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2011-2012

„Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt.“

-Ludwig Wittgenstein

Learning German can connect students with 120 million native speakers around the globe. As the official language of Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein as well as Germany, the world’s largest exporter, German is the language with the largest number of native speakers in the European Union. It is the native language of a significant portion of the population in northern Italy, eastern Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, eastern France, and parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Romania. It is the second-most commonly used scientific language and the most widely spoken language in Europe. In a radius of 1000 kilometers (625 miles), Germany lies at the center of a European population of 300 million people, taking a decisive role in the political, economic, and educational dynamics of the continent.

Studying German offers students access to a culture of scientists and innovators, philosophers and theologians, writers, artists and composers. German is the language of Gutenberg and Hertz, Fahrenheit and Einstein, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud, of Luther, Goethe and Kafka, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Mahler.

The German Department offers courses on campus and abroad in German language and culture, including literature, history, and film for both majors and non-majors. A pivotal component of German language study at St. Olaf is study abroad. In keeping with a German tradition dating back to medieval times, German universities today have opened their doors to students from around the world, sharing their research in science and technology, their specialized training in the fine arts, and their rich archival collections in the humanities, with only one requirement: German language proficiency. With adequate proficiency in German, St. Olaf students may study for a semester or a full year at the University of Konstanz or the Humboldt University in Berlin.

Beyond the classroom, students may also participate in the weekly German conversation table (Stammtisch), the Fall of the Wall 20th Anniversary film series, and events in Deutsches Haus, an honor house where St. Olaf students live together with an exchange student from Germany.

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Fachbereich Germanistik

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Department Chair (Margaret Hayford O'Leary):
oleary@stolaf.edu
(507) 786-3569

Vienna Interim 2011 Abroad: German 239

Germany's Economic Status

Dictionary

Top 5 Ways to Get Involved with German at St. Olaf

1. Take a class. St. Olaf has many levels of German, from beginning to intermediate and advanced. The Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum (FLAC) program offers students a chance to work with original German texts in areas like Religion, Music, and Film Studies.

2. Attend German activities on campus. German films on Tuesday nights, activities in German House, a German conversation table ("Stammtisch") brings together students learning German and native German exchange students every Wednesday evening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Our website lists German events this semester as well as what we have done in the past.

3. Study abroad in Germany.
St. Olaf students choosing to study abroad in Germany can spend a semester or a full year at the Humboldt University in Berlin or the University of Konstanz.

4. Live in St. Olaf's Deutsches Haus. Students in the Deutsches Haus are immersed in German language and culture as they share a living community with native German exchange students.

5. Become a major. A major in German enhances any career choice, and rewards students with an education that is the embodiment of St. Olaf's core values.