German Immigration History Coursepack
Upper-level German Special Topics Course: German Immigration HistoryJohanna Schuster-CraigMichigan State University This is a coursepack for an upper-level German-language content course with materials exploring the history of twentieth-century immigration to Germany through comic books, film, interviews, and archival source materials. Specific topics include: Guest worker migration, socialist immigration to the former German Democratic Republic, postwar […]
Kennesaw State University Online History Teaching Modules
Kennesaw State University’s Museum for History and Holocaust Education created numerous Online History Teaching Modules related to German History; Holocaust History; Human Rights History; WWI; WWII; and other topics — all freely available to educators. Visit their site to see a list of available Individual Topic/Event Lessons or more elaborate Multi-Lesson Modules. Lessons include images […]
Environment and Engagement in German Studies
Environmental topics have become a significant part of German Studies. Environmental action also presents an opportunity for engaging with communities beyond the classroom. Site maintained by Kiley Kost (Carleton College), Nicole Fischer (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Dan Nolan (University of Minnesota Duluth), and Seth Peabody (Carleton College). Environment and Engagement in German Studies website Tags: […]
Fundamentals of Teaching the Holocaust
A collection of teaching resources from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, including lesson plans, bibliographies, videos, and primary sources. The site is geared mainly toward K-12 teachers but also includes useful materials for university level instruction. USHMM Fundamentals of Teaching the Holocaust website Tags: Holocaust, Nazi Germany, Teaching Resources Image Source: By Karen from […]
“Challenge Statements”: One Sentence Writing Assignments
Years ago, I came across a syllabus on the internet that changed how I teach writing. It was by Rudy Koshar, the distinguished historian of German History at the University of Wisconsin. I was looking around for examples of how to structure a course in modern German history, but what I found instead was an […]
Challenge Statements: One Sentence Writing Assignments
Andy EvansSUNY New Paltz “Challenge statements” are short, 50-word, single-sentence statements on course readings. They are designed to a) encourage students to do the reading and b) improve students’ skills of summary and analysis. Challenge statements are also excellent tools for helping students become better writers. Tags: German History, teaching Image Source: By Bundesarchiv, Bild […]
Finding Germany in the Neighborhood
Like many institutions, my university is increasingly emphasizing engaged and experiential learning, where students get out of the classroom and learn and/or apply their learning out in “the real world” (for us, this takes the form of an “Engaged Learning” requirement in the University Core Curriculum). My department also offers a concentration in Public and […]
Escape from Grading Hell: How to Move Away from Grades and Focus on Learning
In recent years, many college instructors have begun to explore new ways of assessing students that shift the focus away from grades and toward learning. Inspired by the work of Alfie Kohn, Susan Blum, and many others, this praxis can take many forms, from “ungrading” to “contract grading,” “specifications grading,” and beyond. The reasons for […]
Found in Translation
Editors’ Note: Kyung Lee Gagum and Patrick Ploschnitzki convened the seminar Found in Translation at the 2022 German Studies Association annual conference. Because the seminar explored pedagogical issues related to translations, the Collaboratory editors asked the conveners to write a recap of the seminar for Zeitnah. Lost or found in translation? We, the seminar conveners, […]
Incorporating German Colonialism into German Studies Classrooms
Editors’ Note: Katherine Arnold and Eriks Bredovskis convened the seminar Colonialism and German Memory Politics: New Approaches to Teaching Colonial Science and German Imperialism at the 2022 German Studies Association annual conference. Because the seminar focused on teaching, the Collaboratory editors asked the conveners to write a recap of the seminar for Zeitnah. Recently, the […]
