German Campus Weeks: Building Tomorrow: Diversity in Germany Today

Our annual Campus Weeks this year was a great success!  Each year the Pitt German Department joins the German Embassy in Washington D.C. to sponsor a series of events addressing contemporary issues in Germany.  Our theme this year was “Building Tomorrow: Diversity in Germany Today,” and included a wide variety of topics, experts, and collaborations across programs and universities.

COVID forced us to hold our events remotely, but this brought unexpected benefits: we were able to more easily include experts from abroad and also to invite more of the community to join us.  As a result, all of the events were both stimulating and well attended; we saw a number of you there and were glad that you joined us. A quick list of the events follows:

  • “Cultural Diversity and Inclusive Community Building in Germany” Conversations on Europe series (European Studies Center): Panel Discussion with experts from both the US and Germany
  • Die Arier (The Aryans) (2014): Individual Film Viewing and Conversation with Filmmaker Mo Asumang and our own Prof. Randall Halle.
  • “The Post-Migrant Paradigm: Inclusive Narratives in German Identity Discourse” – Prof. Naika Foroutan (Berlin Institute on Integration and Migration Research) in conjunction with Prof. Jan Musekamp’s European History course
  • “Phantoms of the Past Haunting the Present? Anti-Semitism on the Rise” – Prof. Alfred Bodenheimer (University of Basel) and our own Prof. Amy Colin in conjunction with Prof. Colin’s “Germany Today” course
  • “Diversity in Germany”: Showcase of projects by students in the beginning and intermediate German language sequence
  • “Remembrance of Kristallnacht”: an annual commemoration, co-sponsored by Jewish Studies, with special guest Keith Sachs (CBA alum) and Musical Selections by Susanne Ortner

Thanks to all those who made these events possible, including our co-sponsors, our faculty, our administrative staff, and all who attended.  We’re glad to have such a vibrant community during these challenging times. We hope that you’ll join us for Campus Weeks next Fall (topic TBA).