This article examines the intersection of contingent faculty labor and institutional diversity on the student and faculty level of U.S. German Studies. Sara Ahmed's notion of "diversity as phenomenology" (2012, p. 173) provides a conceptual framework to show that active diversity work in the German classroom has a feedback effect and…

Film courses are now standard offerings in collegiate world language programs, but instructors have only begun to consider the unique benefits of teaching a television series to engage language learners in meaningful communication. As series have become the entertainment of choice for today's students, educators should consider the opportunities…

Foreign language houses, on-campus residences in which students pledge to speak in their target language, offer valuable opportunities for language and culture learning. Scores of such programs exist at universities across North America (Dewey, Baker, Bown, & Martinsen, 2011), yet little is written about them in the research literature. This…

Aimed at Ph.D. programs in German, this article offers a broad framework to discuss the urgent issues facing our programs to stem the tide of (possible or even likely) disinvestment in German in times of fiscal hardship. Many conversations on suitable reforms tend to be held separately by different stakeholders -- teaching-focused faculty or…

Both of the participants in this dialogue are professors of German, and both were involved in recent efforts to develop Global Studies programs at their institutions. While one teaches at a small, private, liberal arts college and the other at a large, urban, public research university, both participated in these projects with the pragmatic desire…

Concepts of second language proficiency and how proficiency may be assessed have changed considerably over the last 20 years. New notions of validity with respect to the interpretation and uses of test scores have begun to shape discussions about test validity and quality assurance in college world language departments, in government, and in…

This article describes a significant revision of an existing upper-division German course to include more global perspectives of the long 19th century. The revision was undertaken in collaboration with an advanced undergraduate student. The course provides an important opportunity to upend preconceptions students might have about German-speaking…

More than ever, faculty need to ensure that undergraduate curricula not only provide students with tools to gain linguistic proficiency but also teach them to analyze both written and visual information to attain historical literacy. Developing both intercultural proficiency and insights into various historical memorialization processes ensures…

In this conversation, two U.S.-trained German language and culture educators discuss their approaches to intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Working in different educational settings -- in a German and Global Studies program at a public university in the U.S., and at the Institute for Intercultural Communication of a German university…

Changing public demands and decreasing enrollment numbers have challenged the traditional concept of teaching languages, cultures, and literatures in the U.S. Although nationwide enrollment numbers in German programs have been declining, "global" German Studies programs such as the ones at the University of Connecticut and the University…

The collegiate foreign language profession has become increasingly aware of the unnecessarily detrimental effects of bifurcated curricula on student learning and departmental governance, yet there have been few instances to date of departments that have been able to achieve unified, articulated programs of study. This article presents one foreign…

The article presents and discusses materials for a cultural lesson about Green Germany. An introductory mini-unit frames the over-all student learning objective: students should be able to respond to the questions "Where are we?" and "Where are we going?" with regard to the natural environment. Three different units then help…

Interdisciplinary projects offer a strategy for German programs to become more visible and valued in the university context. Freedom Without Walls at Chapman University offers a case study of a project that situates the German program within an institution's larger goals. When building a project, the German program should look first to existing…

Small undergraduate German programs can take various forms but can generally be classified as new and emerging or older and well-established programs. In today's academic climate it is necessary that instructors in both types work to enhance their curriculum and extra-curricular offerings as well as strive to prevent burnout and the over…

This report of one program and one person highlights several successful initiatives that resulted in the growth of the German Program at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. While the ideas reflect common best practices of many successful programs seeking to maintain their profile in today's educational environment, the energy, commitment and…