Welcome to the "Land of Inventors" Virtual Extension:
An Online Supplement to the Goethe Institut Exhibit at MSU throughout March 2019.
#MSUErfinderland - Link to Exhibit here.
This virtual extension was created and curated by MSU German 450 students in the spring of 2019 as a supplement to the Goethe Institut's "Erfinderland"/"Land of Inventors" exhibit. The extension seeks to address additional innovative events or entities that have informed the relationship between technology, culture, and language. German 450 is titled: "Technology & the German Cultural Imagination" and looks at the various ways technology & notions of 'invention' have shaped schools of thought (Enlightenment), literary genres (Gothic Fairy Tale), as well as architectural or scientific discovery (Bauhaus, Nuclear Energy). We encourage you to browse around and get in touch with us with any questions about our virtual extension. Danke!
-German 450
(Max, Zach, Tyler, Carson, Wendy, Sarah, Henry, Pete)
-German 450
(Max, Zach, Tyler, Carson, Wendy, Sarah, Henry, Pete)
Konrad Zuse - Working Smarter, Not HarderKonrad Zuse was likely one of the most under-appreciated figures of the early days of computing. Not only did he work on some of the first digital computers; he also created the world’s first high-level programming language, named Plankalkül (German for "planned calculus"). Zuse developed the language out of frustration with the monotonous, repetitive calculations that he and his fellow civil engineers wasted time on every day. The highly mathematical language was designed shortly after Zuse’s Z4 computer (see physical Goethe Institut exhibit) and allowed him to greatly reduce the time necessary to perform calculations common to civil engineering. Prior to Plankalkül's conception, computers were programmed using assembly code, a primitive language comprised of simple commands and memory register references. Plankalkül introduced such foundational functionalities as for loops and conditional branches, creating code that was much more concise and readable than its predecessor. Although Plankalkül set the precedent for most high-level programming languages today, it was denied proper credit in both the scientific publications of the time and in the later languages that drew inspiration from it.
More details on Konrad Zuse's Plankalkül here: https://www.britannica.com/technology/computer/History-of-computing#ref723715 |
Goethe’s Color Theory
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Gutenberg Printing Press:
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Bauhaus. Early Beginnings of Graphic DesignBau·haus | ˈbau̇-ˌhau̇s (house of architecture or construction)
One of the first of its kind, the Bauhaus was built in 1919 in Weimar, and later moved to Dessau in 1925. Bauhaus itself derived from the combination of German words bauen (to build) and the German word Haus (house). The creation of the Bauhaus was a revolutionary spark that ignited the idea of blending art with mechanical and industrial design. Founded and designed by Walter Gropius, Bauhaus was a school known for its unique approach which encouraged artists and craftsmen to come together to learn from one another as opposed to having one educator per subject. It was the first time that creativity had merged with the world of manufacturing. Students of the Bauhaus aimed to implement a sense of practicality within fine art by creating designs that were functional, yet aesthetically appealing. For example, grids are a major key design element which emerged and gained popularity from this movement and are still widely used today among graphic design. Bauhaus was deemed controversial, partly because of the eclecticism given the time period, and the instillment of ideas which reflected the relationship between culture and politics. Due to its uniqueness and controversial approach, Bauhaus was shut down by the Nazi regime in 1933; however, the leaders of the school, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, escaped to the U.S. to continue teaching concepts of design and architecture at Harvard and the Illinois Institute of Technology. More information on the Bauhaus below. https://www.theartstory.org/movement-bauhaus-history-and-concepts.htm#beginnings_header |
Albert Einstein.
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Innovation in Business: The Krupp Family
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Vroom. The Internal Combustion Engine and the one and only Benz.
Karl Benz, born in 1844, was the creator of the first gasoline automobile, the Benz-patented Motorwagen which was first unveiled in 1886. The invention of this first internal combustion motor vehicle paved the way for mass production of future gas powered automobiles, but also created new infrastructure and roadways for personal travel purposes, which at the time was a radical concept that allowed everyday citizens to discover new horizons in ways that had never been possible before. Indeed, Benz's invention of the internal combustion engine changed transportation forever on a worldwide scale from trains to planes and even lawn mowers.
For more information about Benz:
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/automotive/karl-benz
For more information about Benz:
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/automotive/karl-benz
Alexander von Humboldt: The Tunnel Vision & Discovery of Nature
As Alexander von Humboldt once wrote to his friend and mentor Goethe, "nature must be experienced through feeling." Perhaps this explains the emotional and deep relationship von Humboldt had with nature. His detailed descriptions of flora, fauna, geology, climate and cultures have gone on to inspire much of our world today. Von Humboldt was a naturalist, explorer, inventor, geographer, and more who gave the world our concept of nature itself. Born on September 14, 1769 into a wealthy Prussian family, he was given the best education of his time, with tutors that instilled in him a “love of truth, liberty and knowledge” (Wulf 13). A true child of the Enlightenment, he studied a variety of subjects and strove to learn more about the world around him. During his extensive travels, von Humboldt discovered the concept of climate zones, charted new lands, and invented apparatuses like breathing masks and lamps to improve miner’s working condition. In addition to being known for his scientific tunnel vision in his day, von Humboldt is still celebrated for his endless number of contributions to the blossoming genre of the natural sciences that captivated post-Enlightenment thinkers.