News

The new German Ambassador to Ireland, David Gill, visited the University of Galway yesterday and was welcomed by the President and Registrar. On the occasion of his first official visit to Galway and to mark Professor Schmidt-Hannisa’s retirement from the office of Honorary Consul of Germany, the Embassy held a reception yesterday evening at The Bridge Room. Prof. Schmidt-Hannisa from the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures had been acting as Honorary Consul for the past 13 years. German staff members: Vincent O'Connell, Antonia Musolff, Dr. Deirdre Byrnes (HoD), Dr. Jeannine Jud and Dr. Tina-Karen Pusse Registrar Prof. Becky Whay (Vice President International / Professor of Sustainable Global Animal Welfare) Prof. Paolo Bartolini Prof. Bill Richardson on the right. Dr. Aideen Thomsen with Dr. Byrnes (HoD)

Dr. Deirdre Byrnes participated in a Heads of German meeting at King's College London on November 7th and gave a presentation on "Sustainable Language Teaching: Podcasting in the German-Language Classroom". On November 8th Deirdre attended the "Making the Case for German: DAAD and Goethe-Institut Leadership Symposium" at Woburn House.  Dr. Deirdre Byrnes presenting at King's College London.

The ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Conference 2024 took place between the 7th - 9th October in Tartu, Estonia. Antonia Musolff from the German Discipline at the University of Galway presented on "Performative Foreign Language Didactics: Insights from a German Play Module and performative language and literature classes"https://onlineexpo.com/en/enlight-2024/  

Dr Frank Mielke and Dr Julia Lazarus from the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg visited the University of Galway on an Erasmus staff visit coordinated by Dr Jeannine Jud from September 23th-25th 2024. Interested in learning more about the Irish university system, Dr Mielke and Dr Lazarus shadowed colleagues from our discipline teaching students of Arts, Law, Commerce and Biotech. Dr Mielke also gave a wonderful presentation on their German language department at the FAU and presented the metropolitan area of Erlangen-Nürnberg to our future BComm with German Erasmus students. 

Professor Hans-Walter Schmidt-Hannisa has co-edited a volume “Eyes Wide Shut. Traumkulturen in der deutschen Aufklärung und Romantik/ Dream Cultures in German Enlightenment and Romanticism” which has been published by Königshausen & Neumann (Volume 10 of the series: Cultural Dream Studies). Co-editors are Professor Sheila Dickson (University of Glasgow) and Professor Ricarda Schmidt (University of Exeter). More information on this publication can be found here:https://verlag.koenigshausen-neumann.de/product/9783826089176-eyes-wide-shut/

The European Day of Languages (26 September 2024) was marked in the First Year Legal German classroom with a Grammatik- und Deutschlandquiz. Congratulations to the winning team of Hilary Harding, Eva O'Connor and Joshua McPhilbin.

Congratulations to University of Galway colleagues Dr. Deirdre Byrnes, Dr. Tina-Karen Pusse and Professor Hans-Walter Schmidt-Hannisa and to Dr. Michaela Schrage-Früh (University of Limerick) on their edited collection Der Deutsche Wald. Zur Literatur- und Kulturgeschichte eines Mythos which has been published by Königshausen & Neumann. More information on this publication can be found here: https://verlag.koenigshausen-neumann.de/product/9783826084638-der-deutsche-wald/

Dr Jeannine Jud presented a paper at the summer workshop of the literary network "Literatur im geteilten Deutschland" held at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin on July 11th and 12th 2024. This year's workshop focused on "Die Privatbibliothek von Christa und Gerhard Wolf." Her paper entitled "Das bleibende Erbe von Christa Wolf – Kindheitsmuster im irischen Literaturseminar" focused on the enduring relevance and importance of Wolf's work in an international context. 

Dr. Deirdre Byrnes presented a paper at the annual Women in German Studies (WIGS) Conference which was held at University College Cork from July 4th to 6th. Her paper "Transcending the Boundaries of Traditional Assessment: Podcasting in the German-Language Classroom" showcased the work of Final Year Legal German students.

