2009-10 Lectures and Events:

Fall 09 German Film Series:

Thursday, October 22nd, 7:00 p.m.
TD-W 2600
"Der Tunnel"

Based on a true story. After his escape to West Berlin, Harry Melchior is determined to rescue his sister and her family. The idea of the tunnel is born, but the project doesn't run smoothly. They struggle with the massive logistics of the task, betrayal from friends, and the East German police. (Directed by Roland S. Richter, 2001, 150 min)

Thursday, November 5th, 7:00 p.m.
TD-W 2600
"Das Versprechen" (The Promise)

East Berlin 1961, shortly after the erection of the Wall. Konrad, Sophie and 3 friends plan a daring escape to West Germany. The attempt is successful for all, but Konrad who remains behind. For the next 28 years, Konrad and Sophie attempt to meet in spite of the Iron Curtain. (Directed by Margarethe von Trotta, 1995, 115 min)

Thursday, November 19th, 7:00 p.m.
TD-W 2600
"Goodbye Lenin!"

East Germany, 1989: A young man protests against the regime. His mother suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma as she watches police arrest him. The mother awakens some months later when the GDR no longer exists. Since she has to avoid any excitement, her son tries to set up the GDR for her in their flat. (Directed by Wolfgang Becker, 2003, 121 min)

Thursday, November 12th, 8:00 p.m., free
Campbell Hall
An Evening with Anita Diamant
Anita Diamant’s bestselling first novel The Red Tent, based on the Biblical story of Dinah, conjures “a compelling narrator that has timeless resonance” (Christian Science Monitor). Her latest book, Day After Night, returns to the land of The Red Tent to tell stories of women who survived the Holocaust and await the future in a British internment camp in a story of loss, hope and courage set before the founding of the state of Israel. An award-winning journalist and the author of six nonfiction guides to contemporary Jewish life, Diamant will discuss her recent work.

November 18th-20th, HSSB McCune Conference Room (6th floor)
UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center Conference on World Literature:

"Foundational Texts: Translation, Circulation, Diffusion and Adaptation"
Organized by Dominique Jullien, Aboubakr Chraibi & Paulo Lemos Horta. Keynote speakers: David Damrosch (Harvard) and Sandra Bermann (Princeton).