Showcase of the Faculty

„Language is the most efficient means of human communication and a vehicle for thought. We speak our native language effortlessly, and as young children, learn a second language to become functionally indistinguishable from native speakers. Conversely, as adults, we invest great efforts in learning a second language, and in most cases do not speak it as native speakers do. These limitations have important consequences for us as individuals and as members of a language community. The field of second language acquisition studies the linguistic mechanisms underlying nonnative language processing. My research focuses on the structure of the multilingual mental lexicon and the properties of storage and retrieval of nonnative words from memory.“

Prof. Dr. Kira Gor (Maryland, USA) was a visiting professor in the winter semester 2014/15 for "The Multilingual Lexicon”, a chair funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

“I am very happy to be welcomed at the University of Potsdam as a visiting researcher. I will come to Potsdam because I consider it very important for my research project and my work as a literary scholar to seek direct contact to the researchers at the Department of Romance Studies.”

Prof. Dr. Gerson Roberto Neumann (Porto Alegre, Brazil) has been a visiting Humboldt fellow at the Department of Romance Studies since August 2014.

"Globalization has become part of the 'lifestyles' of people in academia, and so my presence here at the University of Potsdam is to mainly teach and conduct some research on various aspects of language, and also to interact with like-minded people for a better comprehension of issues that are of mutual interest. I am presently enjoying myself in the Institute of English and American Studies with its warm and welcoming staff and students. Collaborations have been excellent and I hope they will continue even when I am back at my parent University, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology."

Dr. Charles Ofosu Marfo (Kumasi, Ghana) was a visiting professor for one year, teaching and researching at the Department of English and American Studies.

"The School of Jewish Theology at the University of Potsdam is unique in the annals of German Jewry. First suggested as a general idea in 1836, the school was inaugurated in November 2012 here at Potsdam. In my capacity as visiting professor of Jewish law I have the distinct honor to highlight how Judaism's legal system has functioned over the past two millennia. A major aim of my teaching is to demonstrate how the humanistic-ethical values of Judaism are brought to life through Jewish rituals linked to the life cycle (e.g., birth, marriage, death) and the celebration of Jewish festivals. My hope is that my students will gradually come to appreciate how the inner religious, spiritual, and psychological dynamics embedded in the beliefs and practices of Judaism as a civilization have contributed to the search for meaning of human life. I am indeed fortunate to discover that all of my students (both Jews and non-Jews) are very eager to learn."

Rabbi Harvey Meirovich (Jerusalem, Israel) was a visiting professor at the Halakha chair at the Department of Jewish Theology and taught in Potsdam in the summer semesters 2014 and 2015.