WCGS welcomes Dr. Silke Reineke of the Leibniz Institute for the German Language (IDS) on Tuesday, October 8th, 2019.
Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto are led to a deportation point sometime between April 19 and May 16, 1943 (Wikimedia Commons )
Join WCGS as professor James Diamond, Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo, gives his talk The Buried Raging Sermons of the Warsaw Ghetto Rabbi.
WCGS and GSS invite one and all to browse the halls of the Modern Languages building for an exclusive look at a poster exhibition of Reinhard Kleist's graphic novel Berliner Mythen.
The Social Media Aesthetics of Mobility: Reinhard Kleist’s The Olympic Dream and Comics on Refugee Experience
WCGS invites one and all to a talk by Lynne Taylor, University of Waterloo professor of History. Dr. Taylor will discuss her latest book, In the Children's Best Interests: Unaccompanied Refugee Children in Germany, 1945-1952.
November 18-22 is International Education Week at the University of Waterloo, the high point of which will be a visit to campus by renowned filmmaker and storyteller Alexandre Trudeau. The Waterloo Centre for German Studies is happy to be a leading sponsor of this event. Mr. Trudeau will be giving a keynote address to high school and university students (as well as anyone else who wishes to attend) about how his ability to speak multiple languages has enriched his life, both personally and professionally, and why he believes all students should have diverse opportunities for language learning and study abroad. The keynote will be followed by a panel discussion featuring industry professionals, alumni and more, all part of the Goethe-Institut’s Career Booster – Global Experience Day.
This fall, we’ll be reading
Benedict Wells: Vom Ende der Einsamkeit / The End of Loneliness, trans. Charlotte Collins
If you want to learn more about the book here are some articles from the Guardian and Süddeutsche:
The Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies proudly presents the annual Golden Boar Awards!
Online translation devices such as Google Translate (GT) are an annoyance in the second language classroom. Students often rely heavily on GT in class or when completing homework assignments, rather than, for example, putting in the time required to learn vocabulary. Although many language instructors explicitly ban GT from their courses, students continue using it. The truth is, GT will not go away, and its functionality will only improve.
Given our new remote teaching reality, now is a good time to shift our attitude towards Google Translate. How can we turn a tool used for cheating into a teachable moment where students make use of online translation services and dictionaries to raise their language awareness, to foster their intercultural competence and learner autonomy, and improve their electronic literacy and critical thinking skills?