Again, a year has passed. Another group of students has spent a semester or year in Bremen and has gone back to Dickinson for their senior year. Please find our program report on this past academic year here:
Best from Bremen!
Janine Ludwig, Academic Director
On Aug 3, 2019, in preparation for the new season, our soccer team Werder Bremen played a friendly vs. Premier League’s FC Everton – an unspectatcular 0:0. That meay sound a little lame, but considering the Toffees` team is worth 300 million and our green-white boys just one third of that, it puts things into perspective…
Otto Rehhagel, or, as the Greeks call him: “Rehacles”
The best came after the game anyway: At the Day of the Fans, we saw on stage some Werder legends, such as Per Mertesacker (defender, World Champion 2014), Otto Rehhagel (successful German coach, known for winning the European Cup with Greece in 2004), Thomas Schaaf (long-standing Bremen coach), and strikers Mario Basler, Ailton, Marco Bode, and Claudio Pizarro (who is both a legend and still playing at 41).
Eventually, the team for the coming season presented itself and gave autographs. Our student Sandi, though a devout Schalke fan, was very happy about an autograph and a quick chat with Bremen’s up-and-coming American striker talent Josh Sargent (once the second-best high school soccer player of the US):
by Liz Bodenman ’20
Over the course of the Spring Semester, I had the pleasure of participating in an Urban Gardening course called “Projekt Seminar Wollepark,” in which students would travel to the nearby town of Delmenhorst once a week and participate in a project to help improve the conditions of the public park. 20 students in total, we were expected to break up into groups and come up with projects according to our interests. My group was interested in the perception of Garden Culture, and what certain people idealize when imagining their perfect garden. The idea behind this was to go to Delmenhorst and ask its residents (who are a very diverse group of immigrants and refugees) to draw what they pictured the perfect garden to be. Every week for 12 weeks we would go and ask different people to draw for us; the end result was a published photo book containing pictures of the drawings and participants, as well as a summary of our findings.
I enjoyed this course because it was a break from the normal university curriculum and offered an opportunity that Dickinson does not offer. I was able to go out into a community I was unfamiliar with, practice my German, and befriend other “Ausländer” like myself who were starting a new life here. It was also very interesting to learn about permaculture, building structures to attract certain insects desirable for the garden in the town center that the class helped maintain, and develop a basic understanding of urban planning. In the future, I highly recommend students take this course if it is added again. Otherwise, for those with an interest in gardening, urban planning, or simply volunteering with children and the elderly, take the 10-minute train to Delmenhorst and stop by the Nachbarschaftszentrum Wollepark. You will surely be welcomed with open arms. Wollepark Website: https://wollepark.de/
by Sandi Kadric ’20
I did a an internship at 
for the last two weeks in March and every Friday from April to July. I shadowed a nurse anesthesiologist. They are very nice, and they are very helpful in explaining procedures during surgeries. I had the chance to prepare the patient before surgery such as setting up the medications, blood pressure, EKG, and IV bag. I actually had patient contact and interaction, which is difficult to do in America especially in a hospital setting. Everyone spoke ONLY German with me (except for a couple of words here and there), and yes, I had to ask questions to the patients, and it helped me to learn to be confident.
I learned different methods of certain surgeries. For example, patients lose more blood during knee replacement surgeries than in America. I had the option to choose what surgeries to watch, so I saw a variety of surgeries such as spine surgery, joint replacements, general surgeries, etc. I learned the differences between the German health care system and American health care system, and I would recommend anyone who is pre-med to do this internship because – aside from learning so much – you can receive a letter at the end and put it on your medical school application. It will help you look diverse and stand out from other applicants.
© University of Bremen
The University of Bremen is once again confirmed to be among the world’s top 50 young universities. This is the result of the latest “Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Ranking 2018”. Bremen is ranked on place 34 among the 250 listed universities.
Especially good in research
Various indicators are measured in the categories of teaching, research, the frequency of scientific citations, third-party funding from industry and the internationality of students and staff. The indicators evaluate key statistics in these categories. In the case of quality measurement, statistical ratios such as staff per student or the number of completed doctoral theses are also compared. The University of Bremen was able to improve its results in most categories. Particularly noteworthy is the result in the category research. Here, the University of Bremen was able to improve by 11.5 points on the previous year.
The President of the University of Bremen, Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, is naturally pleased with the result: “It is very encouraging to see that we moved forward in 2018 as well. This shows that the University of Bremen conducts teaching and research at a high level.”
