Germany

The Art of Lüften 

By Zaynah Almasri ’27 The Art of Lüften  In German households, there is a practice called lüften: opening every window and door at the same time to let fresh air move through the house. It does not matter if it is freezing outside, raining sideways, or still dark out at five in the morning. The…

Reading Signs in German

By Bre Jordan ’27 I pride myself on being good at directions, but I am forever getting lost in Hamburg. The Pearl of the North is a beautiful, modern city with a sophisticated public transportation network I rely on daily. Truly they make it very easy to use: trains and buses display the upcoming stops…

Two Wesleyan Seniors Win the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship

One young woman with curly hair, a woman with long brown hair, and a young man with dark hair stand with arms around each others shoulders in front of a wooden piece of art.

Wesleyan is one of 41 partner institutions whose graduating seniors are eligible to apply for the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. This fellowship, often known on our campus simply as “The Watson,” provides $40,000 in funding for fellows to engage their unique individual interests on the global scale. Fellows create their own original projects, execute them…

A Green Political Economy Conference

Professor Basak Kus organized a conference in cooperation with scholars from Freie University in Berlin on the topic of green political economy. Throughout the three-day conference, panelists from various universities worldwide engaged in discussions on theories of degrowth and post-growth, green new deals, the politics of decarbonization, and the involvement of governments, labor, and business…

News from our students who are currently studying in Germany

Several of our GRST majors and minors have been living and studying in Germany this fall. I asked them to share some of their experiences with us. So far, I have received three letters that I would like to share with you. The first letter is from Evelyn Mesler ‘21, who majored in German Studies,…

Oktoberfest at German Haus

On a warm and sunny Saturday, around 30 students joined the German Haus to celebrate the Oktoberfest, but with unique twists. While the Bavarian festival traditionally calls for Dirndl and Lederhosen, Wesleyan students were clad in their typical eclectic fashion. Laughing and smiling, they learned about German culture and language. Bright-colored blue and white Bavarian themed table…

Bridging the Gap with Germany during the Pandemic

By Iris Bork-Goldfield, Adj. Professor of German Studies, Chair In March 2020, students were told to return from their study abroad programs, and we faculty were asked not to leave the U.S. Four of our students had just arrived at our Smith program in Hamburg, Germany, when they received that unwelcome message to pack again…

Wes Students in Transatlantic Conversation on Jewish Identity

Written by Thorsten Wilhelm, Visiting Assistant Professor of German Studies In the past fall semester, Wesleyan students in the First Year Seminar “Holocaust Remembrance in Germany: The Third Generation” participated in a pilot exchange with the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Made possible by the Departments of German Studies and Jewish Studies and the…

Building Tomorrow – Diversity in Germany

We invite you to join us for the first event of our fall series: Building Tomorrow-Diversity in Germany. Please RSVP and we will send you a Zoom link on Monday, September 21st. Click the link for more information and to RSVP to The Cakemaker, a film by Ofir Raul Graizer: https://bit.ly/2RoCA8t. Check out the full series…