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Memorial for Professor Don Steinmetz to be held February 4

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steinmetzDon Steinmetz, a professor in the Languages and Cross-cultural Studies department, will be remembered by the Augsburg community during a memorial service that will be held February 4 at 4 p.m. in Foss Chapel.

Professor Steinmetz, who taught at Augsburg for 41 years, died of an apparent heart attack on Dec. 28. He was 71. His son, Erik Steinmetz, is a member of the faculty in Augsburg’s Computer Science department.

Don Steinmetz joined the faculty in 1968. He served as chair of the department and taught courses in German and Spanish. He also taught Chinese and linguistics within the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities consortium. Continue reading “Memorial for Professor Don Steinmetz to be held February 4” →

Looking for Languages?

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During registration periods, students searching online for language courses often get frustrated. Why? You won’t find “Spanish” under the “Spanish” department or even under “Languages.” You have to search in “Modern Languages.”

But now the search is easier. All of Augsburg’s language courses can be found under the heading of “Languages and Cross-Cultural Studies.” The department formerly known as Modern Languages has been renamed, reflecting a new curricular emphasis on context and culture rather than simply the grammatical aspect of language education.

Omitting culture education from a language curriculum “shuts down interest in people who don’t think of themselves as linguists and who want to learn about the culture,” said Frankie Shackelford, the department’s chair. “Most students choose language for International Relations majors…Why not re-contextualize the study of languages so [culture] is from day one incorporated?” Continue reading “Looking for Languages?” →