German

[For more information about major requirements, see German, Russian, and East Asian Languages and Literature]

The major consists of nine courses at the 200 level or above. Required are German 233, 234, and at least one course from each of the following four groups: 1) 241, 242, 301, 303; 2) 243, 244; 3) 357, 358; 4) 270, 356. In addition, majors must complete at least one of the following: History 226, 227, 229, English 172, 295, Philosophy 241, 273, Music 242, 243, 244. Majors also choose either to a) write a senior thesis or b) pass a series of comprehensive examinations in the second semester of the senior year. Students choosing to write a thesis must register for 457 or 458.

101-102. Fundamentals of German I and II. This course introduces students to the German language and its cultural contexts. By emphasizing communicative skills, students learn to speak, act out real life situations, build vocabulary, and develop their listening comprehension. German 101 is not open to students who have had two or more years of German in secondary school. C. Decker.

201-202. Intermediate German I and II. A continuation of German 101-102, with added emphasis on the development of reading strategies and composition skills. Open to first-year students who enter with at least two years of German. Prerequisite(s): German 102. Open to first-year students. B. Mennel.

233-234. German Composition and Conversation. Topical courses designed to develop linguistic and cultural competency. Through reading and discussing a variety of texts, working with multimedia, and completing weekly writing assignments, students attain greater oral and written proficiency in German while deepening their understanding of the culture of German-speaking countries. Open to first-year students. G. Neu-Sokol.

241. German Literature of the Twentieth Century I. A study of German literature and society from 1890-1933, with emphasis on the aesthetic and sociohistorical underpinnings of Naturalism, Impressionism, Expressionism, and selected works of Mann, Kafka, and Brecht. Prerequisite(s): German 234. C. Decker.

242. German Literature of the Twentieth Century II. A continuation of German 241, focusing on post-World War II literature and emphasizing such authors as Bšll, Brecht, Frisch, DŸrrenmatt, Bachmann, and Wolf. Attention is given to contemporary women writers and poets whose works center on utopian visions and the search for peace. Prerequisite(s): German 234. G. Neu-Sokol.

243. Introduction to German Poetry. A study of poetry in German-speaking countries since 1800. The course focuses on four or five well-known poets, to be chosen from among the following: Hšlderin, Novalis, Mšrike, Heine, Droste-HŸlshoff, Rilke, Trakl, Brecht, Celan, and Bachmann. Attention is also given to the poetry of Lasker-SchŸler, Kolmar, Bobrowski, Lavant, Enzensberger, and Kirsch. Students make oral presentations and write short interpretations. Prerequisite(s): German 234. G. Neu-Sokol.

244. The Development of German Drama. A study of major issues in German dramaturgy from the Enlightenment to the present, explored through texts that dramatize problems relating to marriage. Authors include Lessing, BŸchner, Brecht, Horvˆth, and Kroetz. Prerequisite(s): German 234. C. Decker.

246. Female Figures in German Film. This course traces central female characters in important German films from the Weimar Republic to the present. Students also discuss the significance of individual actresses who symbolize Germany: Marlene Dietrich, Zarah Leander, and Hanna Schygulla. Films include Metropolis, The Blue Angel, The Great Love, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, The Marriage of Maria Braun, and Shirin’s Wedding. Prerequisite(s): German 234. German. B. Mennel.

254. Berlin and Vienna, 1900-1914. From the beginning of the twentieth century to the outbreak of World War I, the capital cities of Berlin and Vienna were home to major political and cultural developments, including diverse modernist movements in art, architecture, literature, and music, as well as the growth of mass party politics. The ascending German Empire and the multi-ethnic Habsburg Empire teetering on the verge of collapse provide the context within which this course examines important texts of fin-de-si�cle modernism, a modernism that continues to exert a profound effect on our lives at the end of the twentieth century. Conducted in English. Not open to students who have received credit for First-Year Seminar 200. Open to first-year students. C. Decker.

255. The Weimar Republic.Germany’s first ill-fated democracy, the era between World War I and Hitler’s rise to power, was characterized by the trauma of World War I, tumultuous party politics, short-lived revolutions, the women’s movement, and the rise of fascism. In this course, students read novels, drama, poetry, cabaret texts, political manifestos, and fliers from the period; watch films; and analyze art. Authors include Bertolt Brecht, Ernst Toller, and Walter Benjamin. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. B. Mennel.

260. Germany and Its Others.This course investigates the mechanisms used to construct German identities that privilege some and negate the “others.” Some of the “others” in Germany have been women, “foreigners,” Jews, lesbians, and gay men. What mechanisms are implemented to make them “other,” and what movements are developing in Germany today that take stock of and value a “multicultural” society? Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. D. Sweet.

270. Living with the Nazi Legacy. A study of contemporary works from Austria, East Germany, and West Germany that articulate the experiences of children of Nazis. Texts, which include autobiographical writings, novels, films, interviews, and essays, are analyzed in terms of their representation of the Nazi past and its continuing impact on the present. Prerequisite(s): German 234. C. Decker.

