Fred Sternhagen

Communication Studies-Theatre Art Department

Concordia College

Office: Olin Center 339

 Phone: 218-299-3731
sternhag@cord.edu

• Jolene Beckman-Sternhagen
Jolene works for the West Fargo Public Schools where she is an elementary talented and gifted teacher.
• Nicholas Gene Sternhagen Nick's homepage
Nick is a first year student at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.  He is a "double degree" student pursuing a B.A. in the regular college and a B.M. from the Oberlin Conservatory.   In the general college, he is an East Asian Studies major; in the Conservatory, he is a jazz performance major with the bass as his principal instument.

• Rachel Lorraine Sternhagen Rachel's homepage
Rachel is a junior at Moorhead High.   Some of the things she really likes are singing, chocolate, and her Grandma Beckman.  She sings in a Moorhead High choir, plays cello in the school orchestra, is a co-captain for Moorhead High Debate, and an active member of the Moorhead High speech team.

• Leo
Leo was eight years old old on March 17th. He is a pure bred Shih-Tzu. We named him "Leo" because we've read that the name Shih-Tzu refers to "little lion" since the breed has such a bold manner. Look on Rachel's page for a picture (admittedly rather old) of her and Leo.

Courses I Regularly Teach: 

• Discourse 109: Oral Communication
This is our introduction to public speaking course. Our department has made a commitment that the intro course will NOT be relugated only to the younger faculty.

 
• COM 201:  introduction to Communication
The course is about how "to think like a communication scholar."   That objective is a sub-set of the college's  "B Area Distribution" requirement.  The "B Area," roughly speaking, deals with the social sciences (a categorization I'm not too fond of.)

 
• COM 203: Argumentation
I'm sort of a fanatic about the importance of argumentation. There is very little doubt in my mind that proficiency in argumentation is of immense utility to a person. You'll write better, make decisions better, manage interpersonal conflict better....

 
• Education 394: Methods in Speech
I spent six very important years of my life as a high school teacher at West Des Moines Dowling High School. That experience as a secondary teacher gave me a lot of enthusiasm for this course. There are a lot of things about high school teaching that I still miss.

Concordia Forensics

Concordia Forensics is a co-curricular academic program of the Concordia Speech Communication-Theatre Art Department. Students of any and all experience levels are welcome in the program. Then program enters students in intercollegiate speech and debate tournaments and sponsors a variety of events and activities.
• Our Competitive Program
• Information about the Concordia Debate Institute
• W.E. Lillo Invitational Tournament for high school students
• "Talk of the Tundra" Tournament for college students
• Minnesota Zeta chapter of Pi Kappa Delta
more information about the Concordia Forensics Program

The noble beaver 

• the beaver is very family oriented, lots of family time in the beaver lodge
• the beaver is a very industrious animal
• the beaver is a small group animal, not a loner but definitely not a "herd animal"
• the beaver is essentially an incrementalist

here's a nice beaver picture

here's another one...

This is a nice overview article about beavers.

Beavers, of course, are noted for their beaver ponds.

The Greatful Dead

Although I am far from a hardcore deadhead (I only saw them live three times), it is true that I've had a long time interest.

My favorite album is Wake of the Flood (historical reasons).

For the past couple of years I've been trying to learn more about the blues.   John Lee Hooker is a particular favorite of mine.  It is a disappointment to me that I wasn't able to see him perform before he died.    Here's a link to the Rosebud agency  John Lee Hooker homepage.

If you are interested in learning more about blues music you could try these sites

Rhythm and Blues Music Primer
 Best albums list
Another best albums list

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