Lisa Davey is Chair of the Bath German Society and also an independent translator. She will give a short talk on translation before sharing short extracts from German texts. The audience will be invited to discuss the ways they would approach the task of translating the texts into English.
Dr Davies will begin with a brief historical overview of exile and migrant writing in German, and a few remarks on the problems with categorising ‘exile literature’ and ‘migrant writing’. He will then talk, crossing historical periods, about a pair of exiles to Germany (Adalbert von Chamisso and Saša Stanišić), a pair of German exiles...
An interactive workshop looking at issues in translating in general and taking German texts as examples. Lisa Davey is Chair of the Bath German Society and also an independent translator. She will give a short talk on translation before sharing short extracts from German texts. The audience will be invited to discuss the ways they...
Immanuel Kant was one of the most, if not the most, profound philosophical thinkers in the history of Western Philosophy. In fact, much of the history of philosophy today is divided into pre- and post-Kantian. Such was the legacy Kant bestowed on the world of philosophy that the origins of both the Analytical and Continental...
Live & Virtual: London, New York, Paris... and Bath: German Literary Exiles since 1790 Dr Davies will begin with a brief historical overview of exile and migrant writing in German, and a few remarks on the problems with categorising ‘exile literature’ and ‘migrant writing’. He will then talk, crossing historical periods, about a pair of...
Neujahr by Juli Zeh - a discussion in German led by Judy Spencer Als Henning schließlich vӧllig erschӧpft den Pass erreicht, trifft ihn die Erkenntnis wie ein Schlag: er war als Kind schon einmal hier…….ein Familienurlaub auf Lanzarote, der zum Albtraum wird. Juli Zeh wurde für ihr Werk vielfach ausgezeichnet und ihre Romane sind in...
Städtische Entwicklung in Braunschweig, einer Partnerstadt von Bath – ein Vortrag auf Deutsch von Ulrich Markurth, Oberbürgermeister von Braunschweig Nach einer kurzen Einführung in die Geschichte der Partnerschaft zwischen den beiden Städten wird Oberbürgermeister Markurth einen Überblick über städtische Entwicklung in Braunschweig geben. Q&A in English or German Please note this talk is ONLINE only...
Please note: this is a live event to be held at Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution (16 Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2HN). Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is a towering figure in German culture and literature, and was also a considerable scientist. He considered his theory of colour Zur Farbenlehre (1810) to be one of...
Join us and sing along with some German carols, followed by a quiz and light refreshments! Music will be provided. This event is live at Queen Square only - please note the early start time of 6pm.
The Alpe-Adria Region includes Slovenia, part of Austria and part of Italy. The speaker, Clemens Hofer, is from Villach in the Carinthian Region of Austria and has family connections in Slovenia. He will talk about the history of the region, co-operation and links within the area and its identity as a region within Central Europe....
This event is live at Queen Square (not online) Two volunteers, neither a professional translator, will present their version of a translation into English of a German article from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The audience will offer a critique of both versions and, if there is time, another German document will be offered for translation...
This talk will be in German Ludwig van Beethoven – ist er tatsächlich der beliebteste Komponist aller Zeit? 2021 hatte er 5 „Schläger“ in den ersten 20 in der Classic-FM Ruhmeshalle errungen. „Unwahrscheinlich!“ hätten seine Zeitgenossen gesagt. Woher kommt also sein Erfolg? Wie hat er seine zahlreichen Problemen, Hindernisse und Nachteile überwunden? Ist sein Geburtsjahr...
After a welcome by The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Bath (Councillor June Player), the Chairs of the Bath Twinning and Friendship Associations will each make a short presentation, setting out the origins of the partnership and a little about the history and attractions of their twin town. They will detail recent activities of their...
The speaker says: This is the story of a story: my grandfather's story started in Austrian Ukraine in 1895, then soldiering at the Russian front in WW1, while my grandmother fled west to Germany. Their German-born daughter was expelled in 1938 with her parents, back to Ukraine. She escaped to England. But her family remained...
The German contribution to the Battle of Waterloo consisted of much more than the Prussians arriving in the nick of time. It is a little-known fact that, without a large contingent of German soldiers under his direct command, Wellington could not have made a stand at Waterloo. The talk will highlight the crucial role Germans...
Bath German Society will be meeting on Thursday 14th July for our annual book discussion, which will be led by Judith Spencer. This year the book is “Daheim” by Judith Hermann, a well-established and highly regarded German author. The book has been a Spiegel bestseller, as well as being nominated for the Preis der Leipziger...
