Popular culture tends to downplay strong female characters to favor a plethora of male figures that children look up to as heroes. This creates a gender imbalance in exposure to inspirational characters that children can look up to as role models. For our team's creative project, we chose to write and illustrate a children's book mainly targeted at young girls, ages eight to twelve that focuses on the stories of selected female figures of Norse mythology. The five stories in our collection focus on the figures Frigg, Skadi, Elli, Idunn, and Freya and are inspired by the mythology contained in the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and selected medieval texts on the Germanic Lombard tribe. Through our book, Women of Norse Myth: For Little Goddesses, we wanted to introduce children to Norse mythology, a branch of myth that is often overshadowed by more popular mythologies such as Roman and Greek. Additionally, our goal was to bring light to the female figures within Norse myth that are generally given less attention than their male counterparts. Keeping in mind these goals, the stories were adapted from the original myths in a manner that would be suitable for a young audience as well as our aim for female empowerment. The final manuscript contains an introduction to Norse cosmology, introductions to the figures, a glossary of Norse terms used, and the illustrated stories themselves. Together with our combined talents, interests, and goals, Women of Norse Myth: For Little Goddesses was completed, and we hope that someday it can be published and serve as a fun and inspiring storybook for children to read and learn from.

Rabaul Creole German is a language that developed in the early twentieth century in Papua New Guinea, as a mixture of German and languages of the environment such as Tok Pisin and Kuanua. Children at a Catholic mission and orphanage were taught in German but it was not their native tongue; they developed a secret language that applied German vocabulary to their own syntax. As they grew up and married amongst themselves, their children learned the new language as native speakers; thus the creole was born. This project involved researching and becoming familiar with the language, familiar enough to apply the knowledge to translate a fairy tale from German into Rabaul Creole German.

ABSTRACT

German history during the 20th century was extremely complex—containing numerous events that can be labelled horrific and traumatic. The horrors and traumas of WWII forced Germans to actively address their country’s National Socialist pasts by taking responsibility for their roles, creating a national memory about the Nazi atrocities and implementing the reparations program, the Wiedergutmachungsabkommen, with the newly formed nation of Israel. The social theorist Theodor Adorno wrote in his 1959 essay “Was bedeutet: Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit?” about three subtly nuanced terms: Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit, Verarbeitung der Vergangenheit and Vergangensheitbewältigung, in which he addresses the various ways that Germany was dealing with traumatic events from this National Socialist past. Adorno specifically demanded a constant renegotiation of the past or Verarbeitung der Vergangenheit because it is the only way forward, through which people remember the horrors and atrocities of the past and work towards not allowing those events to occur again.

This thesis applies the theoretical framework set forth by Adorno to explore efforts to engage the DDR and Stasi past after the Fall of the Wall and reunification. Specifically, it examines the concept of Verarbeitung der Vergangenheit and demonstrates how Thomas Brussig’s satirical novel Helden wie wir, and two documentary films Aus Liebe zum Volk and Das Wunder von Leipzig are examples of working upon this DDR and Stasi past. More specifically, the utilization of humor in the novel and the paralanguage modifications in the films provide insight to the feelings and emotions that individuals had about their pasts in the DDR. It is through this expression of emotion and feelings while writing and speaking about the past, which serves as the immediate moment when individuals actively working upon their pasts.

ABSTRACT (English)

Heinrich Hoffmann`s renowned Struwwelpeter and the famous Grimm brothers' fairy tales have been the subject of exhaustive pedagogical and psychological scrutiny. By means of shocking and fascinating literary elements Struwwelpeter's revolutionary didactic horror-comedy as well as the instructive horror-fantasy inherent in fairy tales are able to cast an enchanting, enlightening spell on their audience. However, both Hoffmann's and the Grimm's adventurous stories have suffered harsh criticism particularly owing to their often gruesome, macabre and unrealistic subject matter. Notwithstanding the barrage of denunciating objections, the remarkable longevity of Fidgety Philip, Little Red Riding Hood and Co appears to know no bounds, as their ingenious formula for success comprising captivatingly shocking, spine-tingling elements of both entertaining and educational value continues to inspire contemporary adaptations. Several German dialects have also discovered and devoted themselves to the magical world of Hoffmann's chaotic rascals and the Grimm's fascinating fairy tale characters in furtherance of enlivening them with the identity, culture and local flavor of their respective region.

The current study aims to demonstrate the extent to which dialectal adaptations of the aforesaid tales succeed in not only revitalizing the original narratives including their pedagogical and psychodynamic quintessence but also in capturing the readers' hearts by virtue of their intimate parlance/phraseology. This particular philological approach illustrates the symbiotic interaction between regional German dialects and well-known (children's) Horror-stories.

ABSTRACT (German)



Bisher waren sowohl der renommierte Struwwelpeter Heinrich Hoffmanns als auch die berühmten Märchen der Brüder Grimm Objekte erschöpfender pädagogischer und psychologischer Betrachtungen. Die revolutionäre didaktische Gruselkomik der struwwelpetrigen Abenteuer sowie die lehrhafte Gruselphantastik der Märchen vermögen vermittels ihrer schockierenden und zugleich faszinierenden Elemente Menschen jeden Alters in ihren verzaubernden, lebenserhellenden Bann zu ziehen. Allerdings mussten die hoffmannschen und grimmschen Geschichten insbesondere auf Grund grausamer, wirklichkeitsfremder Inhalte auch als Zielscheibe heftigster Kritik fungieren. Nichtsdestotrotz scheint der steilen Karriere von Zappelphilipp, Rotkäppchen und Co keine Grenzen gesetzt, denn ihre raffinierte Erfolgsformel bestehend aus unterhaltsam-belehrenden Schock- und Zaubermotiven inspiriert stets neue Adaptionen. So haben auch die deutschsprachigen Mundarten längst das skurille sowie zauberhafte Reich der chaotischen Lausbuben und Märchencharaktere für sich entdeckt, um diese mit der jeweils eigenen regionalkolorierten Identität und Kultur zu beseelen.

Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit gilt es nun zu demonstrieren, inwiefern es den dialektalen Petriaden und Märchenversionen gelingt, nicht nur die Erzählungen samt ihrer pädagogisch sowie psychodynamisch wertvollen Kerngehalte zu neuem Leben zu erwecken, sondern sich darüber hinaus in anheimelnder Weise die Herzen der Leserschaft zu erobern. Diese einzigartige philologische Perspektive beleuchtet die Erfolg versprechende Wechselwirkung zwischen den ortsspezifischen Sprachgeflechten und den (Kinder)-Gruselklassikern.

The "Perchtenlauf," a multi-faceted procession of masked participants found in the eastern Alps, has been the subject of considerable discourse and often debate within European ethnology since the mid-19th century. While often viewed from a mythological perspective and characterized as a relic of pre-Christian cult practices, only recently have scholars begun to examine its connection with Carnival. Research of this kind calls for an in-depth analysis of the "Perchtenlauf" that is informed by Bakhtin's theory of the carnivalesque, an aesthetic of festive merriment and the release from social restrictions which is embodied by Carnival traditions. A carnivalesque reading of the "Perchtenlauf" reveals a tradition pregnant with playful ambivalence, celebrations of the lower body, and the inversion of social hierarchies. Past interpretations of the "Perchtenlauf" have often described its alleged supernatural function of driving away the harmful forces of winter, however its carnavalesque elements have definite social functions involving the enjoyment of certain liberties not sanctioned under other circumstances. The current study solidifies the relationship between the "Perchtenlauf" and Carnival using ethnographic, historical, and etymological evidence in an attempt to reframe the discourse on the tradition's form and function in terms of carnivalesque performance.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the introduction of the motion picture as a medium changed the way people disseminate information between each other and to the masses. The magnitude of this change was supplemented and amplified first by, the addition of sound, then color, and finally (possibly most importantly) the invention of the technology to send and receive motion picture signals along with their corresponding sound tracks. This would eventually all be combined in the production of the first television sets. Some of the most stunning illustrations of the power brought about by this medium can be observed in the way that Germany was able to utilize film during (and before) World War II. The idea of using cinema as a propaganda tool led to the creation of UFA during WWI (1914-1918). Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels' fascination with film and its propaganda potential led to the development of many successful public communication techniques and numerous tactics used to influence the people's thoughts and actions. This thesis provides background information pertaining to the outbreak of World War II including the German propaganda machine, and examines the role that motion pictures played in the distribution of anti-Polish messages before and during the early stages of the war. It focuses specifically on the film Feuertaufe as an example illustrating six major tenants of Nazi film propaganda namely: oversimplification, appeal to emotions, harnessing the power of the visual image, intentional blurring of lines between entertainment and facts, repetition, and the use of graphics combined with music. Next, this essay explores how each of the abovementioned characteristics were used by the Poles and the British in their pro-Polish film This is Poland in order to sway public opinion and spread messages aligned with their political views respectively. This thesis concludes by stressing the importance of being aware of these techniques so that one may be able to separate fact from hype, and by looking at the possible utilization of the six tenants in the years to come as smart mobile-devices usher in yet another metamorphosis of the art of information distribution.

After being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009, Herta Müller attained great prominence around the world. Commentators, especially in English-speaking countries, seemed shocked by the decision. One of the primary concerns was that Müller was relatively unknown. This thesis seeks to address this and other concerns by looking at reviews of her works in German- and English-language publications both before and after the Nobel Prize was awarded. This thesis analyses chronologically the reception of her books beginning with Niederungen in 1982 and ending with the reception of her novel Atemschaukel in 2009. It compares the reception of the original German text to that of the English translation; therefore only works which have been translated and published in English are discussed. The study also shows that while Müller's work did not top the bestseller charts, at least before the Nobel Prize, she was hardly the completely unknown author that some in the English-language media believed. This thesis seeks to present trends in the reception as well as provide a basis for further study of the reception of Herta Müller.

Disability is a label accompanied by a multitude of misconceptions and stereotypes. During various periods in Germany, attitudes towards disability have ranged from disgust and fear, to acceptance and inclusion. Being disabled in Germany once meant certain isolation; at the hands of the Nazi regime, it was met with almost certain premature death. Since those darker days of Germany's history, the country has become one that now affords its disabled citizens with the same rights as the non-disabled population and seeks to create a barrier-free environment. This study examines these perceptions of disability in Germany from the 1920s through the first decade of the 21st century. In order to accomplish this goal, cinema is used to provide insights into contemporaneous ideas about disability. By drawing upon analyses of six films that span the course of nearly 80 years, careful examination of disability portrayals reveal philosophical shifts in how the German people interpret disability. When analyzing these films, aspects of physical and mental disability are brought to the surface and discussed in terms of their sociopolitical and philosophical implications. To provide a social and cultural framework that gives significance to the changes in these cinematic roles, a historical survey of the German disability rights movement is folded into the discussion. The films explored in this study serve as culturally important visual aids that illustrate positive changes for the disabled living in Germany. Although not directly influencing cinematic portrayals of disability, the German disability rights movement that arose in the postwar period shaped ideas about disability and allowed disabled Germans to be accepted and included in society. With these rights now available disabled Germans are able to lead a self-determined life and portray themselves as equals.