Brigham Young University
Faculty Center


Faculty Development Plan
Department of German Studies and Slavic Languages
2009

Self assessment

In addition to a number of valuable skills, talents and traits (and, naturally, a number of weaknesses) which I share with many of my colleagues at BYU, I feel that there are three particular characteristics which allow me to make a special contribution to the educational endeavor of this university:

a)     My deep understanding and mastery of German language and culture. As a native speaker who lived 30 years in Germany I can support and enhance my students learning and understanding in a special way. I can also, through scholarship, exchange programs and networking, extend the influence of BYU and the church to Germany more effectively than a non-native speaker.

b)    My extensive background and training in philosophy, pedagogy, music and literature allows me to implement unique interdisciplinary approaches and sound intellectual quality in both my teaching and research.

c)     A unique perspective on the spiritual dimension of teaching and learning - based on my training in and experience with Waldorf pedagogy - which coincides with BYU’s approach to education. (Both Waldorf pedagogy and the educational approach of Karl Maser originate, in my opinion, in German idealism.)

These qualities, in addition to my abilities as a knowledgeable and clear thinker, a methodical and enthusiastic teacher and a loyal, reliable and deeply spiritual person, prepare me well for my mission at BYU. I believe that I can be a competent moderator of dialogue between German and American culture, as well as between the church and the German speaking world.

I see my position at BYU as a call to gradually live up to the above quoted charge from my patriarchal blessing: to become a helpful force in the lives of many, who seek understanding and truth, be it in the manifestations of German literature and culture or elsewhere.

 

1. Teaching

1.1. Teaching philosophy.

My methodology and ethos as a teacher has been strongly influenced by the educational framework of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1921). Since this is not the place to explain this framework in detail or how it translates into concrete pedagogical action, I will only explain briefly how it relates to the goals of a BYU education.

In the first decades of the 20th century Steiner laid out a concept of education, the center of which was not mere transmission of knowledge, but character building, practical training, spiritual orientation and eternal perspective. Steiner also developed a student oriented “art of teaching”, focusing on the creation of learning experiences in order to teach students how to learn and how to be creative.

This framework corresponds perfectly with Karl Maeser’s model of education. It also anticipated pedagogical insights, which are now, a hundred years later, emphasized by modern learning theorists. I feel, therefore, very comfortable at BYU. The “Maeser Model” of education on the one hand and the efforts of my department to restructure its curriculum according to the principles of student oriented learning are just the right environment for me to implement my personal ideal of education.

1.2. Classes taught

During the first two semesters of my BYU appointment, I have taught 4 sections of GER 202 (2nd year German) and one section of GER 320 (3rd year intensive grammar and writing). Since I had taught comparable classes before, I felt comfortable and at ease in developing and teaching these classes. Although I am looking forward to teaching higher level literature classes, these “easier” assignments allowed me to focus on good preparation and instruction, getting settled in my new workplace and get a lot of research done.

1.3. Upcoming teaching in fall 2008

1.3.1. For the upcoming fall semester, I am scheduled to teach two more sections of GERM 202. Although I have taught this class four times during the last year, I welcome this assignment, because it will reduce my preparation time significantly and give me time to focus on the two other teaching projects during the fall semester, which are:

1.3.2. a completely new course for Fall 09, Literatur und Apokalypse, GER 440/460, in which students will compare several German translations of the Book of Revelation and then analyze the treatment of its motifs and imagery in three significant German texts from the 12th, 18th and 20th century, and

1.3.3. the “German Choir”, an evening class, open to all students who are interested in singing German songs, hymns and arrangements.

1.4. Teaching strengths, as reflected in student evaluations

In my teaching assignments so far, I feel that I have reached my pedagogical goals as a BYU teacher to a good degree. Assessment indicates that most students have made progress in the various learning objectives (reading, writing, listening comprehension, speaking).

My teaching evaluations show that most students see me overall as a competent and amiable teacher; they appreciated in particular:

-       my ability to facilitate and lead group discussions on a high intellectual level

-       the clarity and structure of the class design

-       my prompt and comprehensive feedback to their work

-       my respectful way of treating them.

1.5. Teaching weaknesses acknowledged in the past year

1.5.1. Some students have suggested that I should speak a little slower in class and that the intellectual level of the readings and discussions may have been too high for a second year class.

1.5.2. Students have also noted an overemphasis on structure and repetition in my classes: I actually tend to use the same well-proven rhythms, patterns and strategies in my classes, and I acknowledge that this, although effective in teaching the content, can create a feeling of monotony in those students who need change and variety.

