Department of Foreign Language and Bilingual Studies
Lyndsay Buckman
Professor Carla Damiano, Sponsor
Dealing with Guilt: Second-Generation Germany Confronts the Holocaust
The portrayal of second-generation German guilt as seen in Bernhard Schlink's novel, The Reader and collection of short stories, "Flights of Love," is currently an important literary movement in Germany. This paper takes an in-depth look into post WWII second-generation Germany through the eyes of Schlink.
Session A - Student Organization Center - 9:00 a.m.~9:15 a.m.
Agnes Krynski
Professor Genevieve Peden, Sponsor
French Language Policy: The Struggle Between Tradition and Innovation
This presentation explores recent linguistic legislation in France in the context of language purification and preservation. France uses the law to actively protect the national language in an attempt to preserve its cultural heritage in the face of the threatening language colonialism of America. This observation leads to more general questions to which we will try to find possible answers: To what extent do we have to break with tradition in order to welcome innovation? How does one generation's innovation become the next generation's tradition?
Session A - Student Organization Center - 9:15 a.m.~9:30 a.m.
Adrienne Muncy
Professor Carla Damiano, Sponsor
In Defense of Faserland: Critical Response to Christian Kracht's Debut Novel
Like the works of many up-and-coming German writers, Christian Kracht's debut novel Faserland graphically portrays themes of drug and alcohol abuse, empty sex and hedonism. Critical reviews of the novel vary widely, with some literary critics hailing Kracht as the mouthpiece of Generation X Germans, and others condemning Faseland as a flat, self-indulgent novel with no redeeming value. This presentation examines critical reactions to Faserland, and defends the author's use of shocking material as a literary device to critique contemporary society.
Session A - Student Organization Center - 9:30 a.m.~9:45 a.m.
Wouter Verkerk
Professor Thomas Vosteem, Sponsor
American and French Cultural Misunderstandings in the Business Realm
As the world grows smaller due to globalization, international business is becoming more common. In business, effective communication is essential, but both verbal and non-verbal messages may be distorted by the fabric of culture. This presentation examines some of the potential problems in non-verbal communication between Americans and the French in the business realm.
Session B - Student Organization Center - 10:00 a.m.~10:15 a.m.