Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

Category: Modern Languages

Modern Languages & Cultures Open House to Take Place August 19th 2024

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There will be an open house for the modern languages program on Monday, August 19th from 1:30-3:30 pm in Walker 120A. Students are invited to come with any questions they may have about Modern Language & Cultures Minors, courses, social activities as well as meet faculty members and fellow students.

Those who have not already taken placement tests may do so at this time as well, or beforehand: https://www.mtu.edu/humanities/undergraduate/modern-languages/register/.

Exception: Students who scored high on the AP or IB exam are automatically given a waiver for third-year courses.

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Modern Languages Spring Celebration 2024 Scheduled for Wed. April 10

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Modern Languages & Cultures is happy to host a celebration of our Minor students, especially those graduating this Spring and Summer 2024 with a minor in French, German or Spanish. We will gather on Wednesday, April 10th, 6-7.30PM in Walker, 134.

Mingle with us, play games, sing karaoke songs in the four languages, meet people and have fun! Taste a snippet of our foods.

Celebrating language minors at the 2023 Modern Languages Spring Celebration.
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Alumni Student Social in Dresden Scheduled for May 10, 2024

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Stephanie Rowe, German professor in the Humanities Department, is hosting an Alumni Student event on Friday, May 10, 2024 during the faculty-led study abroad program Topics in Germany.  Event details and RSVP can be found on the alumni event page Dresden, Germany Alumni Student event, organized by Stephanie Rowe (’95), Associate Teaching Professor, MTU.

Alumni are invited to join the students for an evening on their study abroad, including a leisurely stroll through the Zwinger grounds, where students and alumni will have an opportunity to get to know each other, dinner at the Sophienkeller, and a walk past the porcelain Fürstenzug to Neumarkt, where we will cap of the evening  with a concert in the Frauenkirche.

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Victor Wiesen Awarded SURF Scholarship for Summer 2024

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Congratulations to Victor Wiesen on a successful proposal for the SURF scholarship!

Victor is interested in examining the environmental impact of traditional practices of preparation and disposition of remains and comparing those impacts with “green” or “natural” burial practices. In this initial stage of research, Victor will utilize ethnographic research methodology to reveal attitudes and compare social and cultural practices and beliefs surrounding end-of-life disposition practices in Germany and the United States. When we understand the impediments to reducing the environmental impact of these cultural practices, we can more effectively map a pathway to preferable funereal practices. This research reflects a critical aspect of sustainability, especially when one considers that within one lifetime, 8 billion dispositions will take place. Through this type of research, we can potentially accomplish this with minimal impact on the planet.

Stephanie Rowe, Associate Teaching Professor in Humanities, is the faculty mentor for this research. Victor Wiesen is a first year ME student.

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Modern Languages Film Series Returns for 2024

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The annual film series sponsored by Modern Languages returns this week for spring 2024! Each of the languages offered, French, Spanish, and German, will be represented by one of the films, which all screen at 7pm in Fisher Hall and are free and open to the public!

Here is the lineup for this year:

Thursday March 21

Québexit

Demers 2020, Canada
When a transnational pipeline leads to a successful Québec sovereignty referendum, a small border road becomes a lightning rod of conflict between the new Québec military, the Canadian Armed Forces and two indigenous women who traverse the border frequently.

Wednesday, March 27

Argentina, 1985

Mitre 2022, Argentina
A team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship during the 1980s in a battle against odds and a race against time in order to bring justice to victims of the junta.

Thursday, March 28

The Silent Revolution

Kraume 2018, Germany
Based on the true story of a group of twelfth-grade students in East Germany who decide to show their solidarity with the victims of the 1956 Hungarian uprising by staging two minutes of silence during lessons.

For more information on Modern Language minors at Michigan Tech, visit https://www.mtu.edu/humanities/undergraduate/modern-languages/

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Modern Languages Film Series begins Thursday, 1/27

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Dan Stevens in I'm Your Man

The 2022 Modern Languages Film Series kicks off Thursday, January 27th, with the German film, I’m Your Man (Ich Bin Dein Mensch, Shrader, 2021). Scientist Alma (Maren Eggert) has reluctantly agreed to live for three weeks with humanoid robot Tom (Dan Stevens), who has been created solely to make her happy. This contemplative comedy about love, longing, and what makes us human will screen at 7:00 PM in Fisher 135.

Other films presented in the series include Unbalanced (Desequilibrados, Balanda, 2021), screening February 24th, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de le Jeune Fille en Feu, Sciamma, 2019), screening March 24th. All films in the series will screen in Fisher 135 and are free and open to the public.

This film series is sponsored by the Modern Languages program in the Department of Humanities.

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