These quotations are taken from anonymous course evaluations. The original and complete PDFs (including quantified feedback) can be provided upon request.
GRMN0400 Spring 24 Intermediate German II
“Thinking about the overall course and its content, what has been particularly effective about Christian Obst's approach to teaching in the course?”
"Herr Obst is able to get everyone to participate and feel comfortable conversing in german even when they make mistakes. He has an extensive knowledge of both German and language in general. His German is clear and not too fast, and he gives corrections to speaking errors without judgement."
"Very understanding of the difficulties of a language course. He was able to generate interesting discussions and he got the class to become closer as a result."
"Herr Obst engages with every single student in the class, creating a very comfortable environment in which a student can practice their German."
“Did Christian Obst foster an environment where all students - including yourself - were treated with respect and their questions and perspectives welcomed? How did the instructor accomplish this?”
"Herr Obst accomplished this by being friendly and encouraging students of varying German levels to participate. He is kind towards all students and has created an enjoyable and engaging environment. He also was gentle while giving feedback or corrections."
"Everyone was encouraged to speak about their lives, opinions, and thoughts in our discussions."
GRMN0500F Fall 23 Twentieth-Century German Culture: The 20th Century in Movement(s). (Role: Designer and Instructor)
“Thinking about the overall course and its content, what has been particularly effective about Christian Obst's approach to teaching in the course?”
“Herr Obst was always very prepared, you can tell that he puts a lot of effort into his lesson plans. He is also a very engaging instructor and easy to understand when speaking in German."
"Professor Obst always fostered an open and safe space to talk. Because this is a language class, the inhibition of being afraid to say things wrong can usually deter students from speaking all together. Professor Obst always encouraged us to speak, to make mistakes, and supported our learning."
"Herr Obst had a great mix of lecture and discussion, giving us a chance to practice both speaking and listening in German."
"He did a great job explaining words we didn't understand in German first, because just saying them in English immediately doesn't stick as well. I also appreciated the quizlets, and discussing with classmates was an effective way to learn and practice German because I was a lot less comfortable speaking to everyone than just one or two people."
"Herr Obst was very enthusiastic about teaching the content, and had an enthusiasm that was often contagious for the students in the class. He would always talk with us before class, asking about our weekends. Class never felt like a lecture, often times more like a dialogue or a discussion. Not knowing the answer was never a problem in class, and Herr Obst was always patient and compassionate with his explanations about course content. Additionally, he was always available to meet outside of class, and gave really valuable feedback in a very timely manner."
“Did Christian Obst foster an environment where all students - including yourself - were treated with respect and their questions and perspectives welcomed? How did the instructor accomplish this?”
" Absolutely. Herr Obst was always compassionate, and took the time to explain things, no matter the question. He was very attune to people's learning styles and needs, which I feel made the class very tight-knit. "Keine Ahnung" was never a wrong answer during class, and I think the presence and positivity Herr Obst consistently brought to class made it easily one of my favorite courses at Brown."
“What would you like to say about this course to a student who is considering taking it in the future?”
“I would recommend it a lot! This is a course that really opened my eyes to the experience of reading German texts in their original language and I think it is an invaluable experience. Professor Obst made the course fun and exciting by contextualizing the materials in their importance for the present."
"I would highly recommend GRMN 500 to advance your language skills, or progress towards a German concentration. The course is definitely involved, with three significant papers and a presentation, but with close readings in class of texts we read, peer reviews, and of course office hours, such tasks are certainly more than achievable. I really enjoyed the class and had a lot of fun getting to know both my classmates and the professor."
GRMN0300 Fall 23 Intermediate German I (Instructor)
“Thinking about the overall course and its content, what has been particularly effective about Christian Obst's approach to teaching in the course?”
“I really appreciated the immersive German environment in class. I thought the texts we read helped understand German language as well as culture, which was great. I appreciated being able to ask for help and receiving it.”
“Did Christian Obst foster an environment where all students - including yourself - were treated with respect and their questions and perspectives welcomed? How did the instructor accomplish this?”
"Yes, he was very respectful and positive. We could always ask for help and wrong answers were never frowned upon."
