What do you love about teaching?

Harsch: I love working with students as we analyze history books, documents, and data, constructing a foundation of historical knowledge and evaluating interpretations of complex events such as World War I, World War II, and the Holocaust.

Brockmann: I love being connected to young people and their energy, and I love learning from them. I love communicating my own love of literature, film, history, and language to them, and I really enjoy watching students grow and learn.

What one piece of advice would you give your students?

Harsch: I would advise students to read, read, read – investigative studies of any topic or theme; philosophy, economics, sociology and history about every time and place; fiction from every cultural tradition and of all styles and genres.

Brockmann: Don’t forget to have fun. And remember that hard work and fun are not always contradictory. I think often you can learn the most when you’re having fun, and that’s also often when you’re able to get the most done. We’re dealing with a tough topic in this course, but that makes looking for positive and for healing aspects even more important.