1.5.3. Some students felt that I am not clear enough about my expectations about what constitutes a good class presentations and how it is graded.

1.5.4. I myself have noticed that I have focused too much on the quality of grammar and content and given too little attention to the phonetic aspect of language instruction. Even students with a good understanding of the language and good test results were still making very basic errors in pronunciation.

1.6. Concrete goals to improve my teaching in the next semester

The analysis above suggests that I should focus on the following goals for my professional development in the teaching area for the near future:

1.6.1. I will pay more attention to the comprehensibility of my German in class and to the appropriateness of themes for discussion. While the more advanced students could easily follow my instruction and enjoyed the high intellectual level of the discussions, I may indeed have served those students poorly, who still struggled too much with the language to be able to participate in the discourse. I will keep my eye on finding the right balance between reaching all my students and at the same time maintaining a high intellectual level and providing authentic language input to my students. I am thinking about talking a little less about philosophical topics and more about issues of every day life.

1.6.2. I will use a greater variety in teaching methods and try to be more aware of individual student’s temperaments and learning styles.

1.6.3. I will set up a sheet with guidelines and hand it out in my classes. I will spell out what I expect from student presentations and according to what criteria they will be graded in that area.

1.5.4. I will try to find ways to introduce regular pronunciation exercises into my syllabus. I will also make sure that good pronunciation part of the testing and grading procedures in my classes.

1.7. More general teaching goals

1.7.1. As one more general goal, I am committed to get more one-on-one interaction with my students. Although I have repeatedly invited my students to come to my office hours, only a few have taken advantage of that opportunity. I will try to be more creative and convincing in finding ways to get students into my office.

1.7.2. I also want to improve my ability to better help the less successful students in my classes. While I focused much on helping the “good” students, I feel that some “weaker” students could have had a better learning experience if I had been able to work with them on their weaknesses. I am planning to find ways to seek these students out and to invite them to cooperate with me in developing strategies for their individual progress.

 

2. Scholarship

2.1. General Research Interest: Deconstructing the dichotomy of “sacred” and “secular”

In my literary studies I am especially interested in discovering the “sacred” dimension of seemingly “secular” texts. While it has become a custom in literary studies to read sacred texts as mere literature, I am fascinated by the “scriptural” dimension of literature. Since literary texts certainly inspire us and sometimes even initiate revelatory experiences, the strict division between “sacred” and “secular” seems questionable to me. I like to see literature as the continuing manifestation of the living logoV, which reveals itself through the inspirations of ancient and modern authors, regardless of their personal religious orientation.

2.2. Research Framework: “Apocalyptism in literature”

With this question in mind, I have recently focused my attention on the treatment of apocalyptic motifs in German literary texts. I ask questions like: Which elements of apocalyptism can be found in certain literary works? Why do authors allude to them? How do they use apocalyptic ideas and images and for what purposes? Can such literary texts be regarded as “apocalyptic” in the same sense as sacred texts? What constitutes an “apocalyptic” text?

2.3. Accomplished Scholarship and Works in Progress

2.3.1. Scholarly articles

In the confines of this research framework, I have since my employment at BYU worked on a number of scholarly articles, all of which are in different stages of development:

·      One article on Berlin Alexanderplatz has been accepted for publication in the Else Lasker Schüler Jahrbuch zur klassischen Moderne, a peer reviewed journal edited by Lothar Blum, an authority in the field.

·      The second article on Goethe’s Märchen has been accepted by the Goethe Jahrbuch, the German flagship journal in Goethe Studies, and is waiting for a response. The second article on Parsifal was submitted to the Wagner Journal, has been rejected and is now undergoing revision

·      A third article on Apocalypse and Fairy Tales has been submitted and is reviewed by the New Germanic Review.

·      A fourth article on Parsifal was submitted to the Wagner Journal, has been rejected and is now undergoing revision.

I am currently working on analyzing the treatment of apocalyptism in four other German texts which had a lasting impact on me during my graduate studies. These projects are in various stages of development, and I plan to finish and submit these articles according to the following schedule:

2.3.2. Book publication

2.3.2.1. I have finished a revision of my dissertation and have published it as a book. (Die Geburt des Modernen Mysteriendramas aus dem Geiste Weimars, Berlin: Logos, 2007).

Note: Publishing a dissertation in a prime venue on the German book market is virtually impossible right now. I have therefore published with the Logos Verlag, a dissertation publishing house. Although this is not a 1st or even 2nd tier publishing venue, I believe that I have made an important contribution in my dissertation and that it will make its impact in due time.

