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• List of Projects/Plans

Conferences of the Center of German Studies

The Center anticipates to organize a major conference each year on an interdisciplinary topic related to Germany and the German-speaking countries. The Conference will be promoted in the US and abroad, attracting speakers by invitation and through a call for papers. Invited speakers will be reimbursed for travel and living expenses.

Recent conferences in the 2008/09 academic year

• Spring 2009 Conference: “Cultural Studies and the German Tradition”
• Fall 2009 Conference: “1789/1989: Revolution and the Post-Cold War World”

Annual Public Lecture of the Center for German Studies

This is a high-profile annual public lecture designed to attract attention in the national and local media. The lecture will be promoted locally and nationally, and will resonate beyond the UVA academic community. The website will provide information to introduce and contextualize the speaker and the issue.

For the launching of the Center for German Studies on Oct. 24-25, 2008, we invited Dr. Josef Joffe, editor-in-chief of the weekly Die Zeit, who gave a public lecture on transatlantic relations. Potential future candidates include Günther Grass, Joschka Fischer, Angela Merkel, and Jürgen Habermas.

“Modell Deutschland” Roundtable Series

These events will highlight German experiences that contain lessons for the US and the rest of the world. The series is designed to foster communication and exchange between experts and the broader academic community. The series will be announced on the Center’s website and will also be promoted in the media. We will start with a Business Roundtable on Germany and the environment. The fall 2008 event will focus on alternative energy; the spring event will discuss the post-wall cleanup of East-Germany and potential lessons for China and other countries.

German Studies Luncheon Colloquium

The Center has launched an interdisciplinary colloquium at UVA. The regular meetings seek to address a wide range of topics related to German culture, language and society. While most presenters are UVA faculty, we are hoping to be able to invite two external speakers per semester. The colloquium’s schedule will be posted on the Center’s website

Presentations (TBA).

Essay Prize of the Center for German Studies

The Center for German Studies will award annual prizes of $500 to the winners of a graduate and undergraduate essay competition. The essay competition will be promoted university-wide, and the selection committee will be interdisciplinary. The specific topic will be announced through UVA media and will be posted on the Center’s website. There will be a public award ceremony that will also generate publicity for the Center and the themes it promotes. The website of the German Studies Center will keep an updated list of the winners.

German Film Festival / Week of the European Film

We envision a bi-annual film festival, combining the screening of new and classic films with a public lecture by a German(-speaking) filmmaker. The series could be coordinated with other UVA departments (Media Studies, French Department). The event would be promoted state-wide and through the university. The Center’s website would announce the program and provide context.

Fellowship in German Studies

This fellowship supports the travel to and study in Germany of UVA undergraduates for one semester. The fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis.

Flexible Business Internship Placement

This initiative seeks to sponsor UVA undergraduates who are interested in an internship in a German-speaking country, but do not have the means to realize this aim. The Center would sponsor the placement fee and travel expenses. This program would run in conjunction with the Business German Program.

Visiting Student of the Center for German Studies

A fellowship designed to sponsor a one-semester student exchange with a German university to attract undergraduate/graduate students from Germany.

Fellow in Residence of the Center for German Studies

Designed to allow German writers, diplomats, politicians, business men, and academics to reside at the University for a two-week period each time. It is expected that invited guests will give a public talk and meet with UVA faculty, as well as graduate and undergrad students. The guests will have the opportunity to pursue their own research/writing interests, and will have access to the UVA libraries and other resources. The website will provide all relevant information to apply for a residence position. Current and past residents will be listed on the website.

German Studies Summer School Support

The Center seeks to support students with a major in German who wish to attend a Summer School in Germany or in a German-speaking country.

One-time Faculty Grant of the Center for German Studies 

These are one-time U.Va. faculty grants ($250-750, comparable to the A&S small grants) for projects related to German studies (e.g. publication subsidies, reproduction copy rights etc). Such grants will encourage faculty to affiliate themselves with the Center for German Studies. Faculty who receive the grant will acknowledge the source in their publication.

Co-sponsor Lecture Fund of the Center of German Studies

As outreach to the UVA community, the Center for German Studies will co-sponsor visiting lectures with other Departments in the College of Arts and Sciences and Schools at the University (Darden Business School, McIntire School of Commerce, SEAS, etc.). The Fund will be mentioned at the sponsored events, and the events will be documented on the Center’s website.

Events (TBA).

Course Development Grant of the Center for German Studies

In order to reach out and promote new courses with a strong German component (which would be cross-listed), the Center for German Studies anticipates to award course development grants to UVA faculty outside the German Department. Such courses would encourage more faculty to offer relevant courses, and would increase the range of courses which students in the German Studies program can count towards their major or minor.

German Studies Teachers Seminar

The objective is to sponsor on an annual basis a one-week seminar at the graduate level for high school teachers of German, especially but not exclusively from Virginia. Recipients would receive grants and stipends to attend; faculty teaching this course would also be compensated.

German Studies Summer Course for High School Students

This is a summer course for future undergrad students (at the time 10th and 11th graders). The main objective of this course is to motivate high school students to continue and deepen their study of the German language and culture.

High School Outreach Virginia

This effort is designed to reach high school students interested in learning German by organizing annual outreach event on campus, as well as high school visits by faculty and/or graduate students. This effort includes setting up a data base of contacts at Virginia high schools.

Partnership German Business Community in Virginia

The objective is to reach out to German businesses in Virginia and sponsor company visits.

Friends of German Studies Fund

The fund will be used to establish and maintain contacts with the German-speaking local community (picnics, receptions, Bierabend), invite and host German officials (i.e. German ambassador), and sponsor day trips with students to German cultural events in the Washington D.C. area.

Institutional Support

The Center for German Studies thrives on the motivation and commitment of UVA's enthusiastic faculty. Longer-term faculty members will need relief from teaching so the Center can be run efficiently (planning and organizing events). The best way to accomplish this goal is to buy out teaching time in the short term for a half-time position.