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Unit Contributions to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion 6562

Academic Years: 
2017-2018
Department: 
German & Scandinavian
Division: 
Humanities
Academics
1. Faculty: 

German and Scandinavian employs eight full time TTF, one TRP Faculty, two full time Career NTTF, and three Career NTTF who teach part time. Our faculty tends towards diversity in matters of sexuality, religion, and gender, but we understand and embrace the need to open up the field to new voices. Our research initiatives (listed in the document below) reflect this, and include Gender and Sexuality studies, Orientalism, Post-colonialism, Queer Theory, Jewish Studies, Contemporary African Philosophy, Decolonial studies, Turkish-German writers and filmmakers, transcultural transmission, etc."

The Department of German and Scandinavian responds to a changing world through teaching, research, and public programming. We are eager
to foster an atmosphere that encourages the expression of different perspectives, ideas and experiences. Our annual conferences and public presentations regularly engage with matters like the rise of populism, migration, exclusion and access, and other related issues.

2. Staff: 

We recently hired Benjamin Mier-Cruz who will teach courses on gender, sexual, and ethnic diversity, and where these issue intersect with Scandinavian literature. Benjamin identifies as Latinx and genderqueer.
We also recently hired Perri Schodorf as our department manager. Perri is Vietnamese and identifies as multiracial.

3. Graduate Programs: 

We have made very strong efforts to upgrade our identification and recruitment of underrepresented candidates for our PhD program. We extended advertising to new venues in Africa and consulted regularly with the office of Equity and Inclusion, OIA, African Studies and the Graduate School throughout this 2 year-process. We were finally successful in recruiting and accepting an applicant from Nigeria as GE and PHD candidate and our director of Graduate Studies worked tirelessly on accommodating his move to the US. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw from our program in the last minute because of insufficient funds and support. We have successfully recruited one candidate with diverse background using UO resources (notably Promising Scholars funding).

4. Undergraduate Programs: 

Diversity issues are a focus in all of our language and culture courses, for example, GER 221, 222, 223, 251, 252, 340, 351, 354 and SCAN 251, 317, 325, 341, SCAN 315, 316, 341, 353, 354.
Every year we run appr. 3 to 4 FIGS. Our FIG instructors contribute to the UO efforts to retain at-risk students.
We have also stared to participate in offering "Reacting to the Past" classes.

In addition to our departmental offerings, since 2010 Stern has regularly taught a course, Humanities 300, “The Closest of Strangers.” This class covers European views on Africa, African views on Europe, and ends with a look at race relations in the United States. This winter term, Stern will teach a HUM seminar at the 400 level on the subject of “Decolonial Poetics.” The material will be largely Caribbean and African.
We have continued offering Online summer courses to a larger diverse audience and have re-designed GER 101 as a hybrid course in Fall 2017.
We actively engage in promoting study abroad programs.

5. Outreach and Partnerships: 

Public Programming
We are deeply committed to present our research and to discuss it with UO and US colleagues, students in other fields, and with the larger Eugene public. In the last year we have organized the following major events (selection):

--Summer 2016: We hosted representatives from the German Embassy to discuss research possibilities in Germany with CAS faculty
--Fall 2016: Campus Weeks: “Jews in Germany Today.”
--Fall 2016: interdisciplinary lecture and exhibition on Color Theory in collaboration with Architecture, OHC, Art History, European Studies, UO library.
--Fall 2016: Together with the German Embassy we hosted Campus Weeks with Jewish-German author Esther Dischereit visiting campus and giving a lecture to undergraduate students.
--Fall 2017: For the lecture "Migration and Asylum in Germany Today: Sociopolitical and Cultural Dimensions," we invited a writer from Berlin and the head of the department for communications and culture at the Germany Embassy: www.Germany.info/integratingimmigrants
-- Winter 2017: The editorial Board of Konturen hosted the crowded interdisciplinary symposium: “The Triumph of the Will? Theoretical-Critical Assessments of the New Era in American Politics.”

For more than 10 years we've run an outreach program to local K-12 schools: "Fun with German." Last year we worked with Edison Elementary School. Undergraduate students teach a language enrichment class for 2 hours/week for 4 weeks. They are trained in winter quarter through the class German 409, and teach in spring quarter.

6. Other: 

We have met with a representative from the University of Tuebingen to discuss a more active graduate student and faculty exchange.

Staff
1. University Service: 

Staff serve on search committees, where equity, diversity, and inclusion are high priority. Other UO committees promoting diversity include:

Susan Anderson: UO Language Council. College of Arts and Sciences Languages Coordinator (Winter/ Spring 2018)

Sonja Boos: Committee on Sex- and Gender-based Violence, Advisory Board OHC

Ken Calhoon: COLT committee on Diversity and Inclusion

Gantt Gurley: Directorship of Judaic Studies in Fall 2017-09-21, Core Faculty Folklore

Jeffrey Librett: Exec Committee of Judaic Studies

Dorothee Ostmeier: Core Faculty Folklore, Teaching Academy UO, UO Language Council, Working Group on Active Teaching and Learning.

Michael Stern: in collaboration with colleagues from RL, CINE, and PHIL, is entering into discussions with CAS about instituting a Decolonial Studies Cluster that will include both undergraduate and graduate curricular components.

Matthias Vogel: supports Global Scholars Hall network

2. Departmental Contributions: 

July 2016 & 2017 SAIL Summer Program: Faculty participates in week-long SAIL program, including recent collaborations with Yamada Language Center

Yearly endowed lecture: Gontrum Lecture Series. For 2016 partnered with AAA, European Studies, Oregon Humanities Center, and Art History.

Faculty contributes to "Speak Out Loud" events, and regularly supports recruitment efforts of the the Admissions Office to enroll diverse students through lectures and participation in student/parent events.

3. Community Service and Outreach: 

--GERSCAN runs every summer its own popular SAIL program.

--Faculty regularly participates in Speak out events, lectures for visiting parents and incoming students, language tables and other promotional events organized by the language council, OIA, etc.
--For more than 10 years we have run our major outreach program to public schools: “Fun with German” and have trained advanced undergraduates to teach German to school children with diverse backgrounds from Grade 1 through 4. School classes typically include children with special needs.
--The German Studies Committee continues publishing our online Journal “Konturen.” For recent issues see: http://journals.oregondigital.org/index.php/konturen/issue/view/476
--Student-run clubs in GER and SCAN: The Fika-Klubb is a student-run organization that provides opportunities for students and the community to practice Swedish. Fika-Klubb meets weekly and additionally offers cultural activities, like viewing Nordic films, playing games, and celebrating Nordic holidays and traditions.
--The Department is dedicated to encouraging students to study abroad in German-speaking countries and Scandinavia. Students are especially encouraged to study in programs that offer full immersion into the German, Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian-speaking world.

4. Professional Development and Training: 
Staff have been introduced to implicit bias and will participate in training and conversations as they become available on campus. Conversations about diversity, inclusion, equity, and bias are part of our regular faculty meetings and curriculum design. We encourage staff to seek professional development opportunities and training.