2.3.2.2. My long term goal is to summarize all the results of the articles listed above into a book on “Literature and Apocalyptism”, which I plan to finish (and maybe even publish) before my 6th year review.

2.3.3. Conference Papers

Since I have been at BYU, I have submitted two papers for conference reading, both of which have been accepted:

Goals: Right now I am looking out for 2 conferences to go to in 2009.

2.4. Scholarship strengths

I see three major strengths in my scholarship:

2.4.1. My philosophical training and broad knowledge of the humanities allow me to produce original and sound scholarship that analyzes literary works not from a narrow specialist framework but in a broader cultural and intellectual context.

2.4.2. Once I have a concept for a paper, I am able to produce quality work very fast. Most of my published/accepted articles were completed within 2 or 3 months, and my dissertation was written within one year.

2.4.3. The framework of my research, which focuses on spiritual themes, theological theorems, esoteric motifs and scriptural allusions in secular literature, is fairly underrepresented in my discipline. Only a few colleagues work in this area and I am confident that my research of theological implications within literature will ultimately have a visible impact on my discipline.

2.5. Scholarship weakness

2.5.1. Seasonal work:

In the past I have been a seasonal worker who relies on the inspiration of the moment and is able to produce good work in concentrated phases of intensive writing. Although this strategy has worked for me so far, I am planning to experiment with the practice of daily writing, although it is somehow against my nature to regulate my creative activity in this way. Future teaching demands and citizenship commitments may require the acquisition of that skill in order to manage my time better. For starters, I will commit to 1 hour every day during the summer term 2008, early in the morning.

2.5.2. Collaboration:

Secondly, I have been a very insular scholar in the past. I have already begun to network with colleagues in my department, and I am planning to extend my collaboration with colleagues in other institutions. As a goal, I want to establish connections with at least three new colleagues during the coming year.

2.6. General scholarship goals

2.6.1. Productivity estimate

Even though I was able, during my first year, to finish and submit three articles and to work on other projects at the same time, I realize that future teaching loads and additional citizenship assignments may not allow me to maintain the same quota. But I feel confident that I will be able to finish and submit at least one scholarly article with good prospects for publication every school year, following the timetable provided above, while I work on other related projects.

Following this plan, I will have, by the time of my 3 year review, 4 or 5 articles accepted. By the time of my 6th year review, I should have 8 – 10 articles accepted and my book submitted or close to submission.

2.6.2. ORCA

In addition, I am planning to actively seek opportunities to work with at least one student on an ORCA project during 2009.

 

3. Citizenship

3.1. General remarks

As a new faculty member I have not yet been assigned many citizenship duties. Although I am somewhat glad about this “grace period” in which I can focus on establishing myself as a teacher and scholar, I am eager to participate more actively in the life of the university on its various administrative levels. We in the department strongly feel the need to maintain and increase the quality of the academic experience for both faculty and students against increasing odds, and as a passionate teacher I want to be a part of that process.

3.2. Service so far

3.2.1. Committee work

So far I have been involved in a curriculum committee that works on a revision of structure and content of our thirds year classes. We are, however, in the process of completely restructuring the entire program; therefore I am closely involved in the discussions that are going on in other committees, too. I enjoyed this work a lot, since it is crucial for the entire German program.

3.2.2. Departmental activities

I have supported my colleagues in a number of departmental activities, such as “Adventssingen”, “Major Fair” and “German Fair”.

I have also initiated, organized and conducted all by myself a trip with about 150 of our students to an opera performance in Salt Lake City.

Alongside these activities I have participated regularly in our departmental meetings and brownbags.

3.3. Citizenship goals

As a general goal, I hope to continue working with my colleagues in the mentioned process of restructuring our German program to make it more efficient and meaningful. More concretely, I will set the following goals for the following year:

3.3.1. Masters Thesis Advisor

I already have accepted the responsibility to serve as advisor for a Masters Thesis of one of our German students in the upcoming semester.

3.3.2. Building relationships with colleagues

During my first year I have, for obvious reasons, focused very much on my work and too little on socializing. I am therefore committed to reserve more time for socializing and networking with colleagues at BYU.

I also plan to visit each of my colleagues in class at least one time during the 2008/2009 school year.

3.3.3. Punctuality

Finally, although I am, in general, a lover of punctuality, I have been late in a number of departmental and section "brownbags". Hence I commit myself to showing up more punctually at these meetings.

 

 

 

 

 

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