The Pacer

Issue date: 1/23/07 Section: Campus News

A new German literature course is being offered this spring semester.

This new course titled "Crime and the Criminal" explores the dark world of criminal behavior that has emerged in different societies many times throughout history.

Professor Charles Hammond, the only German language professor at UTM, has decided to take a different "thematic" approach to teaching the masterpieces of German literature.

"People have an impression of great work being a very boring thing, presented in such a boring way," says Hammond. "When students understand the subject matter, it is certainly going to catch their interest."

Hammond noted that such an active reading of German literature is a great way to get acquainted with German culture and history.

Hammond has been offering specific theme-concentrated courses of German literature for the last three years starting with Spring 2005 course on Fascism, then Spring 2006 course on Sexual Identity. He tends to follow and base his topic choice on the current events in everyday society.

Choosing course coverage by a particular theme instead of concentrating on worn-out masterpieces, Hammond considers an effective way of gaining a greater interest from students.

"I could shift interest from busy work to productive class discussion," said Hammond.

Hammond never encounters any difficulties in picking up a topic for the course. The main thing is the issue has to contain some sort of controversy in order to spice up the class discussions by encouraging a multitude of various opinions.

Hammond, who has recently earned his Ph.D. in German literature, is working on one of his biggest projects: establishing a German major at UTM.

"We are on our way. University of Braunschweig is a big help," he said.
University of Braunschweig in Germany has a 10-day travel study program which allows American students to experience German culture by studying abroad while living with a host family. Student exchange programs encourage plenty of cultural interactions between students. Hammond noted that live interaction is a far more effective method of studying languages and cultures. It is more enjoyable, and therefore provides a much more memorable experience.

"I am always happy when students grow beyond my control," said Hammond.

Every student is encouraged to get involved and choose German for their minor; however, with the current growing student interest and more German minors, the German program is in need for another professor. Hammond is working diligently to meet each student's needs, and he hopes that the German program will continue to flourish and grow into a major at UTM.

For more information on a German program on campus, check out Hammond's home page at www.utm.edu/german.

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