German
Courses
101 Elementary German (1) Fall
Note: Students who have taken more than one year of German in
high school must take the placement test before enrolling in this
course.
Introduction to German language and culture through the
contextualized study of grammatical concepts and vocabulary. Study and
practice in the four language skills
listening,
reading, writing and speaking
necessary
for the interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes of
communication. Conducted primarily in German. Weekly tutorials with native
speakers are required. Myers, Grimm
102 Elementary German, continued
(1) Spring
Prerequisite: German 101 or equivalent.
Continuation of German 101. Expansion of vocabulary, work
with more complex grammatical structures. Weekly tutorials with native speakers
are required. Myers, Grimm
201 Intermediate German (1) Fall
Prerequisite: German 102 or equivalent.
Continuation of the study of German language and culture
through the contextualized study of grammatical concepts and vocabulary.
Continues the development of the four basic skills necessary for the
interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes of communication.
Authentic video and texts are the foundation of the teaching materials.
Conducted in German. Weekly tutorials with native speakers
are required.
Grimm, Myers
202 Intermediate German,
continued (1) Spring
Prerequisite: German 201 or equivalent.
Continuation of German 201. Practice with more
sophisticated dialogues, reading of unedited short stories, poems and
other authentic materials. Conducted in German. Weekly tutorials with native speakers
are required.
Grimm, Myers
289 Introduction German Film
Students in the course will be introduced to the rich
cultural history of German cinema. We will watch, discuss and
analyze influential examples of German movies from the time
periods of the “Golden Twenties”, National Socialism, Post-War
period, New German Cinema, the Eighties up until the present.
Students will learn how to discuss and analyze movies in oral
and written form. Students will acquire and use German
vocabulary pertaining to films, and will also learn about German
attitudes towards other countries and cultures, especially
America, the birthplace of Hollywood. A major point of
discussion will be the question of the artistic versus
commercial value of films in general and German films in
particular. This class will be taught in German. Grimm
301 German Conversation and
Composition (1) Fall
Prerequisite: German 202 or equivalent.
The focus of this course
is the
development of
speaking, listening, writing and comprehension skills in German;
selective review of complex grammatical structures. Practice speaking
about everyday situations in different ways; Writing of exercises and
compositions with emphasis on correctness of expression, stylistic
appropriateness and idiomatic usage. The acquisition of specialized
vocabulary and writing of different types will also be emphasized.
Weekly tutorials with native speakers
are required. Grimm,
Myers
302 German Conversation and
Composition, continued (1) Spring
Prerequisite: German 301 or equivalent.
Continuation of practice in speaking, listening and writing
skills; selective review of complex grammatical structures. Practice
speaking about everyday situations in different ways (e.g., role play,
dialogues, skits, oral reports); Writing of
exercises and compositions with emphasis on correctness of expression,
stylistic appropriateness and idiomatic usage. Learning of specialized
vocabulary and idioms; writing of different types (e.g., dialogues,
letters, journals, essays). Weekly tutorials with native speakers
are required. Myers,
Grimm
303
German Language and Culture for the Professions
Prerequisites: none (Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or
recommendation of the instructor).
This course
aims to help students improve communicative skills in German and provide
knowledge for the professions. While this course does not have specific
content goals, we will approach this task thematically by studying
various aspects and practices of the German business world. Organized on
the belief that communicative proficiency can best be enhanced through a
combination of meaningful content-based input and student-based output,
we will study various aspects of the German business world such as
banking, marketing, and organizational structures as they are practiced
in Germany. Students will also apply this knowledge by completing
projects that include applying for a job, and producing a marketing
strategy and start-up proposal for a company in Germany as a power-point
presentation. At the completion of this course students should be
prepared to apply for a “Praktikum” in Germany and make the transition
easily into working in a foreign business culture.
Myers
306
German Cultural History, I: From Germania to the Nation State
Prerequisites: none (Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or
recommendation of the instructor).
This course
will introduce students to pivotal moments and figures in German
cultural history from the Roman Empire to the creation of the first
German nation-state in 1871. Students will learn about people and
places connected to German history and culture and their engagement with
these concepts will provide them with an overview of the different
time-periods, events and people. This will allow students to not only
develop a deeper and understanding of German-speaking culture and
society but it will also allow them to understand the constructed nature
behind all forms of national identity. Grimm
307 German Cultural History, II:
Empire, Stunde 0, Reunification
Prerequisite:
none (Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or
recommendation of the instructor).
A chronological survey of major intellectual movements and
artistic achievements that have shaped contemporary German-speaking
societies. Included will be discussion of major historical events, works
of literature, examples of music and the visual arts. Myers
310 Germany and The
Environment: Cultural and Social Perspectives
Prerequisite:
German 301 or equivalent.
