Grenzenlos Deutsch: an Inclusive Curriculum for German Studies

FAIN: HAA-256186-17

Macalester College (St. Paul, MN 55105-1899)
Brigetta Abel (Project Director: January 2017 to January 2022)
Amy Young (Co Project Director: May 2017 to January 2022)

Participating institutions:
Macalester College (St. Paul, MN) - Applicant/Recipient
Central College (Pella, IA) - Participating Institution

The creation of a digital open educational resource for German language and culture. The applicants aim to produce an alternative to traditional textbooks by developing an interactive and immersive environment for language and culture that makes use of videos and interviews with native and near-native German speakers.

We seek a Level II grant to complete Grenzenlos Deutsch, an online, open-access curriculum for introductory German language and culture courses that creates an inclusive and interactive learning experience. The curriculum, started by Professors Brigetta (Britt) Abel and Amy Young during their sabbatical leaves in the fall of 2016, is intended as a no-cost alternative to current traditional textbooks in the field. Funding will be used primarily for the formation of a Collaborative Working Group of German faculty to assemble for further development and completion this full-year curriculum, which mixes materials from real-world, contemporary communication scenarios, multimedia content, and online learning activities. Firmly rooted in humanities, including language and culture, this curriculum will be openly available to German Studies teachers and learners worldwide, and our project will present a viable alternative to traditional textbooks across humanities fields.

Media Coverage

Macalester professor receives NEH grant as one of 245 humanities projects totaling $39.3M nationwide (Media Coverage)
Publication: macalester.edu
Date: 9/13/2017
Abstract: Press release on Macalester College Website
URL: http://www.macalester.edu/news/2017/09/macalester-professor-receives-neh-grant-as-one-of-245-humanities-projects-totaling-39-3m-nationwide/

Interactive Education (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Laura Billings Coleman
Publication: Macalester Today
Date: 7/26/2021
URL: https://www.macalester.edu/news/2021/07/interactive-education/

Grenzenlos Deutsch: An Open-Access Curriculum for Beginning German (Review)
Author(s): Julie Shoults
Publication: Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German
Date: 2/11/2020
URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17561221/2020/53/2

Associated Products

Grenzenlos Deutsch: Co-Creating Open Educational Resources through Feminist Collaboration (Article)
Title: Grenzenlos Deutsch: Co-Creating Open Educational Resources through Feminist Collaboration
Author: Amy D. Young
Author: Brigetta M. Abel
Author: Erika Berroth
Author: Angineh Djavadghazaryans
Author: Maureen O. Gallagher
Author: Adam R. King
Author: Karolina May-Chu
Author: Simone Pfleger
Author: Faye Stewart
Abstract: Collaborative practices reflect distinctive pedagogical, professional, and interpersonal patterns congruent with feminist thought. Grenzenlos Deutsch (German without borders) is a collectively authored and edited introductory German curriculum available as an open educational resource. The project, which is still a work in progress, is committed to an ongoing dialogue about diversity, inclusivity, and social justice in its representation of the German- speaking world; such aspects are still largely absent from traditional textbooks. In this article, nine members of the Grenzenlos Deutsch collective share their experiences and reflect on feminist collaborative practices as they pertain to the creation of Grenzenlos Deutsch. The first section discusses a shared understanding of this collaboration as a feminist endeavor and considers the overlaps and dissonances between the team members’ positionalities and pedagogical strategies. The second section addresses the benefits and challenges of collaboration, particularly the complex questions of collective ownership and attribution of credit. The essay concludes with reflections on the future of this project and offers suggestions for other teams of collaborators.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: 10.5250/femigermstud.36.1.0001
Primary URL Description: doi link
Secondary URL: https://nebraskapressjournals.unl.edu/issue/9000023426653/feminist-german-studies-361/
Secondary URL Description: link to the press website for this issue of the journal
Access Model: Subscription only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Feminist German Studies
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

Feminist Collaboration: A Conversation (Book Section)
Title: Feminist Collaboration: A Conversation
Author: Brigetta M. Abel
Editor: Helga Thorson
Editor: Brigetta M. Abel
Editor: Nicole Grewling
Editor: Beth Ann Muellner
Abstract: This essayistic interview reflects on feminist collaboration: what does it mean? How do we do it? Why should we do it? The author reflects on the collaborative space that was opened during her dissertation work with Ruth-Ellen Boetcher Joeres and how that space has shaped her current project, a collaboratively written and inclusive textbook for beginning German. The author shares insights taken from interviews with her current collaborators about the significance and meaning of feminist collaboration.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13021
Primary URL Description: link to the online version of the book
Access Model: open access
Publisher: University of Victoria Libraries
Book Title: Cultivating Feminist Choices: A FEminiSTSCHRIFT to Honor Ruth-Ellen Boetcher Joeres
ISBN: 9781550586800

Diversity, Social Justice, and Accessibility in Grenzenlos Deutsch: Reflections on Digital Curation (Article)
Title: Diversity, Social Justice, and Accessibility in Grenzenlos Deutsch: Reflections on Digital Curation
Author: Brigetta M. Abel
Author: Amy D. Young
Author: Louann Terveer
Author: Faye Stewart
Author: Simone Pfleger
Author: Maureen O. Gallagher
Abstract: Grenzenlos Deutsch ( GD ) is an open educational resource (OER) that functions as a digital archive. Considerations of equity, social justice, and accessibility inform decision-making and workflow at all stages of fashioning the GD curriculum as a no-cost alternative to traditional beginning German textbooks. In this essay, six members of the GD team reflect on digital curation, considering how the team’s collective identities, values, and instructional goals intersect with the processes of creating and curating the curriculum, particularly the production and preservation of audiovisual material such as images, interviews, and videos as learning objects. Although these learning objects constitute a public archive, they also mark events of personal and collaborative significance in the private and professional lives of the GD collective, whose members played varying roles in producing these instructional materials.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://utpjournals.press/toc/seminar/57/3
Primary URL Description: link to the press website for this specific issue
Access Model: subscription only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies
Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Grenzenlos Deutsch (Web Resource)
Title: Grenzenlos Deutsch
Author: Grenzenlos Deutsch Team
Abstract: This full-year curriculum is intended as a no-cost alternative to current, more traditional textbooks in the field. It mixes materials rooted in real-world, contemporary communication scenarios, multimedia content, and online learning activities.The Grenzenlos Deutsch curriculum ensures that the topics of discussion in the language classroom are relevant to and reflect today’s world.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://grenzenlos-deutsch.com/
Primary URL Description: link to the online curriculum

---