German 110 Course Reflection

Throughout the semester, I really had great experience with German 110 class. In addition to being familiar with German culture, I gained a wide range of information about Germany, including its geographical, political, historical, economic, socio-cultural aspects. Incorporation of group work and class presentation also made the learning effective, easier and qualitative. Following are some of the topics I learned about Germany through those methodologies:

1. Political : Since our team was assigned to research and present about one of the top German parties, SPD (Social Democratic Party), I learnt a lot about the party. Also, through the presentation performed by other groups, I became aware of other top German parties as well.
2. Geographical: Division of class into groups and assigning them with different geographical regions provided a wealth of information on different states and regions of Germany. Our group researched and presented on the state of Hesse.
3. Historical: The last two presentation/classes helped us gain vast knowledge about historical facts of Germany. In addition, the novel All Quiet in the Western Front, along with its relevant assignments also provided numerous historical information about Germany.
4. Economic: Various economic elements of Germany were discussed throughout the semester. In addition to leading industries from manufacturing, mining and fishing, different service sectors including financial services were discussed from current and past period.
5. Socio-cultural aspects: Socio-cultural aspects of Germany was largely covered in the course, which ranged from art, theater, music, cuisines to cinema and youth culture of German society from different time period. Likewise, the work culture of German societies was also discussed and presented in the class.

Being a Finance major, the section of the course I enjoyed most was the economic part, especially the financial service industry, which Frankfurt is widely renowned for. In addition to learning about the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, I also became aware of premier banks like Deutsche Bank, ECB and Commerz Bank.

Overall, this course has proven to be effective in imparting a wide range of information about Germany and its culture. Through a perfectly designed course format that include several group works, class presentations, researches, movies and novel, this course has succeeded in achieving its core objectives at the best level.

German Industries and Workplace (20th and 21st Century)

For this assignment, our group gave presentation on major German Industries and Workplace environment from the twentieth and twenty first century. Tim covered the coal mining industries, while Robb covered fishing, Talimatou covered renewable energy industries and I covered the work culture of German workplace. For the PowerPoint  slide we used for the presentation, click here.

 

Music,Dance and Theater (18th and 19th century)

For the presentation on Music, Dance and Theater during 18th and 19th century Germany, each member from our team were assigned specific topic. Elijah and Krissy covered Music, while April covered Theater and I covered Dance. For the powerpoint slides we prepared and used for the presentation, click here

    

Berlin Calling

1) To Ickarus, drug was a source of recreation and a mean of escape from reality and stress of maintaining work life balance. In addition to working endless night shifts as a DJ, the level of work demanded by his new album project made him feel stressed. So, in order to be proactive day and night to work for his upcoming album project, he depended on drugs.
2)  Ickarus's fan took drugs mostly for recreational purposes in the night clubs. With music and drugs, they got themselves delved into their pleasurable moments.  They took drugs like Ketamine pills, MDMA, Keta Crystal and other PMA-containing ecstasy tablet.
3) Although drug habits got him pill and into a psychosis, which affected his abilities to work, the Ickarus subculture continued to focus on the drugs because they got addicted from which they could never get out of.
4) Drug abuse in the movie seemed pretty normal in the Ickarus subculture, which may be one of consequence of the German culture backed up by freedom. In contrast, drug abuse is strictly prohibited in the culture I grew up and is often as considered as a criminal act.
5) I do not believe that the youth drug culture portrayed in the movie would affect the reputation of Germany as a strong industrial nation in the world. The work ethics of Ickarus and Alice was strictly commercial and in no means seem to affect any reputation of Germany. Also, they do not seem to represent the entire youth culture of Germany.
6) One of the American TV series I can relate to this movie is Breaking Bad,which also depicts drugs abuse, especially Crystal Methamphetamine in youths, along with its consequences in the society as a whole.

I found the movie pretty interesting, as it got me engaged into it. This movie also led me to evaluate the cultural differences in youth culture from different regions of the world. Being from Nepal, a south-Asian nation, I grew up in entirely different environment from that depicted in the movie. Although drug abuse does exist in my culture, it is considered strictly illegal and often considered crime, except for one day in a year when smoking marijuana is completely legal. Likewise, having been to America for almost three years, I have not got any exposure to any hard drug culture, but what surprised me most was the evolving attitude of people towards drugs like marijuana, which has already been legalized in some of the states like Colorado and Washington.
 Another aspect, I found different about German culture from mine are the behaviors and actions people show towards drug addicts. In addition to being treated with care, drugs addicts in Germany are admitted to the rehabilitation center with health amenities. However, in the culture I grew up in, I have not heard of any rehabilitation center, where they can be treated well with all best possible care. Overall, the movie really did a great job of portraying the youth culture of Germany, which helped me draw contrast with that of the culture I grew up in.

German Cuisine

Germany has one of the most popular food cultures in Europe. With varieties of dishes that evolved in different regions, numerous local and regional German dishes have gained wide recognition at national as well as international level.
Some of mostly used ingredients in German dishes are as follows:

• Meat: mostly pork, beef, poultry, turkey and lamb
• Vegetables: carrots, turnips, spinach, peas, beans broccoli, cabbages
• Fish: trout, pike, carp, sardines, European perch, tuna, salmon
• Spices: parsley, thyme, laurel, chives, black pepper, basil, sage, oregano etc.
• Breads: roggenmischbrot, vollkombrot, weizenmischbrot, mehrkombrot, toastbrot

Following are some of the regional specialty dishes of Germany:

1. Bavaria: Allerseelenzopf, Kartoffelkase, Bavarian blue cheese, Bauernseufzer, Leberkase, Weisswerst
2. Swabia: Mualtaschen, Spatzle, Knopfle, Schupfnudeln, Gaisburger, Panckakes
3. Hesse: Handkase, Ahle wurst, Speckkucher, Weckeuerk, Duckfett
4. Lower Saxony: Grunkohl, Meer, Bregenwurst, Braunschweiger, Sauerkraut
5. Thuringia: Thurgian dumplings and sausages like Mettwurst, Feldkieker, Rotwurst

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cuisine

Character Analysis: All Quiet in the Western Front

In the novel, All Quiet in the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul Baumer appears as the narrator as well as protagonist who along with many other young men in their early twenties  brainwashed by the preaching of their parents and teachers on ideals of patriotism were compelled to join the war. The entire novel revolves around the conflict between Paul's inner personality and the "cold and harsh" reality of war, and how his inner personality changes over time during the war and the later periods.

 As per his past life memories, Paul describes himself as sensitive and compassionate young man in his early twenties who wrote poetry and loved his family, and recalls how different he was before he joined the war. However, during of the war, he learns to detach or disconnect his mind from his inner emotions and feelings for his own survival. Because of this, the compassionate and sensitive man becomes unable to mourn on the death of his comrades and fellow soldiers in the war. Nevertheless, at some parts of the novel, he expresses the  sense of sorrow and emotions during the death of his closest friend Kemmerich, and the time he spent with his mother after he goes back home.
In the novel,  Paul's life experiences depict the experiences of the generation of men who in their early age have to go straight and fight the war. Due to this reason, even if the war end he along with other soldiers had no idea what they would do once the war was over. Even after he went back to his home and met his family, he could not feel the same experience as he was supposed to after the end of the war. Because of the war life, he could not adapt himself to the after-war period and preferred to go back to war.

For the list of main characters from the novel, click here

All Quiet on the Western Front

Since our group was assigned the second chapter of the novel, All Quiet in the Western Front, along with group members, Marshall and Kerriene, we gave our presentation by using the following powerpoint especially focusing the analysis of the second chapter of  the novel
  All Quiet in the Western Front