The CUT is known for holding a variety of traditional events every once in a while: Reading Nights, cultural club get-togethers (such as the English Club or the Club de Hispanohablantes), enrolment celebrations (called “Feierliche Immatrikulation”) at the beginning of every winter semester – and an event primarily dedicated to those of us who might already be very eager for knowledge, but do not have reached the age to study yet – our children. The “Kinder-Uni” event is held once a month, introducing an interesting scientific topic to children from Chemnitz and elsewhere. They also receive a “junior student ID card” and a “diploma” which will be signed by the lecturer at the end. One of this program's lectures that was a real success took place on November 21st, 2010, when Prof. Dr. Cecile Sandten, literature scholar and head of the EAS, introduced the kids (in German, however) to the life and achievements of Great Britain's most important poet and author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The lecture was well-attended, and almost the entire “Audimax” (the biggest lecture hall on campus) in the Orangerie building was filled with Shakespeare-interested kids and their parents or grandparents. The lecture was entitled, “'Sein oder Nichtsein, das ist hier die Frage' … William Shakespeare für Kinder”.
A short welcome speech by one of the junior students' assistants started the event. Then Prof. Sandten, who dressed herself “Shakespeare-style” in a pink jacket and a hat with a long blue feather, presented how life, society and fashion was in Britain in the 16th century, briefly taking a look at Queen Elizabeth and Sir Francis Drake, who turned out to be a “royal pirate”. After that, it was shown to the kids how theatre play was organized during the Elizabethan era, which was a time when there still were no electricity and no TV around, so people had to visit a theatre play for entertainment. The junior students were told, for example, that a play always took place in the daytime, and that only males were allowed to play characters, even the female roles. Coming up next was some brief information about Shakespeare himself, followed by an insight into the London Globe Theatre, where many of his plays are and have been performed. Sandten also pointed out that although Shakespeare was already successful during his lifetime and presented a lot of different topics in his plays (love, hate, death, ghosts etc.), he had to write about what was “allowed”. Had he written something considered unrightful (such as criticizing the King or Queen), he would have been beheaded. Nevertheless, he introduced the Fool figure in some of his plays (King Lear), who was the only character allowed to tell the truth. Other famous plays that were presented are Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo and Juliet, accompanied by children's paintings of important scenes. Then, Prof. Sandten raised the question, “Why are we still reading Shakespeare today?” The children came up with answers like, “we still like his stories”, “to find out about how life was at the time he was alive”, or “the topics of his plays are still important”. When she was asking questions, often many children raised their hands, indicating their interest and knowledge about Shakespeare.
Shortly before the end, three students performed selected scenes of some Shakespearean plays, for example, Hamlet encountering his father's ghost, or the craftsmen talking about which roles to play in A Midsummer Night's Dream. These performances received great applause, as well as Prof. Sandten did some minutes later herself, when she finished the lecture. She then signed the “diplomas” for the junior students.
As already mentioned, Prof. Sandten's lecture was a success for the “Kinder-Uni” project, as it gained interest from the media and positive feedback from children and parents. Besides this very report, others were published in the newspapers Chemnitzer Morgenpost and Freie Presse, as well as on the main page of the university website.
JS, Nov 21, 2010 (slightly abbreviated from the original, Apr 9, 2011)
