Drawing on the work of D. Victor Fleming (Gone with the Wind), Maurice Binder (James Bond), Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde), Alfred Hitchcock  (Vertigo), and other film masterminds, Dr. Matthis Kepser, Professor of German  Didactics in German Language and Literature, the University of Bremen, Germany will discuss Incredible Credits: What Students Can Learn about Movies from the Main Title Sequences. Dr. Kepser shows how with small pieces of film you can develop competencies for understanding intricate topics and issues in film and cinema art, including exploration of copyright, generic conventions, our expectations of production, and role of music — all of which excite curiosity about great movies and great directors. He presents classroom activities for teachers to engage their students in incredible credits – their functions, aesthetics, and relevance to the wider world of film.
Dr. Matthis Kepser teaches German and new media in teaching German at the University of Bremen. He studied German, Psychology, and Philosophy toward the Magisterium at the Universities of Munich, Eichstatt and Tubingen. He served for five years as a school teacher (German, computer science) and also as school psychologist. In 1998 Dr. Kepser was Professor at the College of Education in Freiburg. Since 2004 he has served as Professor of Didactics in the Department of German Language and Literature, focusing on new media. In addition to journal articles, his recent books are Facher der Schulischen Filmbildung (Munich: kopaed, 2010); Literaturdidaktik Deutsch: Ein Einfuhrung (co-authored with Ulf Abraham, Berlin: E. Schmidt, 2009); Medienkritic im Deutschunterricht (Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, 2004); and Massenmedium Computer: Ein Handbuch fur Theorie und Praxis des Deutschunterrichts (Bad Krozingen: D-Punkt-Verlag, 1999).
Joining Professor Kepser is Dr. Petra Anders, Assistant Professor, Department of German Literature and Education, University of Bremen, Germany, from which institution she earned her Ph.D., summa cum laude, in 2009. Her recent book is Poetry Slam im Deutschunterricht (Schneider Verlag, 2010)). She has done research and written on poetry and movies in schools, cinematic interpretation, adolescent novels, hip-hop movies, and the representation of Germany in films. Petra Anders is also a Visiting Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University.
This guest talk is sponsored by the Film and Education Research Academy (FERA) and Gottesman Libraries.
Persons wishing to attend may rsvp the library by Friday, October 21.
Where: 104b Russell