News and Events
Julia Schoch visits Sheffield
The Department of Germanic Studies, in cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is pleased to host a reading by the German author and translator Julia Schoch.
Julia Schoch was born in 1974 in Bad Saarow - a small town in the north eastern part of what was then the GDR. She studied German and French at the universities of Potsdam, Paris and Bukarest and she taught French at Potsdam University. After some early publications in journals and anthologies, Schoch published her first novel in 2001, Der Körper des Salamanders, for which she was awarded several literary prizes. Her most recent publication was published in 2009, Mit der Geschwindigkeit des Sommers.
One critic observed on her earlier work: „In ihren Geschichten glückt es Julia Schoch, jenseits von Sentimentalität und Tiermystik ihren Heldinnen, die so wenige Worte über sich verlieren, Kontur zu verleihen. Dann wird glaubhaft, was sie an den Grenzen, in der Vergangenheit, im Osten suchen".
Julia Schoch will give a public reading on Friday 2 December at 3 pm (Hicks, LT06). All welcome. The reading will be followed by a discussion with the audience.
Abdelkader Benali Writer-in-Residence and Citybook Author
Abdelkader Benali moved from Morocco to the Netherlands at the age of four. In 1996 he published his first novel, Bruiloft aan zee (Wedding by the Sea) (1996), which established his reputation as an ambitious new voice in Dutch literature. In the following years Benali continued to make an impact as a literary critic, short story writer, playwright and poet. In 2007 he published Marathonloper, Benali´s (literary) fantasy of his own experiences with, and his deep interest in, long distance running. He received the E. Du Perron Prize in 2009 for his novel De stem van mijn moeder. In 2011 he interviewed famous Dutch writers, such as Ramsey Nasr, Leon de Winter and Connie Palmen for his own tv-series Benali Boekt.
Abdelkader Benali will visit Sheffield from 13 - 25 November 2011. He will be a central figure in the Virtual Dutch Translation Project which involves students from Sheffield, Cambridge, Nottingham and University College London. He will also write a citybook on Sheffield as part of the EU funded citybooks project. Benali will read from and talk about his work in a public seminar on Wednesday 23 November at 4pm (Jessop West SR07). All welcome.
Forum for Germanic Language Studies Conference (FGLS 10)
The Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Sheffield, in cooperation with the Centre for Dutch Studies and the Centre for Luxembourg Studies, is pleased to host the 10th Forum for Germanic Language Studies (FGLS) Conference in January 2012. In addition to papers focused on German, we especially welcome papers dealing with the full range of Germanic languages, for example Dutch, Luxembourgish, Yiddish, Afrikaans, the Scandinavian languages, and others.
Research Seminar Series
Germanic Studies has a full programme of Research Seminars Open to all staff, students and interested outsiders. The full programme for Autumn Semester 2011/2012.
Professor Newton receives the Commandeur de l´Ordre Grand-Ducal de la Couronne de Chêne
Congratulations to Professor Gerald Newton for being awarded the Commandeur de l´Ordre Grand-Ducal de la Couronne de Chêne at the Luxembourg Embassy in London in May 2011. This is the second occasion upon which Professor Newton has been decorated by the Luxembourgish government for his contributions to the field of Luxembourg Studies.
Wut Mut
KultUrWerkStatt is the name of our Departmental Culture/Theatre group in which undergraduates, postgraduates and staff collaborate to plan, rehearse and perform a public performance during the Spring Semester. This year's Wut Mut show was performed on Wednesday 6 April 2011 in the Exhibition Space of Jessop West. A wide variety of theatre texts, poetry, short scenes and a number of (adapted) songs, all chosen and performed by the group, were put on stage. KultUrWerkStatt was inspired and directed by Anika Langmann with the help of Julia Feike.
Sauerkraut Cup 2011
The most exciting event on the Germanic Studies Sporting Calendar is beyond doubt the yearly Sauerkraut Cup. This year the most coveted football prize among German Departments was hosted by Birmingham University. A full coach of active players and even more active supporters represented Sheffield and with success: 2011 will go down in history as the all-Sheffield final. The cup has come home once again.
Workshop Belgian Artist Rebecca Lenaerts
In April 2011 Belgian author and actress Rebecca Lenaerts offered a 3-day artistic workshop to our students of Dutch. English and Dutch fused, movement became text, spoken word became sound. The workshop was offered with the kind support of the Flemish Representation in London and was part of the Sheffield Citybooks Project.
Nora Gomringer German Writer in Residence
The German poet and performance artist Nora Gomringer will be our German Writer in Residence from 19 till 26 March 2011. Nora writes and performs poetry, Hörspiele and prose in German and English. She will be part of several lectures and seminars throughout the week and help our students understand contemporary German writing and the German poetry slam scene. She will also be involved in a translation project with the students. Nora Gomringer gives a public reading/performance on Wednesday, 23 March, 2-4 pm in the Hicks Building, Lt-C