GLAC 2023 will feature four invited panel sessions that deal with timely topics that are of interest to German scholars and language teachers.
Panel 1: “DEI from theory to practice: What is critical pedagogy and how do we implement it?“
Thursday, April 20 | 2:30-4:30 pm
Max Bell Auditorium
Beate Brunow, Penn State: “Critical pedagogies in the foreign language classroom: Considerations for connecting theories and praxes”
Julia Goetze, University of Wisconsin-Madison (session organizer): “What do you mean? Exploring interpersonal differences in understanding and evaluating social justice terminology and pedagogy in a GFL teaching”
Petra Watzke, Kalamazoo College: “Pedagogy approaches to disability representation in the German postsecondary classroom”
Rebecca Jordan, Washington University in St. Louis: “Teaching queer ecology in the advanced German classroom: Suggested approaches and activities for emerging critical frameworks in the L2 environment”
Peter Ogunniran, Washington University in Saint Louis: “Position paper on intersectional approaches to mentoring in German Studies”
Panel 2: “Fostering undergraduate research in Germanic linguistics“
Friday, April 21 | 10:30 am-12:30 pm
Room TBA
Nick Henry, University of Texas at Austin: “Language learning isn’t just about learning language: A role for undergraduate research in university language programs”
Josh Brown, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire: “Fieldwork ethics and undergraduate research”
Felicity Sarnoff, Penn State University: “Student perspectives on engaging with research”
Carrie N. Jackson (session organizer) and Laura Cruz, Penn State University: “Faculty perspectives on undergraduate research”
There is growing awareness in higher education that engagement and mentoring outside of the classroom plays a critical role in undergraduate student success (Kilgo et al., 2015). Working with faculty in the research sphere presents one possible avenue for such engagement and mentoring. This panel presents three 20-minute talks from faculty and students in German linguistics on the value of faculty-student research collaboration for student learning, followed by an open discussion on how to implement such partnerships in ways that benefit all parties.
Panel 3: “#alt-ac careers for students with graduate degrees in German”
Saturday, April 22 | 9:00-10:30 am
Room TBA
Roswita Dressler, University of Calgary (session organizer)
Rob MacDonald is Manager, Special Projects at the Systems Design and Monitoring Branch at the Government of Alberta. He received his MA in German in 2010.
Patricia Schempp is an Academic Adviser in the Division of Undergraduate Studies at Penn State University. She received her PhD in German Linguistics and Language Science in 2017.
Kristina Schoen is a Curriculum Designer at Duolingo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her PhD in German (Applied Linguistics) in 2019.
Valerie Keppenne is currently on the job market, looking for a job in User Experience Research. She is graduating with a PhD in German Applied Linguistics and Language Science from Penn State in May 2023.
Academia is not the only path for graduates of German programs. As increasing attention is being drawn to the desire of some graduates to put their degrees to use in careers that are alternatives to academia (#alt-ac), opportunities to discuss how to understand German graduate degrees as evidence of marketable skills in other fields are emerging. In this panel, five German graduate degree holders will share their journey from pre-graduation to their current positions. These graduates represent the fields of public policy, private enterprise, digital media, and xx. Students, come with your questions about your own situation. Supervisors, come with questions about how to advise your students. Together we will discover the commonalities that demonstrate how graduate skills can be translated into jobs.
Panel 4: “Perspectives on community-based language documentation: Plautdietsch“
Saturday, April 22 | 11:00 am-12:30 pm
Room TBA
Conrad Stoesz
Tina Siemens
Lena Faith
Christopher Cox
Roslyn Burns
While historically language documentation efforts have been led by scientists and researchers, recently there has been a shift in the field of language documentation to better understand the needs of community members in the process. This panel presents a variety of perspectives on the role of academic scholars and community members in the documentation efforts for Plautdietsch. We ask questions like what is the current status of language usage in different parts of the community, what are the different community perspectives on what constitutes language, how does language vitality and conceptualization of language influence the expected outcomes of documentation, and what types of outcomes may be reasonable to expect. This discussion panel is comprised of Conrad Stoesz, Tina Siemens, Lena Faith, and Christopher Cox and the respondent/moderator is Roslyn Burns. We will begin with statements by the presenters, a brief Q & A led by the respondent, and transition to an open discussion
Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference 2023 