Greetings from the Chair

A hearty welcome to colleagues, friends and alums of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures! GSLL has had an exceptionally exciting and productive year. Our faculty has been enriched and cross-disciplinary connections have been made by the addition of Assistant Professor Henry Pickford. Professor Pickford has a PhD in comparative literature and philosophy from Yale and an MA in philosophy from Pittsburgh University. Henry is an expert on German and Russian thinkers such as Theodor Adorno and Leo Tolstoy and contemporary analytical philosophy. Dr. Helga Luthers also joined the department this fall as an instructor after working for us as a TA and GPTI for many years. Helga teaches Nordic/Scandinavian culture and literature courses. Students are delighted with her courses, all praising her knowledge and expertise. Welcome, Henry and Helga!

Our faculty continue to teach, publish, win prizes, and participate in local, national and international research activities promoting the learning of German, Russian, Scandinavian and Hebrew languages and literatures. In terms of publications alone our department’s productivity has been impressive, with four books, seventeen refereed articles, and numerous reviews in 2006. Our colleagues continue to work on many exciting research projects. Professor Rima Salys, who is on a full-year sabbatical, is finishing her book on Soviet musicals of the 1930s. Professor Mark Leiderman, who has won a British grant, is now in Bristol University working with a co-author on a new book on developments in postmodern Russian theater. Professor Adrian Del Caro has continued his work as editor and translator of a volume “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” for the Cambridge University Press.

GSLL has experienced a growing demand for the languages that we teach, particularly for our less commonly taught languages. Two years ago we established a new academic program in Hebrew language. This semester the demand for Dr. Zilla Goodman’s Hebrew 1010 was so strong that we had to open an additional section to accommodate all 35 students interested in Hebrew studies. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ursula Lindquist our summer recruitment campaign resulted in a very strong growth in Swedish enrollments, particularly in Swedish 1010.

This year the steering committee of the Scandinavian program has been very active in rethinking and reformulating the role of this program at CU. The program has decided to change its name from Scandinavian to Nordic to become more inclusive and to reflect better what we do and teach in this program. In order to attract more students and to enhance the quality of the learning experience for our students, the Nordic/Scandinavian minor has been reviewed and changed.

After working for twelve years at GSLL instructor Dr. Elena Kostoglodova was promoted to senior instructor. Professor Patrick Greaney went successfully through his comprehensive review and was reappointed. Senior Instructor Patty Schindler completed her review with flying colors and was reappointed. Last year Tatiana Mikhailova’s position was up-graded to a full time instructor position. Congratulations to Elena, Patrick, Patty and Tatiana!

Ingrid Sixberry announced her retirement at the end of the 2006-2007 academic year. On behalf of the department I would like to express our admiration and deep gratitude for her enthusiastic devotion to teaching and for the wonderful work Ingrid has been doing at GSLL for many years!

There are changes in our office. After serving for 5 years as GSLL program assistant Debby Luntsford accepted a position at ALTEC and will use her knowledge and expertise there. Debby has been replaced by Karen Hawley who has decided to come back to GSLL and will help us in our mission in the years to come. I am very thankful to Sara Quehrn who proved to be a quick learner and has helped us with running the GSLL office efficiently in the time of transition.

GSLL Colloquium, headed by Professors Thomas Hollweck, Mark Leiderman and Davide Stimilli has had several productive meetings at which faculty members and graduate students presented their research in literature, film, art and cultural histories of Germany, Russia and Scandinavian countries. GSLL Colloquium welcomes suggestions for topics and speakers. If you are interested in presenting a paper at the colloquium please contact professor Hollweck or professor Leiderman.

The Department has also enjoyed a large number of events on campus. Senior Instructor Patty Schindler organized a hugely successful Immersion Day for the Colorado middle and high school students studying German. Professor Mark Leiderman and Tatiana Mikhailova launched a popular Russian Film Series for CU students and members of the Russian-speaking Boulder-Denver community. In February 2006 the Department brought to CU-Boulder campus and to Colorado College a wonderful pianist Victor Ryabchikov who performed music of Mikhail Glinka, Alexander Borodin, Sergei Rakhmaninov and other Russian composers.

In my third year as department chair I am pleased to report that students at CU continue to be attracted toward GSLL courses. This semester we enjoy healthy enrollments in our classes: 643 students are taking German courses, 427 students are studying Russian language, culture and literature, 365 undergraduates have registered for Scandinavian courses and 93 students are mastering the Hebrew language and Jewish culture. My colleagues are, as always, dedicated, industrious and wholeheartedly engaged in the teaching of GSLL students.

Our goals and academic challenges remain the same. We try to attract the strongest undergraduate and graduate students and provide them with the best possible learning experience. In order to achieve our goals we need the help of alumni, parents, and friends of GSLL to maintain our programs. We would particularly appreciate gifts for undergraduate and graduate scholarships and fellowships. Many of our students need scholarship assistance in order to participate in study abroad programs in Germany, Russia and Sweden, such as our programs in Regensburg, St. Petersburg or at Uppsala University.

I would like to express my gratitude to all alumni and friends of GSLL who offer their support and encouragement to the department. We are continually and increasingly dependent on the generosity of donors who value our educational mission. To all those who have sent in checks earmarked for GSLL programs I express my sincere gratitude on behalf of our faculty and students. Please also send us your news, especially of graduate or professional degrees, career developments, marriages and births, other milestones of your life, and especially any news related to how you have used your training at GSLL. We hope that you enjoy this 2006 volume of our newsletter!

Artemi Romanov