Prof Undine Weber
Staatsexamen I (Bonn), PhD (Rhodes)
Research Interests:
While teaching has been her main focus in her job for a long time, she increased her research output in recent years (to some extent stimulated by her interaction with her postgraduates), including a book publication in 2007 (as first co-editor). While her research often revolves around 20th century German literature, her more current publications engage with academic aspects of teaching and learning. She is also very interested in the theory and practice of translation.
Selected publications:
Books:
2007 Weber, Undine S.; Wozniak, Janina (eds.). Kultur- und Literaturvermittlung. Festschrift für Werner Krueger. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS. 186pp. ISBN 978-1-920109-25-7.
Selected refereed articles and book chapters:
2020 Weber, Undine S. “’a notalive undead too-nearishness’? Ein Kommentar zu E.E. Cummings in Wolfgang Koeppens Das Treibhaus.“ In: Acta Germanica, German Studies in Africa. Volume 48. Ed. Cilliers van den Berg. Stellenbosch/ Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Pp. 151-160.
2020 Ortner, Gwyndolen J. & Weber, Undine S. ”Student approaches and attitudes towards writing in German as a foreign language, using corpus linguistic tools.” In: Journal for Language Teaching, vol. 53/2. Pp. 27-51.
2018 Ortner, Gwyndolen J. & Weber, Undine S. “Using corpora to inform teaching practice in German Studies.” In: Per Linguam, vol.34, no.2 (2018). Pp. 69-83.
2017 Weber, Undine S.; Domingo, Rebecca S.C.; Fourie, Regine B. “Beyond Language: German Studies in a South African University Context.” In: Kaschula, Russell H./ Maseko, Pamela/ Wolff, H. Ekkehard (eds.) 2017. In: Multilingualism and Intercultural Communication: A South African Perspective. Johannesburg: Wits University Press. Pp. 323-335.
2015 Weber, Undine S. “Can Studying a Foreign Language Build or Improve (Inter-)Cultural Competence? A Preliminary Case Study of Students’ Subjective Impressions.” In: Witte, Arnd/ Harden, Theo (eds.) 2015. Foreign Language Learning as Intercultural Experience: The Subjective Dimension.Oxford: Peter Lang. Pp. 231-242.
2012 Weber, Undine S. „Entzauberung der Moderne. Wolfgang Koeppen, Charles Baudelaire und Thomas Mann.“ In: Jahrbuch für internationale Germanistik. Magie und Sprache. Ed. Carlotta von Maltzan. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Vol. 108. Pp. 273-288.
2011 Weber, Undine S., Domingo, Rebecca S.C. “Adding another colour to the rainbow: An attempt at imparting German cultural competence in a South African university context.” In: Intercultural Competence. Concepts, Challenges, Evaluations. In: Harden, Theo/ Witte, Arnd (eds.) 2011. Oxford: Peter Lang. Pp. 177-191.
2009 Weber, Undine S.; Williams, Alison E. “The ‘Golden Fifties’ and the ‘Tide of Immorality’: Relations between African-American GIs in West Germany of the 1950s and white women as provided by Wolfgang Koeppen’s Tauben im Gras.” In: Acta Academica. Journal of the human sciences and interdisciplinary fields.Ed. D.J. van den Berg. Vol. 41/1. Pp.99-125. http://0reference.sabinet.co.za.wam.seals.ac.za/webx/access/electronicjournals/academ/academ v41 ni a4.pdf
Teaching:
Undine Weber teaches German language, literatures and cultures as well as German-English and English-German translation at all levels.
She was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Senior Distinguished Teaching Award for 2013.
Undine Weber successfully took part in the first Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) Fellowship Programme (2014-2016) in South Africa (run by the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa, HELTASA) and became one of the first 50 TAU Fellows in South Africa in 2016, working to “contribute towards the enhancement of teaching and learning in higher education in South Africa by supporting the development of a cadre of academics across institutions and disciplines as scholars, leaders and mentors in their fields” as well as “to enhance the status and stature of teaching and popularise the understanding of teaching excellence in varied institutional and disciplinary settings” (see: http://heltasa.org.za/projects/teaching-advancement-university-tau-fellowships-programme/ ).
She has been continuously striving to improve the quality of her teaching by attending Academic Development/ CHERTL-run workshops (course design, student evaluations, using the internet for teaching purposes, outcomes-based education; tutor development), staff development courses organised by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) in South Africa as well as in Germany since 2000 (training of teachers, teaching cultural studies), and since 2000 she has been an accredited examiner for the Goethe Institute, the German equivalent of the British Council or the Alliance Française, attending regular training/ refresher courses. With this internationally recognised qualification, she is able to train her students to sit the Goethe Institute’s examinations and examine them at Rhodes.
Last Modified: Mon, 12 Sep 2022 12:56:57 SAST