Nature has
long played a central role in the cultural life of the German
people: natural settings such as mountains, forests, rivers and lakes
are
not only the backdrop in many works of literature, art and music, but
they
seem (sometimes literally) to "come to life" and act as characters in
these
texts. In some texts, nature functions as a mirror to the inner thoughts
of human
characters, and in other texts it represents an awesome, sublime
"other,"
(supernatural or perhaps absolute) that provides a commentary on
human actions. Through reading, reflecting on and discussing a wide
variety of texts,
students will come to understand why humanity's relationship to nature
and
the environment have long played a pivotal role in the collective psyche
of
the German people. The course will also discuss of how literary works of
earlier eras can be understood as precursors to an emerging ecological
consciousness in modern German society. Grimm (This course fulfills the Environmental category requirement).
312 The
Invention of Self in 18th and 19th Century Germany
Prerequisites: German 301 or equivalent.
This course
will be an investigation into the cultural history and cultural
productions of the18th and 19th century German
speaking world. Epochs from which literary, philosophical, musical and
artistic examples will be studied include: The Age of Enlightenment, the
Age of Sensibility, the Storm and Stress (Sturm und Drang)
and Romantic movements as well as the Biedermeier era up until
the Revolution of 1848. Discussion, debate, written work and oral
presentations will all be conducted in German. Grimm
314
German: Multicultural Germany
Prerequisite: German 301 or equivalent.
This
course aims to help students understand how German society has become
multiculturally constructed since World War II. We will begin by
studying how the Holocaust aftermath (Vergangenheitsbewältigung) frames
the sociocultural debates and issues in what has become a multicultural
society. We will study the role and treatment of women of color, the
large Turkish immigrant population, as well as second-generation Turks,
born and raised in Germany, including the role of Islam and Islamic
nationalism in modern Germany, emphasizing here the sociopolitical
ramifications. Organized on the belief that intercultural understanding
can best be enhanced through a combination of meaningful content-based
input and student-based output, we will read and view various genres
(historical, fiction, essay, speeches, poetry, film, TV news) dealing
with the historical dimensions of the Holocaust aftermath, foreign
workers living in Germany, ethnic diversity and stereotypes as well as
contemporary debates about these issues.
Myers (This course fulfills the Ethnicity
category requirement).
316 Crisis in Language (1890-1945 A Literary Survey)
Prerequisite: German 301 or 302, or equivalent.
In this course we will read a
selection of German works from different genres (plays, short fiction,
poetry, theoretical texts), and view 2 films from the era (1890-1945).
The focus of the course will be to situate each work as a cultural
representation into the historical context in which it was written or
produced. In other words, we will investigate each “representation” from
a thematic perspective, exploring how each was engaged with the social,
political and cultural transformations of the era (i.e., social
Darwinism, crisis of narration and language, bourgeois morals, the
individual and society, the role of the artist, Third Reich). Through
such a holistic approach we will learn to "read culture" in various ways
-- to recover a kind of comparative cultural literacy. Our learning
process will be supported through various writing assignments, oral
reports and exams, in which students will be given the opportunity to
hone their own language and hermeneutical skills.
350
German Women Writers from Past to Present
Expected
level of proficiency: German 301 or equivalent, or permission of the
instructor.
This course
will introduce students to some of the most influential and interesting
women writers and poets from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Besides
analyzing the literary productions from an aesthetic point of view, the
course will also focus on the social, historical and cultural contexts
that underlie the works these women have produced. Grimm (This course
fulfills the Gender category requirement).
355:
Germans and Jews
Expected
level of proficiency: German 301 or equivalent, or permission of the
instructor.
Since the
Middle Ages the relationship between Germans and Jews has moved from
persecution to assimilation and the final solution. After the Holocaust
no topic of German history has received more attention. Yet frequently
attempts to analyze the relation of Germans and Jews in Germany have
resorted to simplistic explanations even assuming implicit evil in the
German soul. Yet the German Enlightenment promised the potential for
universal progress for all, and toward the end of the nineteenth century
Jews had achieved significant assimilation. German Jews and Christian
Germans fought valiantly side by side in World War I just twenty years
before the Holocaust began. The purpose of this course is to explore
this complicated relationship between Germans and Jews beginning briefly
with its roots in the Middle Ages, moving to Luther’s anti-Semitism
during the Reformation, and Enlightenment principles of human progress
and equality. We will then turn our attention to perceptions of Jews
during the fin-de-siècle period, gradually working toward the Holocaust
and German “Vergangenheitsbewältigung” after World War II and
during the present day. Myers
398 Practicum (1/2) Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Experience in language teaching in the classroom or with
individual students under the close supervision of a regular instructor.
Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.
401, 402 German Seminar (1/2, 1)
Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Special topics in languages, literature or civilization for
advanced students. Conducted in German. Grimm, Myers
411, 412 Directed Study (1/2, 1)
Prerequisite: Permission of department chair.
Grimm, Myers
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