This series of talks focuses on works-in-progress in German Studies. Organized on behalf of the WCGS by Alice Kuzniar, the presentations cover open educational resources, bawdy medieval badges, and a forthcoming edition of Alexander Moritz Frey’s short fiction. Please register for each event separately.
Open Opportunity
James Skidmore + Myrto Provida
March 23, 2021, 1:00-2:15 PM
Open educational resources (OERs) are basically open access materials for teaching and learning. As an Open Education Fellow with eCampusOntario, Skid produced - with the assistance of Myrto Provida - a research report on how universities can encourage greater uptake of these shareable materials. This research has led to the examination of other open educational practices that Skid is now beginning to employ in his German studies courses. The most promising of these seems to be co-creating OERs with students that can be used in those very same courses. A series of self-directed workshops on the instructional skills needed in the technological age is also being developed with the assistance of Sara Ghaffarian.
Please register for Open Opportunity here.
Bawdy Medieval Badges
Ann Marie Rasmussen + Melanie Jackson
April 13, 2021, 1:00-2:15 PM
In this special event, University of Waterloo Professor Ann Marie Rasmussen, author of Medieval Badges: Their Wearers and Their Worlds (forthcoming, 2021), will be joined by multidisciplinary artist Melanie Jackson to discuss the world of bawdy medieval badges. This event will feature Melanie Jackson’s recent reimagining of these bawdy badges in her artistic project, “Spekying Rybawdy,” where she brings these infamous badges to new life. Their conversation will be moderated by Professor Steven Bednarski (History, St. Jerome’s University).
Medieval badges are small, brooch-like objects that were mass-produced in the High and late Middle Ages in Europe. Over 20,000 of these lead-tin alloy badges survive into our times. They feature image or symbols that were familiar to medieval people. Often referred to as pilgrim badges because so many surviving badges are religious, many medieval badges in fact belong to the secular sphere of life. Among these are over three hundred obscene badges whose iconography displays explicit, and at times puzzling, bawdy imagery and scenes.
Please register for Bawdy Medieval Badges here.
Rediscovering Alexander Moritz Frey
Paola Mayer + Rüdiger Müller
May 11, 2021, 1:00-2:15 PM
Our talk will focus on our forthcoming edition of Frey's short fiction and on our plan for an article on his tale, "Der Mensch." We will address such questions as: Who was Alexander Moritz Frey? What did his oeuvre look like? How does one create an anthology that will put him back on the literary map? What does a Robinsonade written in 1940 by an exile author look like?
Please register for Rediscovering Alexander Moritz Frey here.
Questions?
For any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.