What would you like to say about this course to a student who is considering taking it in the future?
“What would you like to say about this course to a student who is considering taking it in the future?”
“I would definitely recommend it to either develop German language skills or refresh prior knowledge."
GRMN1441L Spring 23 S01 German Drama (1776-1941) (Role: Designer and Instructor)
“Thinking about the overall course and its content, what has been particularly effective about Christian Obst's approach to teaching in the course?”
“His fostering of conversation between students- so as to practise our german, and to share our ideas, challenging eachother as we did.”
“It became clear that Herr Obst is extremely knowledgeable about these texts, and he was able to provide important context that made discussions that much more interesting. Over the course of the semester, as we read more and more texts Herr Obst made poignant comparisons.
“The interactiveness of this class was perfect for skill-building. Herr Obst constantly tested our understanding of the material and our discussions were often more like conversations, challenging me immensely but also allowing me to greatly improve throughout the semester. Herr Obst's lectures on the text were always fascinating and thought-provoking, and the in-class activities were helpful - especially, I thought, the mapping of allusions in IchundIch and of themes and colors in Baal. I enjoyed receiving feedback on response papers and essays, which was constructive but also encouraging. The open-endedness of discussions was neat; one student's comment might lead us onto a fascinating thought-path from which we all learned. It was truly a collaborative class.”
“Did Christian Obst foster an environment where all students - including yourself - were treated with respect and their questions and perspectives welcomed? How did the instructor accomplish this?”
"Yes, I was never made to feel embarrassed for making mistakes; Herr Obst kindly and patiently taught us the correct ways to say things. He also considered our ideas and viewpoints and commented on them thoughtfully, while sharing his own perspective, not as the authoritative position, but as a part of a dialogue. He invited debate and critical questions, and the class lent itself to that very well."
“What would you like to say about this course to a student who is considering taking it in the future?”
“Make sure you are prepared to put in the work for this class. The small group format forces you to be engaged, and the readings are difficult and take time. But there is no better way to improve your German. And you will always be grateful for the opportunity to experience those great works of German theater which are assembled so thoughtfully for this class.”
GRMN0500F Fall 22 Twentieth-Century German Culture: Technology and/or Culture. (Role: Instructor)
“Thinking about the overall course and its content, what has been particularly effective about Christian Obst's approach to teaching in the course?”
“I loved the discussion based approach of this course. It was very helpful to have these discussions in class, as I was able to better understand the difficult readings and their content through discussing with others.”
“Herr Obst was a kind and generous instructor. He had well-structured classes and ensured that everyone participated. I really appreciated learning from a native German speaker.”
“Having a prof who is a native speaker was great Overall he effectively led discussions and his clarifications on difficult readings were very helpful.”
“He was always very prepared -- one of the most dedicated professors I've had. This made the class dynamic and fun. He also seemed interested in getting people to learn, instead of just "going through the slides." Asking students what vocabulary they're missing, and giving enough time for us to answer questions and think about them, was particularly helpful.”
“Discussion in small groups was very effective. This gave all students the opportunity to practice speaking in German and analyzing the texts we read, which would be difficult if we anwered all questions as a class. Professor Obst created good discussion and understanding questions that guided our class while still allowing students space to express our own ideas.”
“Challenged us to think and put our complex thoughts into words.”
“The writing exercises helped us to synthesize our previous learning into direct outputs.”
“The method of teaching us to improve spoken German was excellent - we were allowed to communicate however we could, bad grammar and all, substituting english words when we didn't know the german ones - and Herr Obst would repeat our phrases as though politely listening, but with the correct grammar, so that we learned the proper way to say it without feeling embarrassed about our mistakes. It was also an excellent idea to meet in small groups before full class discussions, so that we had a chance to formulate German phrases - which could otherwise be very difficult, if asked complex questions cold, under pressure, in a silent room. I loved the selection of texts for this class and the variety of ways we were asked to engage with them.”
“Did Christian Obst foster an environment where all students - including yourself - were treated with respect and their questions and perspectives welcomed? How did the instructor accomplish this?”