University of Galway Alumna Roisin Sheridan accompanied a delegation of German parliamentarians to the West of Ireland on Thursday the 20th of June and organized their visit to the University of Galway where they were welcomed by staff members, Dr. Deirdre Byrnes, Dr. Jeannine Jud, DAAD Lecturer Antonia Musolff and Dr. Thomas Wilks of the German Discipline at the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. Roisin Sheridan graduated with a BA International in German and English in 2022 and is now working at the German Embassy in Dublin as Political, Cultural & Press Assistant. Stephan Pilsinger (CDU/CSU) – Chairman of the parliamentary group Ariane Fäscher (SPD) – Deputy Chairwoman of the parliamentary group Linda Heitmann (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) – Deputy Chairwoman of the parliamentary group Albrecht Glaser (AfD) – Member of the parliamentary group  

Galway students’ success in the Unternehmen Deutsch Competition 2024, organised by the Goethe-Institut Irland in collaboration with the Business German in Ireland Working Group Aebfhinn O'Donoghue Hansbury, Conor Reidy and Maria Pawlowska, all in their second year studying B.Commerce with German, won Second Prize in this national student competition for their group proposal of a new digital consumer offering for Allianz Insurance. Maria had only begun studying German last year. They researched this firm’s presence in German and Irish markets, before organising and conducting an online interview in German with one of its executives based in Ireland, which inspired them to devise a product and marketing strategy. They were awarded 300 Euro for a combination of strong communication in the target language and conceptual creativity in their detailed written pitch. The competition was judged by representatives of the German Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, the German Embassy in Ireland and academic specialists in Business German. Galway German was strongly represented in the competition this year: entries from two further groups proposed innovations for the software firm SAP and for the renewable energy engineering firm Enercon. The teamwork demonstrated by all three groups enabled them to cover business and presentational angles compellingly in German. The winning team’s poster is displayed here. ENTERPRISE GERMAN - A Project for Professional Orientation  

Congratulations to Final Year Legal German students Valerie Hayes, Niamh McManus and Lauren Mohan whose excellent video "Volkswagens Erbe in Irland: Die O'Flaherty Geschichte" was awarded third place in the Centre for Irish-German Studies Video Competition on Irish-German relations. The competition was  judged by an expert panel (consisting of the Irish ambassador in Germany H.E. Dr Nicholas O’Brien, the German ambassador in Ireland H.E. Cord Meier-Klodt, the Goethe Institut director Ulrike Gasser, the CEO of the German-Irish Chamber of Commerce Alexandra Voss, and Derek Scally, Berlin correspondent of the Irish Times) and a popular vote (each 50%). Many thanks to the German-Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce for their generous support of this event.  

Today marks the last day of the workshops the German discipline at the University of Galway could offer as part of the Languages Connect outreach series to regional Secondary Schools. Antonia Musolff and Julia Weiss from the Discipline of German travelled to St Brigid's College, Loughrea - Coláiste Naomh Bríd - today to bring their last Theatre Improvisation Workshop through German to the secondary school students of Loughrea and surrounding areas. Thanks to Coláiste Naomh Bríd students and their German Teacher Ms. Nábla Loftus for welcoming our DAAD lecturer Antonia Musolff and our DAAD Language Assistant Julia Weiss to their school strengthening ties between second and third level language education!  

DAAD Lecturer Antonia Musolff and DAAD Language Assistant Julia Weiss at the German Discipline in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures facilitated two well received German Language Theatre Improvisation Workshops in Tuam, County Galway, today. Thanks to Languages Connect funding the workshops could be financed. Here are some snap shots from the workshop with senior cycle students in the Archbishop McHale College:  And here some photos with 5th and 6th year students in High Cross College, Tuam.