We will be meeting at BRLSI for a parlour game in German to practise our language skills. The game will comprise of questions of current affairs which may be answered from newspapers provided on the night. This will be an interactive exercise to practise our German. The quiz will be accompanied by a selection...
The German Culture & Language Group will be meeting for a discussion in German based on a text with the title My car is my castle. The text will be provided to participants in advance of the evening. The current coalition government faces a dilemma; is a 130 kph speed limit an acceptable restriction on individual freedoms at a time...
Judy Spencer and Alan Pringle of the German Culture & Language Group will give a short presentation to provide the key features of Germany’s party and electoral system. The history of coalition government in Germany will be taken as a springboard for a discussion of any possible benefits to British politics . . . ....
Please join us for a German celebration of Christmas, including our favourite German Weihnachtslieder, a quiz on the themes of the German year 2022 and Christmas in Germany, plus seasonal readings. Glühwein (or soft drinks) and Stollen will be provided. This will be a sociable evening when we will have the chance to speak German....
Lisa Davey will host a live German to English translation event. Two members of the German Group will provide their translation of a passage provided by Lisa. The two participants will defend and explain their strategies to the audience who will discuss the challenges of the text and volunteer their solutions. Lisa Davey has been...
Prior to the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, millions of East Germans went to the streets to protest state repression, monopolisation and censorship. They demanded freedom of opinion and a free, diverse and democratic media. One year later, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) joined the Federal Republic, reuniting Germany. Much...
Starting with participants’ current level of knowledge, Judy Spencer will lead us in an interactive session which should expand our knowledge of the GDR and key literary figures. Come ready to participate! These writers had to negotiate complex and difficult relationships, both personal and political, to be able to appear in print. Although in English,...
Jeremy Key-Pugh will trace the history of the famous Passion Play performed at Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps, describing its evolution over almost 400 years, and will show how it is still developing. He will discuss (in English) the text and the production, and will illustrate his talk with pictures and a little music.
What was it to choose which Germany to flee to as the wall went up? Judy Spencer leads the discussion of the book Die Geschwister by Brigitte Reimann which was published in English for the first time this year, sixty years after it first appeared in German. The novel deals with the choice many East Germans faced...
We will be meeting at BRLSI for a parlour game in German to practise our reading and language skills. Come along for an evening of fun and games, practise your German and make new friends! The interactive, competitive game will comprise of a range of humorous questions to be answered from newspapers provided on the...
This illustrated talk will provide insight into the complex history of the city of Gdańsk, formerly Danzig. From major center of the Hanseatic League to important Prussian port city, the city reached a dramatic turning point in the middle of the twentieth century. Now, after a period of traumatic upheaval, it has become a vibrant,...
Please join us for a German celebration of Christmas, including our favourite German Weihnachtslieder, a short quiz on the themes of the German year 2023 and Christmas in Germany, plus seasonal readings. German carols will be accompanied by a professional pianist. Glühwein (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and soft drinks and Stollen will be provided. This...
Martin Walser, deutscher Roman- und Kurzgeschichtenautor starb im Juli 2023. Wir lesen und sprechen über eine Kurzgeschichte von Walser mit dem Titel „Die Klagen über meine Methoden häufen sich“. Nach einer kurzen Einführung werden wir uns mit einer Reihe von Fragen zur Geschichte befassen, die wir rechtzeitig vor der Veranstaltung bereitstellen werden. Martin Walser, the...
The story of refugees in post-war Germany in 1945. A brief, introductory presentation in German will be followed by a discussion based on the diary entries and letters of a family fleeing the occupation of Silesia by the Soviet Army in early 1945. Learn more about a little-known aspect of Germany’s post-war experience. The aim...
Aus einer bescheidene Familie in Böhmen, hat Carl, Freiherr von Rokitansky in Wien eine hervorragende Karriere als Begründer der 2. Wiener Medizinschule und der Pathologie für ganz Europa errichtet. Als k. u. k. Minister hat er die wissenschaftliche Ausbildung im ganzen Reich befördert. Seine philosophische Schrifte haben den Verstand des Publikums für die Ursache von...
The Lord Mayor of Brunswick, Dr Thorsten Kornblum, will give a presentation about Brunswick - Bath's twinned city in Germany - as a research and science location, which will be followed by a short lecture on internationalisation, given by Professor Angela Ittel, the President of the Technische Universität Braunschweig, which was founded in 1745. Both...
German speakers! How do you know that the copy of The Tin Drum or Steppenwolf tucked away in your bookshelf contains what the writer actually meant to say? You may never have given thought to the subtleties of translation, but Lisa Davey, who teaches the German to English translation MA at the University of Bath,...