“Yes. Professor Obst encouraged all students to speak and always received our ideas generously, even when we made grammatical errors or misunderstood the text. Working together in small groups so we could practice explaining our thoughts was very helpful for this. The class laughed together often, and this also helped create a welcoming class environment without pressure.”
“Yes. He was very respectful and made sure that we were all heard.”
“Yes, he was always open and responsive to different creative opinions during our classroom discussion.”
“What would you like to say about this course to a student who is considering taking it in the future?”
“Take this course! You will learn more about the German language, and also about artistic theories and movements that will be informative for your other studies and life.”
“Herr Obst is a great professor!”
“It is a very hard course in terms of its ambitious reading contents, but it will elevate your understanding of German while challenging you from multiple dimensions.”
“You cannot coast through this class. It demands your full attention and participation. It will be difficult and often humbling, but if you put in the effort you'll be rewarded. I improved my German enormously while taking this class, and I wasn't the only one.”
GRMN1320T Spring 22 S01 Race in the Age of Reason (Role: TA)
“Thinking about the overall course and its content, what has been particularly effective about Christian Obst's approach to teaching in the course?”
“Christian knows the material well and led fascinating discussions.”
“Professor Obst gave a few lectures, which usually focused more on historical context than Prof. Sng's lectures and also picked up different topics or broader themes in the text, which was interesting as a change of pace. Prof. Obst also offered useful insights in class, especially relating to German language and culture, as well as connections to other German texts and thinkers we weren't able to read in the scope of the course, which enhanced our ability to analyze materials.”
“I really enjoyed the way he contextualized the writings we were examining. I felt his lectures on the subject were poignant, informative, and effective in preparing me for future reading and for the discussion. I also felt he handled the discussions very well. There were times that I knew what I was thinking but didn't know how to articulate it. Christian helped me to formulate these thoughts in a way that was comprehensible, and I really appreciate this.”
GRMN1441H Fall 21 S01 Goethe Amongst Others (Role: Primary Instructor, Designer)
“Thinking about the overall course and its content, what has been particularly effective about Christian Obst's approach to teaching in the course?”
“Herr Obst's facilitation of small group discussions, while still guiding the general direction/theme of the class session, was engaging, flexible, and effective in creating an active classroom.”
“Herr Obst was a very enthusiastic and patient teacher who strongly emphasized student participation but was also able to give helpful explanations of concepts or grammar. He gave thorough feedback on our writing assignments and responded quickly to questions outside of class, including requests for texts. He also provided a variety of readings that were entertaining and stylistically unique, which made a course on classic literature more dynamic than I for one had expected. The class time was structured around small- and whole-group discussions, which was helpful for learning and also more engaging.”
“Herr Obst alway brought questions that were engaging and interesting and helped me learn.”
“Did Christian Obst foster an environment where all students - including yourself - were treated with respect and their questions and perspectives welcomed? How did the instructor accomplish this?”
“Yes. He was always open to talk after class, checked his email frequently, and was very accomodating to emergencies.”
“Yes, he encouraged all students to speak or read aloud and welcomed questions about the readings.”
“Yes, he was always kind and seemed to care about the students.”
“What would you like to say about this course to a student who is considering taking it in the future?”
“I really enjoyed the class and Herr Obst's teaching, academic perspectives, and classroom environment. Highly recommend this or any other courses taught by him.”
“I would definitely recommend this course to my friend since the instructor is great and I loved the readings.”
“This is a great introduction to Goethe especially and other 19th-century German texts. The readings are very varied but are all accessible to students who take classes at the 1000-level.”
COLT1210 Fall 19 S03 Introduction to the Theory of Literature (Role: TA)
“What has been particularly effective about Christian Obst's approach to teaching in this course?”
“Christian encouraged participation and guided discussion effectively. I found his questions and explanations really helpful.”
“He has been very available outside of class, and provided very thoughtful and detailed feedback about assignments.”
“During Christian's guest lecture, his emphasis on paratext and historical situation of a difficult theorist really helped me understand the concepts.”
“He knew the material very well, and explained it clearly.”