German speaking voices echoed off the walls of the Palmer Museum of Art yesterday afternoon. The voices were not those of a German language class, but were the sound of the German Department's centennial celebration.
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[ Friday, Oct. 19, 2001 ]
Bierbauer speaks on Germany
For The Collegian
PHOTO: Mike Bencivenga
Bierbauer makes a speech at Palmer Lipcon Auditorium at Palmer Museum.
The celebration, "A Century of German-American Crosscurrents at Penn State", will run through Oct. 20. The celebratory event was kicked off at 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon with an appearance from Charles Bierbauer, Senior Washington Correspondent for CNN.
Bierbauer, who spoke on "A Century Re-Visited: German-American Crosscurrents from a Journalist's Point of View," came to Penn State to celebrate the German Department's 100th year.
"It is good to note and make people aware of the facts, on what has been done on campus for a long time and for a good reason," Bierbauer said.
Before Bierbauer was introduced, Rep. Lynn B. Herman, R-Pa., presented the German Department with a congratulatory citation from the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
"I would like to congratulate the German Department on their 100th year here," Herman said. "We wish you many more years here on teaching cultural German Studies at Penn State."
Bierbauer, a Distinguished Alumnus and Alumni Fellow, spoke on his own personal German heritage and his journalistic experiences in Germany. He included how German Immigration, WWII, the Cold War, and Post War Germany affected journalism.
Bierbauer also tied in the recent terrorist attacks with the German influence on America. "The German government is supported in U.S. concerns even today in terrorism," he said.
Gerhard Strasser, professor of German and comparative literature, began planning for the centennial celebration and identifying keynote speakers about two years ago.
"We are trying to show how much culture Germany has, and how very clearly and closely Germany has been interacting with the U.S for the past 100 years," Strasser said.
Bierbauer who was notified of the conference in April 2000 was just one of 15 speakers invited to the centennial celebration. Other events that will take place today and Saturday include: an excursion through the Pennsylvania "Dutch" cultural landscape, a speech from author Ursula Hegi on "Research for and Writing of Tearing the Silence" and roundtable discussion on Translation and German Literature in the United States.
For a complete listing and more information on events go to http://german.la.psu.edu/centennial01/centennial.html, or contact Gerhard Strasser at gfs1@psu.edu.