German author and screenwriter Professor Torsten Schulz came to visit the University of Galway today and gave a talk on his novel "Boxhagener Platz" which is set in East Berlin in 1968 and its transformation into the film (2010) "Boxhagener Platz". Final Year German students studied the novel and the film as part of their literature module and got the chance to speak to the author, scriptwriter and co-producer of "Boxhagener Platz" themselves today. Prof. Schulz is pictured here in the Arts Millenium Building answering students' questions. Some reviews here: BERLIN — Based on a popular German novel set in East Berlin in 1968, “Boxhagener Platz” is filled with gentle humor as the folks in a busy neighborhood deal with the every day realities of Soviet rule. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/boxhagener-platz-film-review-29309/ An evocative meditation on history, Boxhagener Platz moves at an effecting pace through a Brechtian degree of character study towards the resolution of the 'who-dunnit' that drives the plot forward. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1266025/ As a film, several elements come together to manifest the film's focus which is preoccupied with the nature of History. The high standards of recreation of 1960s inner city East Berlin with an exemplary attention to detail contrasts with the constant call and recall the characters make to the recent Nazi past and it's ghostly spirit uncannily pervades the very air these people breath. The conflict and all defining issue of Ideology which defined the fate of the German people living in those decades is brought into high profile. The mostly wordless observations of the child protagonist acts to show the confusion of messages and cognitive processes required to adapt to that time and place.Despite being an adaptation of a novel, the film is very evocative of Brechtian theatre in the pacing of itself primarily through intense character study. This aspect acts as the bind which synthesises the real and ghostly echoes of the Communist and Nazi reality whose spirited co- existence defines how the film presents History as it's main subject. https://mubi.com/en/ie/films/boxhagener-platz

Almost 40 students from the Archbishop McHale College in Tuam visited the University of Galway today to take part in a hands-on bilingual Science workshop facilitated by DAAD lecturer Antonia Musolff and students of Science with German who had translated the Cell explorer workshop content into German for secondary school student. Course Coordinator for Biotechnology, Dr. Andrew Flaus, gave an introduction to the study of Biotechnology with German. The workshop was co-funded by Languages Connect and the student got to enjoy a campus tour of the university with a free lunch included. Thank you to the teachers, Danni Barrett and Áine Lynch, who organized the University Campus Day for their students. It was a very enjoyable event for everyone involved. Here are some pictures:

  Mr Robert Henneberg, Cultural Attaché of the German Embassy in Ireland, is pictured here with the German Drama Group at the University of Galway. The German Embassy greatly supported the German Play which is being performed again tonight after a sold-out Opening Night yesterday. This year's modern play has been received extraordinarily well so far. The conception and stage direction of this year's play by DAAD lecturer Antonia Musolff with DAAD language assistant Julia Weiss as Co-director came into full fruition last night showcasing the talent of students who form this year's German Drama Group as part of their German studies. Our colleague Vincent O'Connell as always featuring brilliantly and assisting in the realisation of the play. Toi, toi, toi for the next two performances!    

Mr. Kurt Rosen gave a very interesting talk to Commerce students with German in The Hardiman Building today. This event was organized and facilitated by Dr. Thomas Wilks, Course Coordinator for Commerce with German. Mr Rosen integrated an international exchange year into his studies before this practice became widespread in Europe, before developing his career during six years with the Lidl Group in Germany, the UK, Austria and Switzerland. Students got to learn how he became involved in establishing Lidl in Ireland, serving as Chief Administration Officer and Board Executive Director from 1999 to 2019. More recently, he has been the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Save-A-Lot, USA; and Chief Financial Officer and Executive Board Director of Takko Fashion, Germany. 

Fantasy and Science-Fiction Author Judith C. Vogt (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_C._Vogt) came to visit the University of Galway on Tuesday, 5th March 2024 to give a lecture about her work as an author followed by a roleplay workshop in the evening.The event was funded by the DAAD (The German Academic Exchange Service) and organized by our DAAD lecturer Antonia Musolff. Here are some pictures from the event which the students in the discipline of German greatly enjoyed.

