Dr. Matthew Lange is an Associate Professor of German. He has taught at UW-Whitewater since 2005.
What is your educational background?
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages (German) from The Citadel: The Military College of South Carolina. I then pursued a Master’s degree in German Studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. At that time I studied for a year in Erlangen, Bavaria. After that I came to Madison for my PhD program. I lived in Berlin for a year working while on my dissertation.
What courses do you teach here?
I teach Beginning German, Advanced German, German Conversation, German Phonetics, German Civilization, and two survey courses of German literature. Up to this year I also taught Intermediate German, and at one point I even taught Business German.
What are your research interests?
My dissertation research was on antisemitism in Germany since the middle of the 19th century. I looked at the figure of the Jew in German literature and culture as a metaphor for capitalism, and my book entitled Antisemitic Elements in the Critique of Capitalism in German Culture, 1850-1933, examined how nationalists attacked laissez-faire capitalism in German culture by labeling it Jewish. Then I branched out a little bit into the history of the department store in Germany, since it was pioneered by Jewish entrepreneurs. Most recently, I am beginning to transition into German-American history.
How long have you been teaching?
I was a Teaching Assistant at CU-Boulder and UW-Madison since 1994. In 2005 I started working full-time as an instructor in Whitewater.
What inspired you to become a professor?
I appreciate what my former teachers and professors have done to educate me and, in their own way, bring me closer to Enlightenment – as Kant outlined in 1784 – whether I realized it at the time or not. I am committed to the idea that the purpose of the university is to “improve the human condition” through a “search for truth”, even if the current regime attempted to purge such lofty sentiments from state statutes. Sapere aude!
What do you like most about teaching?
I love getting students to have that a-ha moment when they learn something new. Particularly in the earlier levels when students have issues with language learning in general, and they come to the realization that perhaps it’s not as hard as they thought, or when they finally master a skill that they thought initially they wouldn’t be able to master. After that they can take control of their own learning.
What is your teaching philosophy?
I guess it depends on the way people look at what a teacher is. Some people look at a teacher just basically professing knowledge while students absorb that knowledge, but I look at it as a process in which I help students learn by developing skills. I can’t make students learn, but I can open doors for them and make them aware of opportunities that education provides.
What do you like most about UW-Whitewater?
I love my colleagues. They’re very supportive, wonderful people. It makes it easy to come to work every day to become inspired by them and share ideas with them.
What are some of your interests outside of teaching?
I love to travel, I love to sail, which of course I can only get done here in the summer. I love spending time with my family, and just going on hikes outdoors.
What is your favorite movie?
My favorite movie would be Wings of Desire. It’s a beautiful film, set in a divided Berlin during the 1980s, and the protagonists are angels. One angel falls in love with a mortal and chooses to give up his eternal existence to share an ephemeral bond.
Is there anything that your students might be surprised to learn about you?
They might be surprise that I went to a military college, participated in ROTC, and became US Army Airborne qualified. I was also on the boxing team in my senior year and won the silver medal in our regional tournament. A few years ago I ran with the bulls in Pamplona – not that I am encouraging them to do the same.
Who inspires you and why?
There are a lot of people who inspire me for different reasons. One is my former professor and mentor at The Citadel, because he started me on my current trajectory and still serves as a model academic. He convinced me to go to graduate school, told me about opportunities, and guided me throughout my career. I try to do the same thing with my students – try to convince them to do things that they may not have considered to begin with and help them, where I can, along the way to achieve great things.