Dr. Philip Sweet

Professor of German
Email: psweet@radford.edu
Phone: (540) 831-5489
Office: Hemphill Hall 4305

BA, University of Richmond
MA and PhD, University of Michigan
Additional study: Freie Universität Berlin, Universität Freiburg, Ohio State University

As part of our school’s outreach in international communication, I teach beginning French, all levels of German, and Germanic Sagas and Myths in English, Cross Cultural Studies 110.

Our foreign language courses provide students with an opportunity to either get a good start in acquiring proficiency or, with upper-level study and especially with a study abroad experience, to become proficient in that language and culture.  Learning about the other cultures goes hand-in-hand with developing proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Thanks to our language lab in Hemphill Hall 4013, our French and German students are able to practice conversations with our native-speaker conversation partners who also give speaking tests.

Germanic Sagas and Myths focuses, besides on commentary, on students retelling in class the mostly medieval myths and sagas we read. The class explores the historical, cultural and religious context of the sagas and myths.  There are many opportunities for comparisons with more contemporary culture and art forms. Pictures will be shown to illustrate mythology in early Nordic and Germanic artifacts and in later art - deities, heroes, associated symbols and adventures. Excerpts of films and operas based on Germanic myths are also viewed in class.

I also advise students seeking a Minor in German Studies. For this minor students complete 18 semester hours in German with at least one course on the 300 or 400 level. The students choose 9 hours from each of the following two REAL letter groups:

E: CCST 110 (required), GRMN 210, GRMN 300, GRMN 304;    

L: GRMN 100, GRMN 200, GRMN 301, GRMN 302.