GER - German
This is the first part of a two-semester introductory German language and culture course. Through the study of German culture, such as German geography, etiquette, customs, holidays as well as university, family, and work life, students learn basic grammatical concepts and vocabulary. The communicative cultural approach, interactive in-class and homework assignments, and the inclusion of multimedia (online resources, Youtube videos, songs, texts, films, etc.) enhance the acquisition of the basic skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural competency.
This is the second part of a two-semester introductory German language and culture course. Through the study of German culture, such as food and leisure culture, the German health system, and traveling in Germany, students continue to learn basic vocabulary and grammatical concepts. The communicative cultural approach, interactive in-class and homework assignments, and inclusion of multimedia (online resources, Youtube videos, songs, texts, films, etc.) enhance the acquisition of the basic skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural competency.
A study of selected topics designed as electives for non-majors. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
A study of selected topics designed as electives for non-majors. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
This is the first part of a two-semester intermediate German language and culture course. Through the study of German culture, students continue to learn basic vocabulary and grammatical concepts and deepen their understanding of German culture. The communicative cultural approach, interactive in-class and homework assignments, and inclusion of multimedia (German websites, Youtube videos, songs, texts, films, etc.) enhance the acquisition of the basic skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural competency.
This is the second part of a two-semester intermediate German language and culture course. Through the study of German culture, students continue to learn basic vocabulary and grammatical concepts and deepen their understanding of German culture. The communicative approach, interactive in-class and homework assignments, and inclusion of multimedia (online resources, Youtube videos, songs, texts, films, etc.) enhance the acquisition of the basic skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural competency.
A study of selected topics designed as electives for non-majors. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
A study of selected topics designed as electives for non-majors. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
This course is primarily a conversation course to develop linguistic and cultural proficiency in verbal communication. Task-oriented communication strategies in cross-cultural training will be practiced by presenting students with models that demonstrate appropriate linguistic and cultural competencies. Students will practice these skills by role-playing, giving presentations, enriching self-awareness with practiced in-group discussions on various topics (such as, prejudice, racism, values, and customs) that dispel stereotypes and foster more in-depth social-cultural understanding, and with participation in guided cultural encounters. Students will improve their listening and comprehension skills and deepen cultural proficiency by learning how to communicate and collaborate with other people and cultures in a global age. (This is an oral skills course.)
This is a writing intensive course designed with writing assignments that examine various cultural contexts that enable students to understand cultural content, style, audience and organization. The main objective of the course is increased awareness of and sensitivity to appropriate word choice, and syntax in the language. Students will engage in writing for different cultural audiences and in varied contexts such as literary, artistic and media expressions around the world. Special emphasis is placed on the methodology of close reading as students hone the analytics skills and vocabulary necessary to interpret idioms, regionalism, cultural expressions and overall intercultural skills observed in various genres and cultures. Students will analyze compelling global issues and the diverse cultural perspectives that inform them.
Over the centuries, German culture and history have exerted a tremendous influence on Western Civilization. This course will trace Germany's historical and cultural development from Emperor Barbarossa's Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation to World War I. Readings will include segments from various chapters of Die Deutschen reflecting central aspects of the major cultural epochs of Western Civilization including the Middle Ages, the Age of Reformation and the Nordic Renaissance, Baroque, The Age of Enlightenment, German Classicism and Romanticism, Young Germany during the revolutionary period of 1848 and up to German Expressionism and World War I. The central themes will be complemented by a variety of other samples drawn from poetry, philosophy, music and the visual arts.
Readings and discussions of selected master works by Frisch and Durrenmatt, the two literary giants of modern Swiss literature. Topics include the multicultural aspects of modern Switzerland, the concepts 'Heimat,' provincialism versus globalism, Old World versus New World, the dialectics of myth and modernity, the mixed blessings of technology, as well as the discourse of gender ideology and matriarchal mythography. The course is complemented by a film screening and slide presentations. Readings and discussions are in German.
This course will focus on a particular German city such as Berlin, Vienna, or Munich in light of historical and cultural shifts and continuities. Students will read literary and historical texts, poetry and newspaper articles and screen films.
This is an advanced intermediate German language and culture course that prepares students for using German in professional settings. Since the course focuses on German language usage in personal, business, and employment situations, the vocabulary is geared toward living and working abroad. Students gain a deep knowledge about German business culture and social etiquette, engage in situational role-playing, create an application portfolio in German geared towards the German job market, and prepare for job interviews. The workshop format of the course, the inclusion of online resources and authentic materials provide students with hands-on immersion in German business culture. This course offers some grammar review and practice.
An extracurricular activity approved for credit based on objectives, criteria, and evaluative procedures as formally determined by the department and the student prior to the semester in which the activity is to take place. Such credit is subject to review by the provost.
