...why 10 or so otherwise quite normal-looking academics were processing across campus this afternoon playing the Branle des chevaux (on trombones, drums and tambourines), led by a student holding aloft a stack of newly printed dissertations?
No, me neither.
Friday, December 14, 2007
I don't suppose anyone knows...
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9 Comments:
Don't the Germans do some weird dissertation victory parade?
A tradition that ought to be spread all over the world, for when one has successfully completed?
That is a fantastic idea.
I do remember dancing a branle around a fountain back in my grad school days. We were accompanied by a virginal, which we lugged into an elevator and down five flights to said fountain.
The beauty of the thing is that no one seemed to think it was all that odd.
the more pressing question is why aren't they doing that on my campus??
I guess they could have been German. But I don't think so. Usually I can spot a German a mile away :)
But yeah, it was pretty cool. The weird thing was, it looked like most of a dept, not just the student and some friends. There were older people, middle-aged people, and an elderly man. They all had that distinctive "professor" look.
that is the coolest thing ever!
well, I'm German and I have never ever seen a dissertation celebrated this or, come to think of it, any other way... we didn't even have a graduation ceremony, just picked up my master degree at the admin office. rather anti-climactic :)
Me too, kb, for my Magister, but I know for PhDs at least some universities in Germany have various traditions involving a procession or climbing some statue or similar. But it's something the students do with their friends, not like what I saw yesterday!
Styleygeek, after the Magister I swore I would never set foot into a (German) university again, so I guess I will never find out what they do at PhD level :) (however, the two people doing a PhD I did know back then didn't report any such going ons). Well, now I'm in Oz doing a PhD - go figure.
Geeka, how do you manage to make use of music in your presentations???
Talk to me! (You know you want to!)