For anyone looking for challenging, worthwhile courses to take next year, I invite you to consider the German department.
Why learn German? Here are just a few reasons. German thinkers, writers and artists are influential to any subject you might wish to study - consider Einstein, Freud, Nietzsche, Kafka and Klee, to name a few. In addition, twice as many people speak German in Europe than any other language. After English, German is the most popular foreign language to learn in Europe.
German is also important in the global economy. Germany has the world's fourth biggest economy - after the United States, China and Japan - and is the largest economic and political influence in Europe, with the highest paid workers in the world. Germany is the leading export nation in the world in proportion to its population, and the standard of living in German speaking countries is among the highest in the world. Finally, many Americans claim a German heritage, and since English and German are both Germanic languages it is not a huge leap from one to the other, as illustrated by German words such as "der Arm," die Hand" and "der Finger."
If you are considering a major or minor in a field such as psychology, philosophy, music, art, architecture, sociology, English, anthropology, business or the sciences, why not add German and choose the interdisciplinary German Studies Major? You can pair courses in these and other departments with German Studies core courses and end up with German skills to put to work during and after your studies.
For those with no time to learn German, we offer courses headed GETR, or German in Translation. These courses, taught in English, are open to all. Next fall, you can sign up for seminars including "Modern German History," "German-Jewish Culture and History," "The Idea of the University" and "Film under Fascism: Ideology and Entertainment."
If you are looking for excellent instructors, you need look no further than the German department. Just this year, two of our faculty members have won major recognition for their instruction. Prof. William McDonald, in collaboration with Ruth Ferree of the Curry School of Education, was awarded a 2011-2012 Learning Assessment Grant, sponsored by the University of Virginia Institutional Assessment and Studies Division. And this spring, Prof. Laura Heins received the 2012 Alumni Board of Trustees Teaching Award. In recent years, awards have been granted to Prof. Chad Wellmon and Jewish Studies professor Gabriel Finder. Finally, two German faculty members, Department Chair Volker Kaiser and yours truly, got written up in the Declaration's "Favorite Professor" list.
Please check out our fall course offerings at http://www.virginia.edu/german/coll-coursess12.php. We look forward to seeing you in our classes.
Cora Schenberg is a lecturer in the German Department.
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