ALD Resources and Links

ALD Teaching all Students

General Bibliography - A selected bibliography of works that address questions of culture, gender, race, and diversity, with special focus on peoples of color in the Federal Republic of Germany (pdf file)

Syllabi

  • FLC 495 Global Diversity. Focus: Germans of Color (PDF file)
    This course is designed for undergraduates and was taught at Gallaudet University in 2004. It is meant to encourage critical thinking about issues of gender, class, and race.
  • German 301: Introduction to German Literature (PDF file not available)
    This course, taught at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2002, is designed for undergraduates and offers an introduction to German literature through reading texts that reflect the experiences of diverse groups in Germany today and the mutual understandings and misunderstandings among young and old, male and female, and various cultural and ethnic groups.
  • German 345 From Margin to Center: People of Color Living and Writing in Germany Today. (PDF file)
    These two seven-week courses, one offered in English and one offered in German, are designed for undergraduates. They are taught regularly at Earlham College as a part of a set of courses entitled "New Voices" and examine the issue of diversity in modern day Germany.
Useful Links:

These links will connect you to several different sites that will give you and your students a great deal and variety of information regarding the African Diaspora in Germany, Multiculturalism in Germany, Turks in Germany, and Foreigners (Ausländer) in Germany.

A German Poem by a Deaf German (Anonymous Author)

Und hörst du nicht der Vöglein Lied,
So siehst du sie doch ziehen;
Du hörst ja auch die Blumen nicht,
Doch siehst du sie erblühen.

Der Bäume Rauschen hörst du nicht,
So schau' nur wie er tropft;
Du hörst ja auch dein Herze nicht,
Du spürst nur wie es klopft.

Und hörst du nicht der Gläser Klang,
So schmeckt dir doch der Wein;
Hörst du auch nicht der Sänger Sang,
Kannst du doch fröhlich sein.

Sei dankbar, froh und innerlich;
Leb' heiter mit Bedacht;
Am Ende siehst du's sicherlich;
Gott hat's doch recht gemacht.

a poem written by a deaf German who is rejoicing in the ability the Deaf have to experience all of the world that surrounds them often thought only 'sensed' when one can hear

Diversity in the German Classroom

Information for Teachers:

Videos:

•Enthüllungen DVD - $16.00

Enthüllungen (2000, 27 minutes, DVD-PAL format - will play on most computers and region-free DVD players) presents in short, easy to understand clips the various perspectives, pro and con, of young girls and women about wearing the Kopftuch. These individual portraits range from those who wear the Kopftuch willingly to others who consider it a symbol of a patriarchic religious and cultural system. The DVD also contains transcripts of the interviews as a Word document.

•Ich bin ich DVD - $16.00

Ich bin ich (2002, 28 minutes, DVD-PAL format - will play on most computers and region-free DVD players) presents the life experiences of several female students at a Gesamtschule who come from Morocco, Poland, Bosnia, Turkey and Germany. They discuss their identity, where their cultural roots lie, to which country and people they feel bound to, how they deal with people of other religions, national or ethnic backgrounds and how people deal with them. The topic of the Kopftuch is discussed from various perspectives. The question of “Was ist dann typisch Deutsch?” is also dealt with by a German.

•Ich und ich - DiasporAfro DVD - $16.00

Ich und ich-DiasporAfro (2002, 35 minutes, DVD-PAL format - will play on most computers and region-free DVD players) presents a group of black youths from various African countries who describe their experiences with discrimination in Germany in the context of social and historic background of discrimination. These descriptions and analyses are contrasted through political raps and historic and current documentary photos.

•Jung und Moslem, Teil 1 (A&B) DVDs - $24.00

Jung und Moslem, Teil 1 (2005, 183 minutes, two videos, DVD-PAL format - will play on most computers and region-free DVD players) consists of interviews with ten young Moslems living in Germany. The topics include the wearing of the Kopftuch, dealing with the five Islamic rules in their daily lives, the story of a German convert to Islam, the portrait of a young Kurd who escaped from Iraq five years ago, how to deal with love relationships in the German environment, the portrait of a young “modern” Moslem pair, Moslem music in German and its meaning for the musicians and listeners, the portrait of a young member of the Milli Görüs Gemeinde, and how Islam is dealt with in the media. 2 DVDs.

•Jung und Moslem, Teil 2 DVD - $16.00

Jung und Moslem, Teil 2 (2006, 90 minutes, DVD-PAL format - will play on most computers and region-free DVD players) “Alle unter einem Dach” is the portrait of the relationship of three generations of a family whose grandfather came from Egypt to study engineering at a German university and stayed. A second part “Unterwegs” describes the experiences of three generations of an Alevite family in Germany. A third section “Eine türkische Hochzeit” shows a Turkish wedding and how the rules of Islam impacted their courtship. A fourth section ”Ich faste für mich” documents the month of fasting and the party at the end of the fast.

•Jung und Moslem, Teil 3 DVD - $16.00

Jung und Moslem, Teil 3 (2006, 80 minutes, DVD-PAL format - will play on most computers and region-free DVD players) consists of three parts. The first is entitled “Islamphobie & Currywurst”, and deals with Moslem and non-Moslem youth and their dealing with prejudice; the second is “Wir sollten alle zusammenhalten” and tell the stories of three young Moslem school girls from Morocco, Syria, and Somalia and one German convert to Islam; and the third section “uniSLAM” is a series of portraits of female Moslem university students in Germany and their relationship to Islam, education, and integration based on statements about religion and education from the head of the Central Agency of Moslems in Germany and a professor of Islam and philosophy.

•Jung und Moslem, Teil 4 DVD - $16.00

Teil 4 (2006, 120 minutes, DVD-PAL format - will play on most computers and region-free DVD players) “Dialog und Respekt” describes various contrasting Moslem beliefs (Shia, Sunni, Alevite) through portraits of three Moslem male friends. “Meine Kultur, meine Religion, mein Land”: an Iranian student who has lived in Germany for 20 years travels back to Iran to film his religious and cultural roots. ”Zwei Länder-eine Heimat”: a Syrian student along with his family travel back to Syria to ask the question “Where do I want to live?”. “Zwischenwege”: four Moslem girls who do not wear the Kopftuch describe their lives between two worlds. “Der 7. Himmel”: young Moslems form a group to be more informed about their religion. “Unser Prophet Muhammad”- Moslems speak about the importance of their religion in their daily lives. “Spiel mit dem Feuer”: young exiled Iranians discuss their criticism of the repressive aspects of Islam under an Islamic regime.

 

 

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