Germany

Professor Thompson (English) and Ms. Neu-Sokol (German)

During the fall semester 2002, Bates students, including entering first-year students, can experience the excitement of living and learning in Berlin, the new capital of a reunited Germany. Berlin's 3.5 million people represent a great diversity of culture, and the benefits and values of a semester there are tremendous: the opportunity to learn German; to attend concerts, the theater, and museums; to relax in its cafes, nightclubs, and parks—in sum, an opportunity to experience a truly European lifestyle. No prior knowledge of German is required.

The program begins in late August with a three-week intensive study of German at a language institute in Tübingen, a famous medieval university city. In mid-September the program moves to Berlin, where students live with a family while they continue their language instruction and begin two courses taught by Bates faculty. During the October break and in December students have the opportunity for independent travel in Europe.

Courses

BSAG 001. Germany in Crisis: The Literature of the Twentieth Century. Two world wars and the Shoah have left their tragic imprint on the twentieth century throughout the entire world, but specifically on Germany. Through literature, film, and art, students explore historical, intellectual, artistic, and political developments within German culture—their origins, complexities, and contradictions. Students examine German imperial society and Expressionism; the effects of World War I; the women's movement; "outsiders" in German-speaking countries; German-Jewish relations; the divided nation; and memory and remembrance in contemporary Germany. Open to first-year students. G. Neu-Sokol.

BSAG 002. The Writer and the City. Berlin has always held a special fascination for writers, who have been drawn to many aspects of its history and culture: the glory years of the early twentieth century when it was highly regarded as the most international and sophisticated city in Europe; the devastations of war; the years of the Wall, which served as a physical barrier and a powerful metaphor of cultural division; and the new and reunified city after 1989. Through novels, essays, and poetry, students explore the literal face of Berlin, both past and present, but also search below the surface for the multiple meanings embodied in this great and ever-changing city. Open to first-year students. A. Thompson.

BSAG 003. Intensive German I. Open to first-year students. Staff.

BSAG 004. Intensive German II. Open to first-year students. Staff.