Strollology or Promenadology is the science of strolling (German: Spaziergangswissenschaft) and becoming aware of the conditions and perception of the environment. Greek Philosopher Aristotle already used walking exercises while teaching his students.
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A Mood Boosting Stroll: Walking and Talking with Filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff (German 3)
Getting the body moving is a natural mood booster. (According to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry, just one or two brisk walks of 15 minutes a day can decrease the chance of becoming depressed by 25 per cent.) No one knows the benefits of walking better than iconic German Language director and Oscar winner Volker Schlöndorff. The passionate runner moved students and faculty in many ways during his campus visit in the spring term of 2023. The German Studies community was not only emotionally moved by his movie work and his talks in our classes, but also physically on indoor and outdoor walk and talks. In the pictures, Schlöndorff (84) moved Heidi Denzel's German 3 class up and down the stairs and around campus during Dartmouth German Studies' first official strollology experiment. Thank you so much for all your time, generosity and wisdom, Volker Schlöndorff! Keep it going and keep the camera running. |
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Into the Woods: Reconnecting with Nature Through Flower Therapy (German 14)
Scientific researchers in behavioral studies at Rutgers University have proven that flowers provide a simple way to improve emotional health – that the presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner. On a sunny morning in the spring term of 2023, students in Nick Ostrau's class German 14: Into the Woods: The Brothers Grimm and the European Folklore Tradition held an outdoor session on ecocriticist readings of fairy tales in the tranquil forest setting behind Dartmouth Hall. After a brief breathing exercise and a discussion of climate change in the fairytale forest and environmentalist concerns in KHM 62: Queen Bee, the class participants reached into a bag of wildflower butterfly and bee pollinator mix and planted each a handful of seeds in the surrounding area. When two weeks later a student checked on the plants, the saplings had started to sprout. Students who spend their sophomore summer on campus were encouraged to return to the woods and connect with the colorful blooms while studying or taking a respite from the bustle of campus life. |
Student oral presentation slide (German 2 in winter term 2023) of Cinay Dilibal'26 depicting her portable medical invention to diagnose eye disease.
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Oral Student Presentations on Mental and Physical Health (German 2)
Nick Ostrau's German 2: Beginning language and culture class concludes with 10 to 15-minute oral student presentations based on the term vocabulary and grammatical structures and the topic of health, illness, and injuries from the course textbook. Each student may choose to present on one health condition of their choice. A list with topic suggestions is initially given (i.e. the flu, depression, conjunctivitis, bipolar disorder, diabetes, autism etc.) but students are encouraged to explore their own interests and ideas. The student presentors are asked to give an overview of their health topic (causes, symptoms, treatment, outlook, prevention, and quality of life impact). Presentations include a total of three images, photos, and diagrams to visualize their topic. Each presenter is further required to give a brief example for a person or person(s) who had or currently have this condition, either a public figure (i.e.: German soccer player Sebastian Deisler and his depression) or, if they wish, a person they know personally after asking permission from that individual or by redacting sensitive personal information. The presentation concludes with a Q & A session between the student presenter and their learning class fellows. Most importantly, this exercise gives students the opportunity to talk about physical or mental health concerns that others or they themselves have faced or still face, and to educate others about that experience. Students frequently choose health topics that have or had a direct or indirect impact on their own lives. A few cases in point: One student talked about their dyslexia and educated their fellow learners on the challenges they have faced since elementary school in regards to academic advancement. Using an artifact, the student invited the class to read through a paragraph with scrambled letters to help the audience understand how dyslexia affects learning. Another student presented on Attention Deficit Disorder and their personal decision on when and how much medication they needed. To illustrate, they shared two photo artifacts from their childhood, the first image showing themselves before and the second image after having taken medication. A third student talked about their grandparent's progressing Alzheimer's Disease and its emotional affect on their entire family, and a fourth about a close family member's progressive bone disease and the barriers to participating in public life due to limited wheelchair accessibility in their hometown. In course evaluations, students frequently report that the oral presentations provide them with a valuable emotional-psychological outlet: the task creates a space that allows them to share their experience with issues of illness, mental health, and neurodiversity with others in a positive classroom climate. Many also acknowledged the social benefits of educating their peers through demystifying illness, sharing the impact of various health conditions on peoples' personal and professional lives, and removing stigma connected to (mental) health concerns. |