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During the course of this semester, I learned a lot about
different periods in Germany. I enjoyed the amount of different ways of
learning we explored. Between the book, All Quiet on the Western Front,
to the movie Berlin Calling, and the numerous Powerpoint presentations, I was
able to absorb an abundance of information. I enjoyed reading the book in
class, and learning about WWI in Germany, which usually isn’t talked about
much in history classes. One of the topics that most surprised be during this semester was about
gymnastics. I did not know gymnastics was used to prepare German youth for
battle. I always thought of gymnastics as a sport, not a way for people of a
country to build strong and powerful military members. I liked learning about
gymnastics because I enjoy playing volleyball and saw how the similarities of
discipline in the sport could be used to build a military. I liked learning about the
political parties of Germany. It is very interesting to know that Germany has a
female Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Women are still struggling to receive power
in the government, but they are improving. This is similar to the United
States. A difference between the United States and Germany is the support of
homosexual couples. In Germany, since 2001, two people of the same sex can have
a civil partnership. My favorite topic this semester was learning about the
current youth in Germany through the movie Berlin Calling. I had never listened
to techno music much before, but I appreciated the music in the movie. Ickarus was a
character that was relatable and that had ambitions like many young aspiring
people but just got lost on the way to his success. One thing I did not know
about Germany is that they had individual states. While researching Bavaria and
learning about other states, I was surprised that many people in the states do
not belong to a particular religion. Even though many people do not belong to a
particular religion, they like to practice their German heritage through food
and beer. I enjoyed learning about Bavaria and the amount of inventions and
industries in this state. Adidas and Pumas shoes originated from this state and
so did BMW and Audi. The only recommendation I have to improving this class
would be to put a time limit on presentations. At times the group
presentations got a little long, but other than that it was a great experience!
