2007 Werbung im Unterricht – Learning German through Advertisements
University of Virginia Spring Workshop, Charlottesville, VA
April 14, 2007 “A Business Language Certificate: Constructing a Multidisciplinary Curriculum”
2007 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL), New York, NY
November 21, 2006 “A Short History of Propaganda”
Guest Lecture in Professor Al-Tikriti’s two sections of the Western Civilization II course
November 11, 2006 “Die fünf neuen Bundesländer heute”
Immersion Weekend for German teachers, Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, VA
May 17, 2006 “State of the Art: The First Year of ARTstor at UMW” (Panelist)
11th Faculty Academy, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
May 16, 2006 “One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Incorporation of Electronic Images in the Foreign Language Classroom”
11th Faculty Academy, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
May 16, 2006 “A Conversation on Blogging at UMW” (Panelist)
11th Faculty Academy, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
April 5 “Toward a Business Language Certificate: Constructing a Multidisciplinary Curriculum at a Small Liberal Arts Institution”
2006 CIBER Business Language Conference, Atlanta, GA
March 25, 2006 “German Hip-Hop in Class”
University of Virginia Spring Workshop, Charlottesville, VA
March 25, 2006 “Die DDR und die neuen Bundesländer im Unterricht”
University of Virginia Spring Workshop, Charlottesville, VA
March 21, 2006 “A Short History of Propaganda”
Guest Lecture in Professor Al-Tikriti’s section of the Western Civilization II course
March 10, 2006 “Look Who is Talking – Electronic Visual Aids for the German Classroom”
Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic & South-East Associations of Language Learning and Technology (MAALLT & SEALLT), Charleston , SC
February 23, 2006 Open Classroom Presentation “Black Images – Historical and Modern Views of Africans in Germany”
University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
October 15, 2005 “Mit Bits and Bytes zum großen Preis?”
Annual Convention of FLAVA, Richmond, VA
September 23, 2005 Panel moderator at the 38th Wisconsin Workshop “Writing [in] Images / In Bildern schreiben”
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
May 10, 2005 Poster Presentation at the 10th Faculty Academy “Me Talk Pretty German One Day”
University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
July 1, 2004 “When Money Goes to War… Differences in the Communicative Strategies of the Allied and the Central Powers in World War I War Bond Posters”
Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Madison, WI
May 10, 2002 “Holocaust and Humanities in the Electronic Media – New approaches to memory culture”
Workshop “Holocaust and Humanities in the 21st Century”; University of Wisconsin-Madison
April 14, 2002 “Speaking Walls – The Poster and the German Metropolis.”
Annual Craft-Critique-Culture Conference;
University of Iowa-Iowa City
December 2, 1999 “Alle Erinnerung ist Gegenwart – The Presence and Suppression of Memory in the ‘Was bleibt’ and the Walser-Bubis debates”
Graduate Student Workshop: The Unification Effect — The Berlin Republic Ten Years After, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
March 20 1999 “Gesinnungsästhetik? Literary debates as substitutes of political discourse”
German Department Graduate Student Conference, University of Wisconsin
March 12-14 1999 “Gesinnungsästhetik? Literary debates as substitutes of political discourse”
Graduate Student Conference: Gegenstand– Polemic Positions. Forms of Objections, Columbia University, New York City
December 1997 “Student demographics and curricular beliefs in second-year college language teaching”
Roundtable lecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison
6. Current Projects
Articles on
7. MEMBERSHIPS IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
- Modern Language Association of America
- American Association of Teachers of German – AATG (Past president and Board member of the Virginia chapter)
- American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages – ACTFL
- North-East Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages – NECTFL
- Foreign Language Association of Virginia – FLAVA
- Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association – MAPACA