Readings and critical interpretations of exemplary literary works and historical documents that reflect the various representative periods of German and European culture and history from the second half of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to understanding and appreciating these texts for their own artistic and historical value, students will also interpret them as first intellectual articulations of issues that will become central for the social and cultural history of (post-) modernity. They include the topics of religious relativism, issues of gender and sexual politics, aesthetics, social justice and multicultural diversity. The course will be complemented with video clips, films, and samples from musical history and the visual arts. Readings and discussions in German.
A study of selected topics designed for non-majors, or for elective credit within a major. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
A study of selected topics designed for non-majors, or for elective credit within a major. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
This class is designed to solidify and refine students' working knowledge of written skills in the language, with an emphasis on increasing their written sophistication. Focus is on analysis of vocabulary, grammar, and cultural nuances in the syntax to examine how language reflects the ways of life and beliefs of its speakers, contrasted with the extent of language's influence on culture. Students will refine their skills in written inter-cultural communication, paying attention to idioms and the fine points of 'cultural grammar' communicative competence and specialized discourse to develop excellent communication skills. This course is intended to prepare students for using their knowledge of language and culture in professional settings.
This course is designed to further develop the mastery of spoken and written German, review grammar, build vocabulary and fine-tune the student's stylistic proficiency in German. The textbook Anders gedacht is an intermediate/advanced reader that covers a wide variety of historical, political and cultural events and developments in contemporary German speaking countries. The Ubungsbuch accompanies the grammatical and thematic features of the textbook and provides further exercises. The course will be complemented by several video screenings and multi-media presentations covering a variety of aspects in contemporary German speaking culture.
This course explores the cultural movements that have characterized the German-French commonalities and differences from the early 1900s through the 1990s in cross-disciplinary discourses such as film, literature, art, politics, and economics. Cross-listed with WCS 410/WCS 510.
This course will delineate 800 years of German poetry, analyzing exemplary works within their cultural and historical context such as the courtly love tradition of the Middle Ages, the spirituality of the German Reformation, the (meta-)physical passions of the Baroque, the humanist ideals of Weimar Classicism, the profound longings and ultimate ironies of German Romanticism, fin de siecle symbolism and European decadence, the avant-garde of Weimar culture, the legacy of the Third Reich, and the poetics and politics of East/West Germany up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany. The close readings will be complemented by videos, film clips, slides and musical samples. Readings and discussions in German.
The first half of the 20th century was the most creative and destructive period in German and European history. Its rich cultural achievements included Viennese psychoanalytical theory of the turn of the century, Art Nouveau, German Expressionism, and the avant garde aesthetics of the Weimar Republic. Conversely, World War I and II exposed the cultural agony and human depravity of modern civilization. This course will trace these various aspects and developments in a variety of exemplary genres. Readings and discussions in German. (Cross-listed with WCS 445/WCS 545 and COMM 444/COMM 544)
A study of comical and satirical features in exemplary literary and visual texts ranging from late medieval broad sheets and moralistic narratives to postmodern parodies in literature, music, film and graphic design. Students will study a wide variety of texts and analyze them as critical reflections of their social and cultural contexts, which include the spiritual conflicts and religious challenges of the Age of Renaissance and Reformation, anti-Nazi collages, and the permanent quest for pleasure and entertainment in our present-day multi-media Spassgesellschaft (fun society). Readings and discussions in German.
The first half of the 20th century was the most creative and destructive period in German and European history. Its rich culture achievements included Viennese psychoanalytical theory of the turn of the century, Art Nouveau, German Expressionism in painting and poetry, and the avant garde aesthetics of the Weimar Republic (film, dance, cabaret, architecture etc). They played a central part in the evolution of a modern and postmodern sensibility. Conversely, World War I and World War II exposed the cultural agony and human depravity of modern Civilization. This course will trace these various aspects and developments in a variety of exemplary verbal and visual texts, including the genres of poetry, novella, drama, painting and film. Readings and discussions in German.
The course will cover representative literary texts and cultural events of divided and united Germany, including Heinrich Boll, Gunter Grass, Max Frisch, Christa Wolf, Doris Dorrie et al, as well as film, painting, popular music, the culture of memory and German Jewish relations after the Shoah.
A survey of seminal texts by German-Jewish philosophers and writers from the Enlightenment to the present day, including Marx, Kafka, Freud, Schnitzler and Arendt. (cross-listed with WCS 476/WCS 576).
This course provides a survey of representative examples from 200 years of German drama. Texts include plays from Weimar Classicism, Young Germany, Naturalism and Symbolism, fin de siècle Vienna, German Expressionism, Weimar Modernism, Exile Literature, "Vergangenheitsbewältigung" (texts of coming to terms with the past), and post-modern experimentalism. The course will focus on issues such as mythology, psychopathology, sexual morality, epic theater, Marxist ideology, fascism and guilt, and feminist politics and aesthetics. The readings will be complemented by screenings of various film adaptations. All readings and discussions are in German.
