Online Course: The German-American Experience

February 16 to March 23, 2009

Description:
Learn how German-speaking immigrants and their descendants have both shaped the North American environment and have been shaped by it. You’ll discover fascinating insights through archived video and audio, interviews, slides and research from the UW’s Max Kade Institute, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Instructors:
Max Kade Institute faculty and staff (see details below)

Cost:
$139 per person
$119 per WAA or UW OLLI member, or Friends of MKI

Registration Deadline:
February 9, 2009

Questions?
E-mail Sarah Schutt at sschutt@waastaff.com or call her directly at (608) 262-5699 ot toll free at (888) 947-2586.

WEEKLY TOPICS AND INSTRUCTORS


The German Immigration Experience
Cora Lee Kluge
Professor of German and Director of the Max Kade Institute

An overview of German-speaking immigrants who came from different European regions, at different times and under different circumstances, settled in different locations, became Americans, and in the process shaped American society and culture in a variety of ways.


German-American Print Culture
Kevin Kurdylo
Librarian and Archivist for the Max Kade Institute

Step into the world of German-Americana and German-American print culture, as well as a tour of the shelves and stacks of the Max Kade Institute, where you will see books and magazines, letters and diaries, photos and business records, and many other documents that tell the stories of German Americans.


Languages of German-Americans
Joe Salmons
Professor of German and Director of the UW Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures

Take a closer look at the languages that the German Americans spoke. and address a broad range of topics that are connected with language. They include: dialects of German; standard German; learning English; abandoning German; mono-, bi- or multilingualism; and the possible influences of German on regional English.


Pennsylvania Dutch: An American Language with German Roots
Mark Louden
Professor of German and former director of the Max Kade Institute

Unlike most other German-derived languages and dialects spoken by immigrants and their descendants in North America, Pennsylvania Dutch is thriving today. This presentation will explore the past and present situation of this unique American language.


Dutchman Bands and Dialect Songs: German Folk Music in the Upper Midwest
Jim Leary
Professor of Folklore and Scandinavian Studies and Director of the UW Folklore Program

Look at folk music as part of the German-American experience and the role it has played in shaping American regional music traditions. An introduction to German folk musical traditions in the region, with a particular focus on Dutchman polka bands and comic dialect songs as expressions of the German American cultural experience.


German American Cookbooks and Food Traditions
Antje Petty
Associate Director, Max Kade Institute

Explore what is behind the beer and the brats, what the culinary ways of German immigrants were like, how customs and traditions changed over time, and how they became part of a new, uniquely American regional cuisine.