The German Discipline has the pleasure to announce that this year's German Play will take place on the evenings of  Tuesday, the 12th March from 8-10pm (Opening night) Wednesday, the 13th March from 8-10pm Thursday, the 14th March from 8-10 pm This year's play is  by modern playwright Wolfgang Herrndorf  https://ueberwolfgang.de/ and is funded by the German Embassy in Dublin, the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures and the German Discipline at the University of Galway. Director of the Play is DAAD lecturer Antonia Musolff who is collaborating with German lecturer Vincent O'Connell and DAAD assistant Julia Weiss to facilitate this year's theatre production. We are looking forward to seeing you all there. Vorhang auf und Bühne frei!

Our Final Year German Arts students had the pleasure of being coached by Eva Zitta last week. https://evazitta.de/ Eva works as an independent theatre pedagogue in Germany and could be invited and funded through the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. Our DAAD lecturer Antonia Musolff organized the visit and the workshops in collaboration with DAAD assistant Julia Weiss and language lecturer Vincent O'Connell. It was an enriching and valuable experience to have Eva over and it greatly enhanced the rehearsals and approaches taken in this year's German Play coming up on the 12th March 2024! Here is a group photograph taken on the last day of Eva Zitta's visit.   

Manche unserer StudentInnen haben uns heute verraten, dass sie seit der Grundschule keine Valentinskarte mehr fabriziert haben und noch nie im Leben eine deutschsprachige! Der Valentinstag war ursprünglich der Gedenktag für den Bischof Valentin von Terni. Um diesen Heiligen ranken sich viele Legenden. Zum Beispiel soll er Soldaten verheiratet haben, obwohl dies verboten war. Eine andere Geschichte besagt, er habe Verliebten Blumen aus seinem Garten geschenkt. In Deutschland wurde der Valentinstag erst nach dem 2. Weltkrieg (wieder) populär. In Irland wurde der heilige Valentin schon im Mittelalter verehrt und dass man für jemanden, den man sehr mag, eine Valentinskarte macht oder kauft, um sie am 14. Februar dieser Person zu schenken, hat hierzulande schon lange Tradition. Im Vordergrung die Dozentinnen, Julia Weiss (DAAD-Sprachassistentin) und Dr. Jeannine Jud, mit ihren "First Years", die heute trotz des trüben Wetters eine sprachliche Übung mit einer "herzlichen" Übung verbinden konnten.

Dr. Deirdre Byrnes was invited to present a paper on the use of podcasting in her Legal German course at the annual AGS (Association of German Studies) conference which was hosted by TCD on 29-31 August 2023. Deirdre's paper formed part of the panel "Artistic Research and Creative Assessment in German Studies". 

Congratulations to Ruth McCarthy (BCL) who was the recipient of a German-Irish Lawyers and Business Association (GILBA) Student Award on December 9th, 2023. This prize is awarded to the student who achieves the highest marks in Second Year Legal German. Ruth is currently on her Erasmus Year at the University of Würzburg.    

Dr Thomas Wilks from the German Discipline at the School of Languages, University of Galway presenting on  "Thomas Bernhard and Wilhelm Genazino: Distraction in Sickness and in Health" on Saturday the 9th December 2023 at Trinity College, Dublin. https://germaninireland.wordpress.com/ The annual conference of Irish Germanists this year was hosted by the Department of Germanic Studies in Trinity College and focused on Medical Humanities. https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/events/event/annual-conference-of-the-german-studies-association-of-ireland-gsai.php Dr. Jeannine Jud, Julia Weiss (DAAD-Sprachassistentin), Dr. Tom Wilks, Antonia Musolff (DAAD-Lektorin) and Dr. Deirdre Byrnes all from the University of Galway attended the GSAI Conference in Trinity College on Friday the 8th and on Saturday the 9th December 2023.

