Teaching German in a Transcultural World
‘Transcultural’ stands for approaches in cultural studies which see reflection of one’s own standpoint not as the goal, but as the point of departure when encountering ‘the other’. This project argues that we require genuinely, lasting transcultural approaches to teaching and learning German if we want to ensure that teaching methods and materials reflect the staggering diversification of those groups that study German around the world.
This project, which will be hosted by the IGES, aims to facilitate training of self-reflection for all those who meet up in the classroom to learn and teach German. The objectives of the project are (i) to gain insights into the cultural contexts that shape language teaching and learning, (ii) to train practitioners/teachers on the basis of these insights and (iii) to facilitate continuing British-German cooperation and conversations after Brexit, e.g. through mobility schemes for German students.
Our events will have a dialogical focus where researchers, practitioners and students of modern languages, who aspire to become teachers, talk to each other rather than being talked to. Scholars will put their research on the role of memory culture, political stereotypes, historical narratives, etc. up for discussion, while practitioners will apply these insights by critically questioning their own teaching material, reflecting on their own experiences of teaching in a multi-cultural classroom and putting forward approaches that help shape a genuinely transcultural methodology of teaching German. These will be discussed at eye-level and captured to ensure accessibility to and mutual benefits among all participating groups. Programme fliers are available in long or short formats.
Funder: DAAD's Promoting German Studies in the UK programme
Date of project: January 2022 - December 2023
Research team
Principal investigator
Co-investigators
*Sadly, Dr Jutta Vinzent has passed away. We would like to continue to note her contribution.
European Identity in a Transcultural World
Terms such as ‘diversity’, ‘equality’, ‘freedom of speech’, ‘identity’, ‘truth’, ‘victims’, ‘perpetrators’, are some of the contemporary buzz words in discussions in Political Sciences, History and other, cognate, disciplines as well as in Education. Join us for three workshops during January and February 2023, all under the theme of European Identity, to explore 'Talking about Identity', 'Reflecting on Power' and 'Questioning truth' in political sciences, history and literature, including texts read in the classroom.