From Mühlhausen to the US: Workshops in Thuringia
This winter, DAIS is facilitating a school project with Katrin Stedefeld’s twelfth grade English class at the Evangelisches Schulzentrum in Mühlhausen, Thüringen. The project aims to explore the rich lineage of German-American emigration and the historic connections between Central Germany and the United States. Over the course of the project—which will entail four workshops over a six-week period—the students will also interview and profile a member of their community about their perspectives on immigration.
Kicking off the workshop series on November 9th, Josette visited Evangelisches Schulzentrum to meet the class. Thematically, the first workshop aimed to help students understand German emigration to the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. First, Josette shared numbers, statistics, and historical maps to help contextualize this particular wave of immigration in American history. Then, the students explored the variety of reasons why people migrate by identifying the push and pull factors inherent in different scenarios. Finally, the students encountered the immigration experiences of ordinary people by examining primary source letters and advice books written by German immigrants at the time. This activity helped students understand the personal challenges and dilemmas immigrants faced as they navigated the process of finding belonging in America. At the end of the workshop, the students posed a number of questions about German immigrants’ experiences and were particularly interested in the stakes of assimilation in the beginning of the twentieth century.
Our second workshop at the Evangelisches Schulzentrum on November 16th focused on one immigrant story in particular – that of John Roebling, the architect of the Brooklyn Bridge. Originally born in Mühlhausen, Roebling migrated to the United States in 1831, founded the town of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania and went on to become one of the most prolific architects of his era. Students explored the historic legacy of German immigrants with Christoph, who recently traveled through the U.S. while researching Roebling’s legacy for the Atlantic Hour podcast.
Contextualized within American founding myths such as ‘Manifest Destiny,’ the 12th graders analyzed parts of interviews Christoph conducted in the US and explored how notions of the American Dream have changed over time.
At the end of the workshop, Josette and Christoph talked about best interview practices and prepared students to conduct their own interviews.
Josette Marsh in Mühlhausen on November 16th.
Our third workshop at the Evangelisches Schulzentrum in Mühlhausen took place on November 30th. In this workshop, students learned about how to write an engaging narrative profile. First, the students read model texts from The New York Times to analyze the elements of an effective piece. As a class, we discussed different strategies for finding an angle, writing a hook, integrating quotes, and including details in order to tell a compelling story about the person they interviewed. Then, the students used writing prompts to critically reflect on their interview and decide on their profile’s focus. Finally, at the end of class, the students had time to begin outlining their profiles. The students used the strategies they learned in this workshop to profile a person in their community about their perspectives on migration, and we are excited to hear their projects in the final session in December!
Christoph Nostitz in Mühlhausen on November 30th.
Our fourth and final workshop at the Evangelisches Schulzentrum in Mühlhausen took place on December 12th. In this workshop, students shared their completed narrative profiles with the rest of the class. First, the students worked in small groups to read each other’s pieces and offer constructive feedback. Then, each group nominated one student to read their profile out loud to the class. [to be continued]