Here are some images of our very enjoyable #ThinkLanguages Day held on the 1st December 2023. We've had engaging language workshops running in German, Spanish, Italian and French, quizzes, campus tours and a bite to eat in An Bialann, our University canteen. Thanks to all the secondary schools for participating and for making the trip. Thanks to all colleagues involved in the organization and running of this event at the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies - especially our HEI Outreach Officer, Dr. Francesca Nicora. Antonia Musolff, DAAD-Lektorin, Lecturer of the German Academic Exchange Service, and Julia Weiss, DAAD-Sprachassistentin, Foreign Language Assistant of the German Academic Exchange Service at the University of Galway organized and facilitated the "German Improv Theatre Workshop" for the German Discipline. Luke Butterfield, one of our Final Year BA students from Belfast, assisted the workshop as on of our University Student Ambassadors. ‌

Students and staff of the German Discipline and other Languages came together yesterday evening to sing Christmas carols from the German-speaking regions of the world and to enjoy some "Lebkuchen" with some alcohol-free "Glühwein". There was also a quiz in relation to German Christmas terminology held, for example the term "das Krippenspiel". Last but not least "der Heilige Nikolaus" paid us a visit with some goodies. All in all a beautiful event creating a warm feeling of togetherness much needed in the cold season ahead.  

Over 160 secondary school students will be coming to the University of Galway to take part in language workshops (Italian, Spanish, German and French). They will have the opportunity to taste languages through playful activities, to meet student ambassadors and to explore the benefits of choosing a university pathway with a language. TY students will be able to take part in a language workshop and enjoy the experience of being a student at the University of Galway. At the end of the day they will receive a certificate of attendance, complete a quiz, win prizes and eat some pizza! :-) The event was organized by Dr. Francesca Nicora, Lecturer in Italian, HEI Outreach Officer and Liaison Officer with Languages Connect on behalf of the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies of the University of Galway in conjunction with other language lecturers. The event is fully funded by Languages Connect https://languagesconnect.ie/ - Ireland's strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017 - 2026 https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/52f94d-framework-for-consultation-on-a-foreign-languages-in-education-strat/#   ‌  ‌  

German Spoken Word Poet Samuel Kramer visited the University of Galway on Monday, 20th November 2023.  Samuel gave a fantastic performance in one of our lecture halls which was well attended and conductd inspiring "Spoken Word" workshops later on in the day. ‌   The event is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and is organized by our DAAD Lecturer Antonia Musolff.  Here is a taste of Samuel's performance art https://events.arte.de/der-arte-poetry-slam-samuel-kramer/   

Antonia Musolff representing the German Discipline of the University of Galway with a presentation on "Empowering Students through Post-Migrant German Podcasts and Podcast Making" at the annual ENLIGHT Teaching and Learning Conference in Bordeaux from the 11th to the 13th October 2023. ENLIGHT is a European University Network promoting equitable quality of life, sustainability and global engagement through higher education https://www.universityofgalway.ie/enlight/

Reinhard Kuhnert will read from his latest publication "Was unvergessen bleibt" which encompasses four stories in relation to memory and what will stay "unforgettable". His first story deals with a man who has had a brain tumour removed and who is now trying to train his brain to remember things of his past. This man, Josef, however questions if all his memories some of which he fought to supress due to their painfulness in past are worth remembering. His second story is set around a strange funeral in a small village in Mecklenburg and his third tells of a family visit in Weimar. In his fourth and last story, "The Immortal" , Reinhard has set the scene in Connemara where Fergus Monahan has seemingly died, although his wife Maeve is certain that he is alive and kicking. Website to Reinhard Kuhnert's work

‌Congratulations to Valerie Hayes (3rd Law and Business) who was the recipient of a German-Irish Lawyers and Business Association (GILBA) Student Award in December 2022. This award is given to the student who achieves the highest marks in Second Year Legal German across our law programmes. Valerie spent her Erasmus year at the University of Würzburg, Germany. ‌

Legal German student Aishling Cunniffe was awarded first prize in the Modern Languages category of the EUROPA2073 Art/Creative Writing Competition for Third-Level students. Students were asked to imagine Europe fifty years from now.  Hosted by Prof Joachim Fischer, Jean Monnet Chair in European Cultural Studies, and Dr Sorcha de Brún, Course Director, BA European Studies, the prize was awarded on 17 April 2023 at an event to mark 50 years of European Studies at the University of Limerick. The photo shows from left to right: Professor Joachim Fischer, Aishling Cunniffe, and Dr. Sorcha de Brún, course director of the BA European Studies at the University of Limerick.