March Program Meeting

The topic for our March meeting is Intercultural Awareness and Communication

Our speaker is
Professor Dr. Gertrud Kalb-Krause
Hochschule München
(University of Applied Sciences)

Gertrud Kalb-Krause teaches business languages and intercultural communication classes in the business faculty and thus prepares students for their international careers. She will talk to us about differences between cultures, how to deal with them, and the challenges of diversity in a global world.

Gertrud studied English and French language and literature and worked at the University of Manchester in the U.K. before working at various German Universities. She has published numerous articles; among them are articles on the American writer Joyce Carol Oates, but also on the American political system.

Don’t miss the opportunity to boost your intercultural skills and come and join us for this stimulating and enlightening evening.

When: March 16 at 18:30

March Book Club

After reading The Happiness Project in February, we thought we would explore the other end of the spectrum with Bright Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking is Undermining America by Barbara Eherenreich. She really is not grumpy, but she has an interesting take on the whole movement of "The Secret" and being only cheerful and upbeat. She even proposes that this, on a national level, brought us to an irrational optimism which might have even been a root cause of the financial crisis. Should be a very interesting book and discussion.

When: Monday, 07.March at 18:30.

Here is the line up for the next 2 months:
April: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
May: We pick our books for the next season!

February Program Meeting (change of speakers)

One of Munich's experts on subculture and the underground cultural scene, Patrick Gruban, talks about "How We Turned a Department Store into a Temporary Cultural Space," referring to one of many sub-culture events he has helped organize over the last 10 years in Munich.

Patrick Gruban's professional work is in the field of conceiving and developing internet applications. There, his main focus is on social media and online communities. But he is equally involved in non-mainstream cultural projects and will point out to you sides and sites of Munich which you will like to get to know.

Further information can be found at www.gruban.de

February Book Club

This month we are reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. She had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," Gretchen realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project. In this lively and compelling account of that year, she chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier.

Are you ready to start your Happiness Project? Come join us for the February Book Club on Monday, 07.Feb at 18:30.

Prospective club members are welcome - for more information, please e-mail aaupw@yahoo.de