Perspectives from our Graduate Students

When asked to describe the department, most graduate students used the adjectives small and comfortable. Comfortable, in the sense, that the atmosphere is collaborative and non-competitive. It is quite common to find students sharing lesson plan ideas, studying together for exams, or discussing paper ideas. This level of comfort extends to the faculty, all of whom are easy to approach and eager to assist with any question. The department is small but not limited by its size. Any major period or movement has a faculty member who can be relied on for expertise. Students are able to take courses outside of the department or at Duke, if they wish to broaden their understanding of a specific topic. Or, a course is occasionally created based on the interest of one or two students.

The German Department can be characterized as a diverse group of talented, dedicated, professional, but down-to-earth, people with interesting backgrounds and experiences working together to positively impact the learning experience.

For the best information about the going-ons around town consult the Independent Weekly (http://indyweek.com). It has comprehensive information on restaurants, movies, shows, art galleries, museums and other happenings in the Triangle. Citysearch.com is also a helpful resource.

The Chapel Hill News
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/ is the town newspaper and carries the Village Advocate Classifieds. The Advocate along with local bulletin boards and housing listserves is very helpful when looking for housing.

The Raleigh News & Observer (http://www.news-observer.com) is a larger, local paper, as is the Durham Herald Sun (http://www.herald-sun.com).

The Q-Notes (http://www.q-notes.com/) and The Front Page are local gay rags.

A glance through the Independent gives a good idea of what life in Chapel Hill is like beyond the UNC campus. The music and bar scenes are Chapel Hill's strong suits when it comes to nightlife with venues like the nationally known Cat's Cradle (http://catscradle.arcticon.com) and Local 506 (http://www.local506.com)
among several other smaller clubs. (To get a sense of the music scene around town, listen to UNC and Duke's student stations: http://www.wxyc.com and http://www.wxdu.org. Bars to suit most tastes are all within an easy walk from one another on Franklin Street and Rosemary Street: from the grungy basement of Hell (http://triangle.citysearch.com/profile/6157807) to the laid-back Patio at Henry's Bistro to the upscale lounges of the West End Wine Bar(http://triangle.citysearch.com/profile/6158366/) and the Lantern. See this page for more (though incomplete and somewhat out of date) information: http://www.ibiblio.org/uncbars.

Independent cafes like Caffe Driade and the Open Eye Cafe also provide an escape from campus -- or a retreat for studying.

Beyond the bars and clubs, the Chapel Hill area also has a vibrant activist scene and, in particular, one of the strongest sustainable agriculture / local organic foods movements in the country. See the websites for Carrboro Farmer's Market (http://www.carrborofarmersmarket.com) and Weaver Street Market, the local co-op,(http://www.weaverstreetmarket.com) as well as gourmet grocers A Southern Season (http://www.southernseason.com) and Whole Foods.

The Triangle is also one of the few areas in the United States to have launched its own local currency, the NC Plenty (http://www.ncplenty.org). The success of the NC Plenty and the town of Chapel Hill's success at keeping strip malls and large national chains at bay in favor of a walkable, liveable downtown and independent, locally owned businesses has gone far to allow Chapel Hill to keep its unique feel and not become another Anytown, USA. Though a small, college town, Chapel Hill can offer its residents far more than most mid-sized (and even some large) US cities.

- Derrick Miller, Graduate Student Rep.

The following is a list of other interesting links to relate websites:

Black Cultural Center (http://ibiblio.org/shsbcc/)
Campus Recreation (http://campusrec.unc.edu/)
Campus Y (http://campus-y.unc.edu/)
Disability Services (http://disabilityservices.unc.edu/)
GPSF (http://www.unc.edu/student/orgs/gpsf)
International Center (http://internationalcenter.unc.edu/)
Minority Affairs (http://www.unc.edu/depts/uaffairs/)
Women's Studies (http://www.unc.edu/depts/wmst/)

For a more extensive list, see http://carolinaunion.unc.edu/