University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The UALR German Studies Program and German Club will host Do Deutsch Week, a celebration of German culture beginning Monday, October 10. Activities will include a concert, a theatrical performance, movies, a cooking class, a scavenger hunt, a soccer tournament, and an awards gala.

UALR is one of 44 campuses nationwide and the only university in Arkansas participating in this project. The German Embassy in Washington, D.C., is sponsoring these events.

Included in the activities is a creative competition, the German Cultural Olympics, for high school and college students. UALR is accepting essays, speeches, works of visual art, original songs and poetry, and videos inspired by Germany, its language and culture. Local winners of the competition will go on to compete in the national competition for prizes, such as a trip to Germany.

For more information about Do Deutsch Week or the German Cultural Olympics, contact Dr. Susanne M. Wagner, assistant professor of German, at (501) 569-8038 or at smwagner1@ualr.edu.

Below is a schedule of Do Deustch Week events. All events are free and open to the public unless indicated otherwise. All movies are in German with English subtitles.

September 29: Deadline for German Cultural Olympics
7:30 p.m., Oct. 10: A night of German music
UALR: Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building
6 p.m., Oct. 11: Sophie Scholl – German Movie & Pizza
UALR: DSC Leadership Lounge
6:30 p.m., Oct, 12: Performance artist Bridge Markland: “Faust in the
Box,“ UALR: Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building
6 p.m., Oct. 13: Im Juli – German Movie & Pizza
UALR: DSC Leadership Lounge
7 p.m., Oct. 13: Cooking Class
Whole Foods
$20 per person; space is limited, please register at DoGermanUALR@gmail.com.
10 a.m., Oct.14: Schnitzeljagd, a scavenger hunt, UALR campus
Geared toward high school students
Noon, Oct. 14: Das Wunder von Bern – German Movie & Pizza
UALR: DSC Leadership Lounge
9 am – 3 pm, Oct. 15: 3-on-3 Soccer tournament
UALR Field House
$10 per team; please register at DoGermanUALR@gmail.com.
6 pm, Oct. 15: Oktoberfest Gala
UALR Bailey Alumni Center
$5 per person, space is limited; please register at DoGermanUALR@gmail.com.

UALR’s German program is calling for submissions from university and high school students to compete in a German Cultural Olympics. The prize? A trip to Germany.

Deadline for submissions is Thursday, Sept. 29. The winners will be announced during the Oct. 10-14 Do Deutsch Week, a celebration, an international celebration of German culture through film, performance, athletics, and food. Both events are sponsored by the German Embassy in Washington, D.C.

UALR is the only university in Arkansas – and one of 44 other campuses nationwide – participating in the German Cultural Olympics project. Winning entries at the local level will be submitted to the nationwide finals, where an embassy jury will select national winners. The national winner in each category will receive a trip to Germany.

Contestents in the German Cultural Olympics are charged with illustrating their perception of Germany as a country, the German language, or German culture. The games are open to all university and high school students in Arkansas who have studied German or have an interest in Germany, its history, and its culture. College and high school entries will be judged separately.

Schools may submit multiple entries for each category, but an individual student may only enter one category. The German Cultural Olympics include essay, speech, visual art, film or video, and poetry or songwriting categories. Topics for the entries should focus on the German language or the German influence in American popular culture. All entries should be in English.

Individuals are invited to submit entries for the essay, speech, visual art, and songwriting/poetry contests; and individuals or groups of up to three people are invited to submit entries for the short film contest. Photographs of entrants are required with each submission. Judges from the UALR faculty and the community will select the local winners.

For the speech competition, entrants must write and present a three- to five-minute speech on the subject of German-American relations and submit a digital video of the speech. Speeches will be judged based on content, delivery, organization and originality.

In the essay competition, each entrant must write a two-to three-page essay (12-point Times, double spaced, one-inch margins) on the subject of German influences in America. The essay must be submitted as a “.doc” or “.txt file.” Essays will be judged based on content, language, organization, and originality.

For the visual arts competition, each entrant must produce an original, two-dimensional work of art that draws upon the themes of German language and culture. All entries must be static and physical works of art. Digital video or other electronic works are not appropriate for this category. A digital photo of the finished artwork must be submitted by the deadline. Art will be judged based on content, creativity and artistic expression.

For the songwriting or poetry competition, entrants must compose an original song or write an original poem that deals with Germany, its language or its influences in the U.S. in a musical or lyrical way. A “.wav” or “.mp3” recording of the song or poem must be submitted by the deadline. Entries will be judged based on content, creativity, artistic expression and performance.

In the video competition, each entrant or team must produce a digital video, up to five minutes long, that portrays German influences on the daily lives of Americans. The complete video must be submitted in “.wmv,” “MPEG,” or “Quicktime” format by the deadline. Films will be judged based on content, creativity, organization and research. This category is open to individuals or teams of up to three students.

Send smaller files to DoGermanUALR@gmail.com. Videos should be uploaded to a web page such as Vimeo or YouTube. On Vimeo, movies must be shared with Do Deutsch UALR at vimeo.com/dogermanualr. Contestants may also burn their video on a DVD/CD and mail it by the deadline to: Dr. Susanne M. Wagner UALR, DISLS, SH 203-J, 2800 S. University Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72204.

Deadline for DVD/CD send by mail or electronic submissions is Sept. 29.

For more information go to ualr.edu/languagestudies, email smwagner1@ualr.edu or DoGermanUALR@gmail.com, or call 501‐569‐8038.

Starting in Spring 2010, Mandarin Chinese classes will be listed as CHIN (replacing the LANG numbers used during 2008 and 2009). Courses offered are:

CHIN 1312-01 Elementary Mandarin Chinese II MWF 1:00-1:50pm
CHIN 1311-01 Elementary Mandarin Chinese I MWF 2:00-2:50pm

The Communicating in Chinese textbooks “Listening and Speaking” and “Reading and Writing,” used for both Mandarin Chinese I and II, are available in the UALR bookstore. Supplemental learning materials are available in the Learning Resource Center, SH 201.

Mandarin Chinese I is for students with no prior knowledge. Mandarin Chinese II is for students who have completed the first semester course (taught last year as LANG 1311) or have other prior study - if in doubt, check with the course instructor, Li Cao (lxcao@ualr.edu).