280. Goethe, Schiller, Heine. Social and intellectual upheaval lashed Germany in the latter part of the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries, a period often called the “Age of Goethe.” This course examines the works of three key writers who reflect the struggles of their age from humanism to revolution, political reaction to the belief in beauty as a way to educate the human race. Class discussions conducted in English; students may read texts either in German or in English translation. Open to first-year students. D. Sweet.

301. The Enlightenment in Germany. The Enlightenment was a formative force of modernity. Its adherents promulgated tolerance and universality, new forms of education, and social utopias. This course is an interdisciplinary investigation of the movements, protagonists, and ideas of the Enlightenment in Germany and includes a postscript to the project of enlightenment at the end of the twentieth century. Readings by Kant and Goethe, Lessing and Mendelssohn, Wieland and Herder. Contemporary writers include Horkheimer, Adorno, and Michel Foucault. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level literature course taught in German. D. Sweet.

303. German Romanticism. Profoundly affected by the French Revolution, Germany’s young generation sought to create a philosophical literature (German Romanticism) to reform human consciousness. To achieve this, they posited new forms for sexuality and gender relations and sought to renew spirituality and consciousness of the supernatural. This course examines key philosophical and literary writings by the early German Romantics, including Friedrich Schlegel, Novalis, Wackenroder, and Tieck. Prerequisite(s): one 200- level literature course taught in German. D. Sweet.

356. Representing Austrian Fascism.Official state documents and popular historical imagination frequently present Austria as the “first victim of Nazi aggression,” thus discounting the active role that Austrians played in the Anschluss and the Third Reich. This course explores the myth of Austria’s victimization through analysis of government documents, literary texts, and documentary films that represent Austrian involvement in and response to the Nazi past. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level German literature course. C. Decker.

357. Austrian Literature. A study of Austrian fiction that emerges from and responds to three important periods in Austrian political and cultural history: the restorative and revolutionary period of the mid-nineteenth century; fin-de-si�cle Vienna and the impending collapse of the Habsburg Empire; and the post-World War II Second Austrian Republic. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level German literature course. C. Decker.

358. Literature of the German Democratic Republic. Reading and discussion of selected prose and poetry of the German Democratic Republic. Topics include the theory of Socialist Realism, the role of the GDR Writers’ Union, GDR authors who emigrated to the West, and the emergence of younger, independent writers. Works by Schneider, Becker, Wolf, Heym, and Wander are among those examined. Recommended background: German 242. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level German literature course. Written permission of the instructor is required. D. Sweet.

360. Independent Study. Independent study of individually selected topics. Periodic conferences and papers are required. Permission of the department is required. Students are limited to one independent study per semester. Staff.

365. Special Topics. Designed for the small seminar group of students who may have particular interests in areas of study that go beyond the regular course offerings. Periodic conferences and papers are required. Permission of the department is required. Staff.

457. 458. Senior Thesis. Research leading to writing of a senior thesis. Open to senior majors, including honors candidates. Students register for German 457 in the fall semester or for German 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both German 457 and 458. Staff.

Short Term Units

s20. Intensive German Language and Culture. This unit introduces students to the German language and its cultural contexts. By emphasizing communicative skills, students learn to speak, act out real life situations, build vocabulary, and develop their listening comprehension. Field trips, films, and guest lectures familiarize students with contemporary German culture. This unit is not open to students who have received credit for German 102. Prerequisite(s): German 101. Open to first-year students. G. Neu-Sokol, D. Sweet.

s23. Screening War. How can a film represent the pain, trauma, and memory of war? How are technological advancements in cinema and war intertwined? This unit offers a historical overview of the relationship between cinema and war technologies. Students discuss films depicting World War I, the Holocaust, the African American experience of World War II, and the Vietnam War. Films include Westfront 1918, Triumph of the Will, Schindler’s List, The Negro Soldier, and Illusions. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. B. Mennel.

s30. German Language in Germany. Intensive work for eight weeks at the Goethe Institute in Germany. This unit is offered at three levels: 1) for students who have had no German; 2) for students who have completed one year of college German; 3) for students who have completed two or more years of college German. Permission of the department is required. Enrollment limited to 4. Staff.

s32. Austria: Its Language(s) and Culture. The unit combines intensive study of German with cultural immersion in Austria. Students attend the Deutsch-Institut Tirol in KitzbŸhel, which offers instruction in the German language and in the geography, history, and culture of Austria. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Written permission of the instructor is required. C. Decker.

s34. Literature of Post-Reunification Germany. Who are the writers and what are the themes emerging in the new literature of post-reunification Germany? What has become of the old east/west divide? Who are the non-German (immigrant) writers writing in German? Is their writing a “dialogue between the cultures”? This unit investigates current literature by contemporary writers -- short stories, novels, plays, poetry -- that elucidate the human condition in the Germany of post- reunification in all its contradictions. These include multiculturalism side by side with racism and xenophobia, east-west mistrust, and the attempt to come to terms with the legacy of socialism in the former German Democratic Republic. Recommended background: one 200-level literature course. D. Sweet.

s50. Individual Research. Registration in this unit is granted by the department only after the student has submitted a written proposal for a full-time research project to be completed during the Short Term and has secured the sponsorship of a member of the department to direct the study and evaluate results. Students are limited to one individual research unit. Staff.

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