Rock my Worlds of English

#058: Caritas vincit omnia! Volunteering FAQ with Melanie Fleischhacker

Go, Volunteers! - Oh, wait... we're not in Tennessee and this isn't American football. Today we learn about the wonderful world of volunteering from Melanie Fleischhacker, representing Caritas Kärnten and working for the project Refugium which is funded by the FFG [https://projekte.ffg.at/projekt/5148113⁠]. If you've never considered being a voluteer, maybe now it's time for a rethink--there may be ECTS involved (Civic Engagement 815.113 [https://campus.aau.at/studium/course/127617⁠] & 815.112 [https://campus.aau.at/studium/course/127615]). What's great about volunteering is sharing whatever you have with those who can most benefit. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Melanie at melanie.fleischhacker@caritas-kaernten.at [melanie.fleischhacker@caritas-kaernten.at].  Check out "Civic Engagement - Studium mit gesellschaftlicher Wirkung [https://www.aau.at/aspire/angebote/scol/civic-engagement-experiental-learning/⁠]" and the Refugium project [https://www.caritas-kaernten.at/spenden-helfen/regionalcaritas/refugium/] for more information.  Contact us at ⁠rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at⁠ [rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at⁠] to share ideas, volunteer for an interview, or offer an embroidery workshop for Blake.  Blake Shedd, host Tamara Urach, host Melanie Fleischhacker, guest

#057: Abu-nch about Abu - A profile of an Erasmus+ trainee

Excuse the silly pun in the title... but we just had so much fun recording today's episode with Abu Huraira, who tells us all ab(o)u(t) his academic career starting in Pakistan, continuing in Germany (Leipzig), and most recently in Lake-town (mandatory LotR reference). After applying for an Erasmus+ traineeship [https://www.aau.at/en/international/study-abroad/erasmus/⁠], Abu make his second trip to Lake-town for a stint as an Erasmus+ trainee at the Department of English at the University of Klagenfurt (aka University of Esgaroth). Here he's had the opportunity to expand his knowledge and skills while working on projects highlighting the work done at the department. If you find his motivational gems inspiring, imagine what other treasures can be found in the halls of Erebor (aka the English Department).  Contact us at ⁠rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at⁠ [⁠rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at⁠] to share ideas, volunteer for an interview, or plan a trip to Pakistan with us. Blake Shedd, host Tamara Urach, host Abu Huraira, guest

#056: One podcast does not a summer make

Football or soccer? The never-ending debate on whether British English or American English should have primacy---in actuality, it won't matter because Austria is going to win the World Cup! That being said, happy summer everyone! Oh wait, we're supposed to type something else here. Hmmm, we also talk about some of the fun things that have gone on recently in the department and some great academic opportunities that lie ahead, or as Galadriel says, we talked about "things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet come to pass." Enjoy the show and enjoy the summer even more--we'll keep you informed with a few episodes here and there before term starts.  Contact us at ⁠rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at [rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at]⁠ to share ideas, volunteer for an interview, or tell us what SPF lotion you like to use! Check out the following: BICLCE11 [https://www.aau.at/en/english/conferences/biclce11/], VGC [https://videogamecultures.org/], Canada Day [https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/canada-day/about.html], and Independence Day (US) [https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalmall4th/history-of-independence-day.htm].  Tamara Urach, host Blake Shedd, host

#055: You say goodbye, we say hello! A tête-à-tête with Sarah

Today's episode finds us paranoid, hopeful, and delusional (our newest definition for PhD!) with Sarah Faber, who joined the department for the summer term as a senior lecturer. We talk about how Sarah got started in academia and how game studies have expanded her academic profile along with the study of the fantastic (fantastic, absolutely fantastic!). We close out the episode with some great book recommendations--we're going to wait until Sarah's book is finished though--tune in to hear more about her. Contact us at ⁠rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at [⁠mailto:rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at]⁠ to share ideas, volunteer for an interview, or proffe(sso)r another way to define Ph.D. Book recommendations: * Emily Wilde - Compendium of Lost Tales * Katy Brent - How to Kill Men and Get Away With It * Sarah Faber & Kerstin-Anja Münderlein - Rethinking Gothic Transgressions of Gender and Sexuality Blake Shedd, host Tamara Urach, host Dr. Sarah Faber, guest Addendum: Sarah's Mum’s Crumb Cake (Streuselkuchen) For the dough: 130 g butter 80 g sugar 250 g flour 1 tsp baking powder 6 tbsp water Fruit of your choice For the crumble topping: 50 g butter 50 g sugar 100 g flour Instructions Prepare the dough: Cream together the sugar and butter. Stir in the flour and baking powder. Add the water gradually until the dough reaches a workable consistency. Prepare the pan: Transfer the dough to a greased round cake pan, springform pan, or a similar baking dish. You can also line the pan with parchment paper. Add the fruit: Spread your chosen fruit evenly over the dough. Make the crumble topping: Mix the butter, sugar, and flour together. At first it may seem like the mixture won’t come together—this is normal. Keep mixing. If necessary, add a very small amount of water (about 1 tablespoon). Bake: Bake at 175°C (350°F) for about 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Variation --> For a crisp apple crumb cake, use the same mixture as the crumble topping for the base instead of making a separate dough.

#054: Installation complete, press start to play Game Studies and Engineering - with René and Felix

We're not playing games today--this podcast means business! Well, actually we do play games...we have clearly leveled up at the University of Klagenfurt ever since the Game Studies and Engineering (GSE) Master programme was introduced. In today's episode we talk a little bit with two colleagues, René Schallegger from the Department of English (who has respawned yet again) and Felix Schnitz from the Department of Information Technology, who sheds some light on what it means to study games and what you need to do to start. Founded together with Mathias Lux almost 10 years ago, the first version of GSE dropped in 2017 and is now in high demand throughout Austria and the world! Its interdisciplinarity offers students insights into Game Studies from both ludology as well as narratology. Bonus: Tune in to find out what Canada has to do with game studies! Check out the GSE webpage [https://www.aau.at/en/studien/master-game-studies-and-engineering/] as well as the (upcoming) conference programme on the VGC webpage [https://videogamecultures.org/]! Although those events already took place in 2026, check out the HaruCon Klagenfurt [https://harucon.at/], the Button Festival in Graz [https://www.buttonfestival.at/], and the Level Up in Salzburg [https://www.levelup-salzburg.at/]! Contact us at ⁠rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at [rockmyworldsofenglish@aau.at]⁠ to share ideas, volunteer for an interview, or let us know if you have found the missing hyphen in Game Studies and Engineering. Tamara Urach, host Dr. René Schallegger, guest Dr. Felix Schniz, guest