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Department of Germanic Languages
University of North Carolina
438 Dey Hall, CB# 3160
Chapel Hill NC 27599
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Since the completion of my doctoral studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, I have developed a thriving interest in contemporary drama and theater as well as performance studies. In particular, I have become interested in collegial theater productions in German as a means of fostering foreign language acquisition and comprehension of literary works. I have directed eight student productions of plays from the 19th and 20th centuries, among them Büchner’s Woyzeck, Schnitzler’s Reigen, Dürrenmatt’s Physiker, Frisch’ Andorra, Borchert’s Draussen vor der Tür, as well as Süskind’s Kontrabass. After successful runs of these productions at the University of Kentucky, where I taught from 2004-2006, and Middlebury College, where I have been teaching in the German Summer School immersion program since 2003, and here at Carolina I am excited to continue my engagement with the performing arts.
My other research and teaching interest with regards to the fine arts lies in the integration of classical and popular music into the foreign language classroom to engage students in a critical dialogue with historical, political, social, and intellectual topics from the 18th to the 21st century. In Spring 2009, I will offer a course on German poetry and Lieder incorporating public performances of poems.
Furthermore, I have presented papers and lead workshops at regional and national conference on topics as wide-ranging as incorporating Loriot into first-year German and politics of immigration in German feature films.
In my role as the Director of Intermediate Language Program, I am responsible for mentoring the teaching assistants teaching Intermediate and Advanced Intermediate German as well as Elementary German for Graduate Students. Beyond my theatrical performance courses, my teaching repertoire includes 5th and 6th semester language and culture courses on youth and pop cultures as well as German politics and contemporary society. Additionally, I have a First-Year-Seminar on the books entitled Performing America: Theater and Performance in Our Time. |
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