Virtual US Tour 2022: Pronouns like xier

Background of the Tour

Digital Fineliner-Drawing, black on white with a little color. Framed title: Virtual US Lecture Tour. Illi with a pink tank-top, short hair and grey rimmed glasses stands in front of a laptop. In the back a map of the USA. Below the hashtag #PronomenWieXier. My virtual US lecture tour started in April 2022, in German and/or English depending on the audience. I am invited to talk about #PronomenWieXier in different institutions of higher education in the US. I will speak about #PronomenWieXier, German as a highly gendered languagen and languange change.

Hanover College – 26.10.2022

Today I am visiting Hanover College in Indiana directly at Ohio River. I was invited by the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures to talk about #PronomenWieXier, comics und queer identity (Event). My virtual Tour continues and I have been sketching again. Virtual urban sketchen, our tech test yesterday and our preliminary talks make the virtual visit feel more like actually travelling to the college and I am looking forward very much to the students.

Digital fineliner drawing, black on white, colored with grey and green. Illi's avatar with white pants and pinkt tanktop puts their hands on their hips in fron t of a two storey brick building with white columns and bushes and a gras lawn in front. Text: 4. Station, Virtual US Lecture Tour #PronomenWieXier, Hanover College am Ohio River in Indiana, 90 Auto-Minuten südwestlich von Cincinnati. Digital fineliner drawing, black on white, colored with grey and green. Bird's eye view of the Hanover College campus, in the distance a big river. Speech bubble in German: Und das nächste Mal, vor Ort, schaue ich mir die Wasserfälle von Clifty Falls an, ein Stück den Ohio hoch.

Pittsburgh University – 30.9.2022

My US Lecture Tour continues, today I follow the invitation of the German Department of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to talk about #PronomenWieXier. Their Cathedral of Learning is the second highest university building in the world. I will be virtually on the 15th floor. Thank you to the support by “Impuls Deutsch Grant for Amplifying Voices in German Studies” from Klett World Languages.

Digital fineliner drawing, black on white with little coloring. Illi's avatar with white pants and pinkt tanktop puts their head back to look a the high ceiling that looks like a church building. A blue flag at the wall reads PITT. In the speech bubble in German: Wow, das Universitätsgebäude ist ein Wolkenkratzer in gotischem Stil. Digital fineliner drawing, black on white with little coloring. Large sky scraper with different building parts with windows and intricately decorated balustrades. At the side the branches of a tree. Text: 3. Station, Virtual US Lecture Tour, University of Pittsburgh, Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania #PronomenWieXier

Max Kade German America Center IUPUI – 16.4.2022

I was a gues at Indiana University in Indianapolis. Max Kade German-American Center invited to speak in a workshop for teachers and professors of German as a foreign language about genderneutral pronouns like xier. I am touched to hear how much further the discussion on genderneutral grammar is in the United states. Because they/them pronouns are widely used, students will requests a translation into German.

Digital fineliner sketch in black and grey on white, with some coloring. The avatar of Illi wearing white pants and a pink tanktop is looking at a huge modern bulding infront of them with some leafless trees in front. Text: 2. Station, Virtual US Lecture Tour #PronomenWieXier, Max Kade German American Center, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IndianaExcerpt from the workshop flyer with a drawn portrait of Illi Anna Heger. Text: IUPUI Max Kade German-American Center, School of Liberal Arts, Workshop with Illi Anna Heer, April 16 2022, 10a-12p Zoom Free. Heger is a comics author and the creator of German language gender neutral xier pronouns system. This workshop is for DaF instructors who want to learn lmore about using gender-neutral pronouns in the classroom. It will be conducted in German and English.

Wellesley College – 6.4.2022

Today I am a guest speakter at Wellesley College near Boston. I talked with two groups of students about #PronomenWieXier, about the complexities of German grammar and language change. I visited Wellesley campus virtually, but got a great tour anyways with precious little videos created by the students.

Digital fineliner drawing, black on white with little coloring. Illi's avatar with white pants and pinkt tanktop points to the bell tower on campus of Wellesley College. Text: 1. Station Virtual US Lecture Tour - Wellesley College - 42 Auto-Minuten westlich von Boston, MA.Digital fineliner drawing, black on white with little coloring. Illi's avatar with white pants and pinkt tanktop squats in front of a white winged wood duck with a red head and black and white plumage. Somebody calls out in German: Das ist Stanley, die beliebteste Ente auf dem Wellesley Campus.