The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.
Independent reading and study on a topic to be selected under the direction of an instructor. Conferences and papers as appropriate.
This class is designed to solidify and refine students' working knowledge of written skills in the language, with an emphasis on increasing their written sophistication. Focus is on analysis of vocabulary, grammar, and cultural nuances in the syntax to examine how language reflects the ways of life and beliefs of its speakers, contrasted with the extent of language's influence on culture. Students will refine their skills in written inter-cultural communication, paying attention to idioms and the fine points of 'cultural grammar' communicative competence and specialized discourse to develop excellent communication skills. This course is intended to prepare students for using their knowledge of language and culture in professional settings.
This course is designed to further develop the mastery of spoken and written German, review grammar, build vocabulary and fine-tune the student's stylistic proficiency in German. The textbook Anders gedacht is an intermediate/advanced reader that covers a wide variety of historical, political and cultural events and developments in contemporary German speaking countries. The Ubungsbuch accompanies the grammatical and thematic features of the textbook and provides further exercises. The course will be complemented by several video screenings and multi-media presentations covering a variety of aspects in contemporary German speaking culture.
This course explores the cultural movements that have characterized the German-French commonalities and differences from the early 1900s through the 1990s in cross-disciplinary discourses such as film, literature, art, politics, and economics. Cross-listed with FLET 510.
This course will delineate 800 years of German poetry, analyzing exemplary works within their cultural and historical context such as the courtly love tradition of the Middle Ages, the spirituality of the German Reformation, the (meta-)physical passions of the Baroque, the humanist ideals of Weimar Classicism, the profound longings and ultimate ironies of German Romanticism, fin de siecle symbolism and European decadence, the avant-garde of Weimar culture, the legacy of the Third Reich, and the poetics and politics of East/West Germany up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany. The close readings will be complemented by videos, film clips, slides and musical samples. Readings and discussions in German.
The first half of the 20th century was the most creative and destructive period in German and European history. Its rich cultural achievements included Viennese psychoanalytical theory of the turn of the century, Art Nouveau, German Expressionism, and the avant garde aesthetics of the Weimar Republic. Conversely, World War I and II exposed the cultural agony and human depravity of modern civilization. This course will trace these various aspects and developments in a variety of exemplary genres. Readings and discussions in German. (Cross-listed with WCS 445/WCS 545 and COMM 444/COMM 544)
A study of comical and satirical features in exemplary literary and visual texts ranging from late medieval broad sheets and moralistic narratives to postmodern parodies in literature, music, film and graphic design. Students will study a wide variety of texts and analyze them as critical reflections of their social and cultural contexts, which include the spiritual conflicts and religious challenges of the Age of Renaissance and Reformation, anti-Nazi collages, and the permanent quest for pleasure and entertainment in our present-day multi-media Spassgesellschaft (fun society). Readings and discussions in German.
The first half of the 20th century was the most creative and destructive period in German and European history. Its rich culture achievements included Viennese psychoanalytical theory of the turn of the century, Art Nouveau, German Expressionism in painting and poetry, and the avant garde aesthetics of the Weimar Republic (film, dance, cabaret, architecture etc). They played a central part in the evolution of a modern and postmodern sensibility. Conversely, World War I and World War II exposed the cultural agony and human depravity of modern Civilization. This course will trace these various aspects and developments in a variety of exemplary verbal and visual texts, including the genres of poetry, novella, drama, painting and film. Readings and discussions in German.
The course will cover representative literary texts and cultural events of divided and united Germany, including Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, Max Frisch, Christa Wolf, Doris Dörrie et al, as well as film, painting, popular music, the culture of memory and German Jewish relations after the Shoah.
This course provides a survey of representative examples from 200 years of German drama. Texts include plays from Weimar Classicism, Young Germany, Naturalism and Symbolism, fin de siècle Vienna, German Expressionism, Weimar Modernism, Exile Literature, "Vergangenheitsbewältigung" (texts of coming to terms with the past), and post-modern experimentalism. The course will focus on issues such as mythology, psychopathology, sexual morality, epic theater, Marxist ideology, fascism and guilt, and feminist politics and aesthetics. The readings will be complemented by screenings of various film adaptations. All readings and discussions are in German.
The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
The advanced study of selected topics designed to permit small groups of qualified students to work on subjects of mutual interest which, due to their specialized nature, may not be offered regularly. These courses will appear in the course schedule.
Advanced study of selected topics which may not be offered regularly. These appear in the course schedule and are more fully described in a supplement distributed to graduate program directors.
Advanced study of selected topics which may not be offered regularly. These appear in the course schedule and are more fully described in a supplement distributed to graduate program directors.
This course will allow an individual student to pursue a special topic or project under the guidance of a professor.
This course will allow an individual student to pursue a special topic or project under the guidance of a professor.