More information under:
“Germany’s Role in Defending Europe and the Emergence of a New European Security Architecture” with Prof. Andrew T. Wolff
Andy Wolff (l.) and Rick Yoneoka (r.)
On June 5, 2019, Andy Wolff, Dickinson Political Science Professor and Resident Director of the European Studies Program in Bologna, Italy, gave the fifth Dickinson College Public Lecture. Prof. Wolff’s talk posed questions about the current state of transatlantic approach to the security of Europe. The lecture took place in the tower hall of the Bremen Cotton Exchange (Bremer Baumwollbörse) to a crowd of Bremen citizens. His lecture was preceded by comments of distinguished guest Richard Yoneoka, U.S. Consul General in Hamburg, and the discussion was moderated by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Franke, member of the Institute for Intercultural and International Studies at Uni Bremen.
Angie Harris (left) with studen
The DCPL is organized by Dr. Janine Ludwig, Academic Director of the William G. and Elke Durden Dickinson Bremen Program, and Neil van Siclen, President of the Carl Schurz German-American Club, Bremen. A reception with refreshments was held after the lecture at which our Dickinson students helped to serve the guests and engaged in discussions themselves. Also present was Angie Harris, Associate Dean of Students, who visited the program. Please find more photos and media below.
Here the full description of the talk: “The Transatlantic approach to providing security for Europe, i.e. American involvement through NATO and deepening European integration is being challenged internally and externally. The United States has become hesitant to lead NATO, Russia is an assertive and revanchist power, and the European Union is in danger of fragmenting. How does Germany fit into this new security environment? What policy choices does Germany have for the construction of a new European security architecture? As Europe’s politics and security become more unstable, Germany must make difficult decisions that will impact the future of Europe and the transatlantic alliance.” 5th DCPL 2019 Flyer
Moderator Anneke ter Veen, Producer of the TV Talkshow „Budder bei die Fische – Der Ter Veen Talk,“ talking to Consul General of the USA, Richard Yoneoka (in German):
by Dr. Janine Ludwig
On May 19, 2019, we had the great pleasure to visit Dr. Rudolf Seiters who had been the Federal Minister for Special Affairs and Head of the Office of the German Chancellery of the FRG under Helmut Kohl from April 1989 to November 1991. In this position, he successfully negotiated with the GDR government under Erich Honecker the passage of the East German refugees in the West German embassy in Prague to the Federal Republic of. He was responsible for diplomatic relations with several major East German governmental figures during the 1989 revolution (Honecker, Egon Krenz, Dr. Hans Modrow) and later involved in negotiating the contract for German Unification.
Dr. Seiters discussed the events of 1989/90 with our students and shared deep political insight into the highest positions at the time. We found him to be a wonderful person, who was able to convey serious historical information in a very compelling way. For instance, he described how he took over his position and all the files from Wolfgang Schäuble in April 1989 after being alerted about the most pressing issues – there was no mention of the GDR at the time. Nobody knew what was coming and how drastically things would change just a few months later. He also relayed the anecdote of how an employee asked him on the afternoon of November 9 whether he could leave early for his child’s birthday. He said, “Sure, nothing much will happen today anymore.” Little did he know that that night the Berlin Wall would fall. His honest and entertaining way of explaining political work from an insider’s perspective was most intriguing to our students – some of whom had already met former East German Head of State Dr. Hans Modrow and heard about many of the same political events from a West German perspective.
In 1991, Seiters became Minister of the Interior, a position from which he had to step back in 1993 because RAF terrorist Wolfgang Grams shot himself in Bad Kleinen, although it was widely agreed that Seiters had done nothing wrong. From 1998 to 2002, Seiters was Vice President of the German Bundestag and until 2017 President of the German Red Cross.
It was a wonderful opportunity for us and very kind that Dr. Seiters and his wife, despite busy calendars, hosted us in their house in Papenburg, a small town roughly two hours away from Bremen. After that meeting, we visited the “Van Velen Complex,” a settlement of mostly tiny houses and cots from the 17th century – in a town that was built on dried marshland.
Please find a video in German here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jeh_gdDtF6I
After that the long day, some of us went to see our beloved soccer team Werder Bremen who happened to play a friendly match that day against SC Blau-Weiß 94 Papenburg – on a small playing field that allowed us to see the likes of Claudio Pizarro, Max Kruse, and Josh Sargent close up.
