Autoreninformation

This textbook was developed by Sandra Alfers. Originally from Oldenburg, Germany, Sandra received her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2003. She is Professor of German in the Department of Modern & Classical Languages at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, where she teaches German on all levels of the curriculum. In January 2013, the American Association of Teachers of German named the German program at WWU a "National Center of Excellence," thus making it the only public, four-year undergraduate program with this distinction in the United States.

Sandra received several teaching awards, among them the "Inspirational Faculty Member Award" at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH (2003) and the "Faculty Member of the Year Award" at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA (2008).

A past recipient of a prestigious TrainDaF leadership scholarship from the German government and the American Association of Teachers of German, Sandra is actively involved in promoting the study of German in Washington State and beyond. As a Trainer for the Goethe-Institute San Francisco, Germany’s premier cultural institution, she regularly leads workshops for German teachers (K-12). In 2011, Sandra developed an iPhone/iPod/iPad app for learning German: "German Review: For Beginners."

Her research focuses on Holocaust literature, in particular German-language poetry from Theresienstadt. Her book weiter schreiben. Leben und Lyrik der Else Dormitzer appeared in December 2015, and her English-language version Traces of Memory. The Life and Work of Else Dormitzer is forthcoming in May 2024.

A few words of appreciation: I would like to express my gratitude to Western Washington University and to Eric Kean for providing such an incredible platform, and to Cornelius Partsch for offering insightful comments and feedback on individual book chapters. I would also like to thank Bernhard Kohlmeier for recognizing and supporting my recent ventures into creating and using online books and apps in- and outside of the classroom. Meinen herzlichen Dank!