Language and Culture with Dr. J

Ruth Van Reken – About Third Culture Kids and Growing Up Among Worlds

An intimate chat with the woman who has paved the road for Third Culture Kid research and has influenced our views about multiculturalism and global mobility over the past 4 decades. It is with immense pleasure that I bring you this very personal interview that allows you to get to know the person behind the admired researcher and writer.

cultureum.com      cultureumdrj

Just a quick note – this is the last episode I am bringing out this year. I am taking a brief hiatus to gather creative energy, to write two books that I have been meaning to bring out, and to rethink and restructure the podcast a bit. But, I will be back with new episodes sometime in the spring or summer of 2025.

Thank you for listening,
Dr. J

Zwischen Sprache und Musik

Die Geigerin, Orchesterleiterin, Autorin und Pädagogin Gesine Mielitz spricht mit mir über die Zusammenhänge zwischen Sprache und Musik, über das Spektrum, in dem sich Musik und Sprache bewegen, über die interessante Übersetzung, die beim Wechsel zwischen verschiedenen Kunstformen stattfindet, über die Auswirkung der Nationalkultur auf den Stil von Autoren und Musikern, sowie über die Doppelrolle des kreativen Schöpfers und Pädagogen aller, die als Künstler sowohl in der Musik als auch in der Literatur tätig sind. Ein sehr interessantes Interview, das es wagt, schwierige Fragen zu stellen, dessen Antworten jedoch für die zukünftige Entwicklung von Sprache und Musik sehr wichtig sind.

cultureum.com       @cultureumdrj

From Shakespeare to Fernando Arrabal – an Interview with Felicia Londré

This is an interview with one of the leading experts on Shakespeare, Felicia Londré, who also happens to be a personal friend of Fernando Arrabal. In the interview, we tackle questions such as: Why do Shakespeare's plays still appeal to audiences today? Who actually wrote the plays? How has theater developed since Shakespeare? What are some of the problems with contemporary productions? What is the future of theater? At the end of the interview, Felicia tells us the story of how she met and got to know Fernando Arrabal, and how an initial regard for each other’s work developed into a life-long friendship.

cultureum.com @cultureumdrj

To the listeners, a quick reminder, this is one of the last episodes that I will bring out before my break. After this episode, I will bring you one more episode in German, with a brilliant musician and teacher, and then one more in English with an expert on Third Culture Kids. Afterwards, I will take a brief hiatus to concentrate on a few other projects, but I will be back with new episodes in the spring or summer of 2025. As always, if you’d like to keep up with my activities, please visit my website: culturem.com or my instagram page @cultureumdrj.

Study Tips and Language Advice from Dr. J

In this episode, I let you in on some of my favorite language learning exercises and talk to you about the most important considerations you should make in your effort to learn or maintain a language. The advice I provide in this episode can also be applied to improving speaking skills in your mother tongue and to public speaking in general.

cultureum.com       @cultureumdrj

Just a quick note:
In the weeks to come, I will bring you 4 more episodes and will then take a little break from podcasting to write two books that have been swirling around in my head for quite some time now. But I will be back with more episodes in the spring or at the latest in the summer of 2025.

Belonging Beyond Borders with Megan Norton

Do you know what the difference is between Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and Cross Cultural Kids (CCKs)? How about the difference between flux culture and core culture, or ethnocentric and ethno-relevant views? Do you know where to draw the line between acting as a cultural ambassador and being guilty of cultural appropriation? Do you know what these terms refer to: passport culture, code switching, heart homes, shared identity, global citizenship, or cultural markers? Did you know that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives have of late added a B to the acronym DEIB – to also address issues of belonging? Well, all this is the topic of this episode, in which we “unpack belonging” and discuss the pressing cultural issues of today’s world.

Megan’s book: Megan Norton. Belonging Beyond Borders: How Adult Third Culture Kids Can Cultivate a Sense of Belonging.

cultureum.com       @cultureumdrj

Mit Thomas Ostendorf über die Hamburg Hurricanes

Der deutsche Defensivspieler Thomas Ostendorf spricht mit mir über seine Fußballmannschaft und erzählt über die Initiativen des Vereins zur Förderung von Multikulturalität und Inklusion sowie über die Bemühungen des Vereins, für Gerechtigkeit und Gleichheit in der Welt zu kämpfen.

hamburg-hurricanes.com     @hamburghurricanes

cultureum.com     @cultureumdrj

The Hamburg Hurricanes – an Internationally Flavored Football Club

Do you know these gentlemen in pink who play football every Sunday in Hamburg’s Central Park? Would you like to meet them? In this episode, three Hurricane players, George Balakrishna, Thomas Ostendorf, and Oussama Bensat, talk to us about the international character of this awesome grassroots football club, about their own cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and about the teams’ creative initiatives to make the world just a little better.

hamburg-hurricanes.com     @hamburghurricanes

cultureum.com     @cultureumdrj

 

Paris – ville en préparation, ville en action – journal d’une étudiante sur les Jeux Olympiques à Paris

Juliette Blanquart, étudiante en journalisme et médias, partage avec nous son journal intime qu'elle a tenu pendant un an pour documenter la progression des travaux et des émotions autour des Jeux Olympiques 2024 à Paris. Une vue de derrière les coulisses des sportifs, des organisateurs, et du public !

Dear Diary - Juliette Blanquart's One-Year Journal about the Atmosphere in Paris around the 2024 Olympic Games

Get an intimate impression of how the city of Paris changed and reacted to the Olympic Games. This is an honest and emotional account of the work and excitement that went into hosting the 2024 Olympics, as seen from the point of view of a student of journalism who served as a volunteer at the actual event. Juliette has also written 6 further articles about the various sport disciplines. Thank you, Juliette for your contributions to CULTUREM throughout this year!
cultureum.com       @cultureumdrj

Espresso and Bretzel – Matteo Fusella’s Love–Hate Relationship with Italy and Germany

An episode that ends with Matteo Fusella declaring, “When it comes to culture, I am Italian and German. When it comes to patriotism, I am European,” this  episode takes you on Matteo’s train journey from Italy to Germany and back, informing you along the way about the German - Italian connection that is everywhere to find. Matteo talks about his train rides and walks through various cities in order to inform us in an intimate and sometimes humorous way about his love-hate relationship with Italy and Germany. As with his previous article and episode, entitled “The Road to Self-Discovery and Peace – Matteo Fusella’s Camino de Santiago,” he always accompanies his personal observations and experiences with historical facts and interesting anecdotes. His articles in English, German, and Italian can be found on the cultureum.com website. Within this episode, he reads first in English, then from minute 23:14 in German, and finally, from minute 40:40 in Italian.  And now, here is Matteo.

cultureum.com @cultureumdrj