Here is a short video of a corner kick from that match:
by James Moore ’20
All of the students in the Dickinson in Bremen program decided, in February, to run a 5k. It was on a Friday in mid-May at around 8:30 pm, starting at the town square. It was not raining, which was surprising considering the run was in Bremen. None of us had done any real training for the run, so everyone was a little nervous of how it was going to go. By the end though, I thought it was a success. The route the 5k took was through the city, and it was very nice to run across bridges and other areas of the city around the river where I hadn’t been before. When we finished the run, we were given a free alcohol-free beer, some pretzels, and some water (and also a free T-shirt and string bag) by the organizers of this public event. I thought it was a fun experience, and a good way to see more of the city.
Congratulations to our “internal DiB winner” Jack!
by Megan Kropf ’20
Along with many other changes you face when you study abroad, food is something that you have to consider when moving to a completely new country. At Dickinson, we have many different on-campus food options that are included in our meal plan and most of them are open all day, every day. It is not difficult at all to find prepared meals that are basically already paid for with swipes or flex points. At Uni Bremen, however, we have the Mensa, or main cafeteria, (in addition to some smaller on-campus cafes) that offers lunch from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm Monday-Friday and there is no pre-paid swipe system like Dickinson’s meal plans. So what do you do for breakfast, dinner, and weekend meals? You cook! It depends on the person, but some students prefer to cook most of their meals, while others enjoy cooking some and eating out at restaurants for others. But while it’s nice to go to restaurants and eat delicious German food, it’s not exactly realistic to rely on that for every meal.
Luckily, Dickinson arranged a cooking workshop where we learned how to cook easy and cheap, yet healthy recipes. Together we made smoothies, pasta salads, chicken curry, and quinoa dishes. I personally love cooking and trying out new recipes, so this workshop gave me new ideas of dishes to prepare. It was also helpful to talk about shopping for ingredients and how to get the most out of your groceries. Produce and fresh food is relatively inexpensive in Germany and it’s easy to make meals using organic fruits and vegetables. In addition to learning how to cook in Germany during this workshop, we all had a great time cooking and eating together!
by Liz Bodenman ’20
In the first semester of my time at Uni Bremen, I had the privilege of utilizing funds granted to me through the Dickinson German department’s Kurth-Voigt Research Prize. Securing the grant required me to formulate a viable research question and plan with which to explore possible answers. My question, though still unanswered, pertains to the vegan and vegetarian movements in Bremen and Germany as a whole. How are these two movements so successful in a country that hails meat and dairy in nearly all its traditional cuisines? Though I was not going to get a satisfying answer during the few months I lived in Bremen, I was able to expand my mind through attending two exciting events, funded by Kurth-Voigt.
My start-up workshop. Photo creds to Momentum Novum (the runner of the conference)
First I was able to participate in a three day sustainability conference in Heidelberg, where I attended several different workshops pertaining to food consciousness and the environment, where themes on vegan/vegetarianism echoed throughout. During the conference every participant took part in one block workshop where they worked in groups to formulate a project. My block workshop pertained to the world of ‘start-ups,’ taking us through all the steps necessary to have a successful start-up, then having us present a start-up of our own creation at the closing ceremony. The conference was very international, but getting the German perspective on sustainability proved invaluable for the ways in which I would view German vegan and vegetarian organizations/companies. Then to get an idea of which companies and organizations existed in Germany, I did a bit of digging and found another event useful in exploring my question.
On the way to the Veggienale Fair in Frankfurt
This next event was a day-long ‘Vegginale: Ecological Fair’ in Frankfurt. These Vegginale Fairs are held throughout the year in the major cities across Germany, featuring different national and international organizations and companies relating to sustainability. There is a specific emphasis on veganism and animal rights at these conferences, as vegan/vegetarian activists typically go hand-in-hand with purely environmental activists. Stands were occupied by everything from clean energy firms to a couple selling their homemade vegan honey. The diversity of the content at Veggienale was a good representation of how many ways Germans choose to express care for sustainability and equal rights for all beings.
If I had decided to continue my research project and use the remainder of my grant funds, I could have gone on a few more trips in which to learn about and observe the vegan/vegetarian movements in Germany. My curiosity on the topic remains open, and I plan on exploring it to some extent during my final two years at Dickinson. The Kurth-Voigt is a wonderful opportunity for Dickinson students of German who are curious about an aspect of German life, society or culture and wish to explore it further.