Our President’s Guest Interview – free and available to watch:

AGS President’s Guest Interview 2020

Academic panels – legacy from September:

Our 2020 conference was originally going to take place at Swansea University from the 2 to 4 September, on the theme of German Futures, Future German/ies. This has now been postponed until September 2021, but we are planning a series of online events on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 September 2020.

Thursday 3 September:

    • 10:00-12:00 Panel: Emotionally demanding pedagogy/research
      Convenors: Peter Davies (Edinburgh) & Helen Finch (Leeds). Places limited, pre-registration required.

The following takes place at this link (via Microsoft Teams):

    • 14:00-14:45 Business Meeting (AGS members and honoured guests, including Ambassador Andreas Michaelis)See the reports and agenda here.
    • 14:45-15:15 Break
    • 15:15-16:00 Discussion of ‘Toward a National Strategy for Languages’. Speakers: Neil Kenny (British Academy), Colin Riordan (Cardiff), Nicola McLelland (Nottingham), Anna Saunders (Liverpool), Sally Conroy (Cardinal Newman College, Preston). Preview papers here and here and here.
      Join us as we hear of the practical opportunities and hurdles for German, as experienced by those in institutional leadership positions whose careers are also as Germanists – from a VC and Heads of University departments, to Sixth Form management, to a Fellow of the British Academy. Come and table your thoughts and questions!
    • 16:00- 16:30 Break
    • 16:30-17:00 Book launch (the files of fame are stored here.)

Following our business meeting, we shall be celebrating monographs, essay volumes, and other works by AGS members that have appeared over the last year. As for the glass of fizz… BYO. Two examples of reasons to celebrate below!

(Trouble loading? Watch here and here instead.)

Friday 4 September:

16:30-18:00

Schools and Think German Networks Panel

Attend via this link (likewise Microsoft Teams)

Chair: Prof Julian Preece, Swansea, Wales German Network

The Schools and Networks round-table panel, established in 2017, has become a fixed point and highlight of the conference. It aims to facilitate and deepen exchange between teachers of German at secondary and tertiary level, focusing on effective links between schools, sixth-form colleges and universities. This year’s panel features Jeremy Jones (Cardiff High School), Sioned Harold, Professional Learning Advisor (Welsh Second and MFL) for the South-East Wales Consortium, and Paul Stocker from Youthbridge/British German Association. Short presentations will be followed by an open discussion with the audience.

Also On Show:

A preview of the online exhibition celebrating the Centre for Contemporary German Literature at Swansea University.

We are especially proud to feature a reading and interview with President’s Guest Sharon Dodua Otoo in the near future. A British winner of the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, a graduate in German Studies, and a Berlin-based writer and cultural critic. Stay tuned for a save the date!