Courses - Autumn 2014

German 1101.01 • German I

4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE Foreign Language course
Introduction to language and culture of the German-speaking world, with emphasis placed on the acquisition of basic communication skills in cultural context. CEFR Levels A1/A2. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credits, or to students with 2 or more years of study in this language in high school, except by permission of dept.

Text: ISBN 978-3-468-96993-5  Berliner Platz 1 Neu: German for Beginners: Student Pack PLUS, English Edition

German 1102.01 • German II

4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE Foreign Language course
Continued development of German-language skills and cultural knowledge for effective communication. Emphasis on more advanced language structures, sustained interactions, reading and writing. CEFR Levels A2/B1. Not open to native speakers of this language.
Prereq: 1101.01, or 4 sem cr hrs of 1101.51.
Texts: ISBN 978-3-468-96993-5  Berliner Platz 1 Neu: German for Beginners: Student Pack PLUS, English Edition; ISBN 978-3-468-96994-2  Berliner Platz 2 Neu: Deutsch im Alltag: Student Pack PLUS; and ISBN 978-0-934034-38-8  English Grammar for Students of German*, fifth edition.

German 1266 • German Review

4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE Foreign Language course
Review and practice of important skills and concepts from German 1101 and 1102 needed for entry into German 1103.01 (classroom) or German 1103.51 (self-paced).
Texts: ISBN 978-3-468-96993-5  Berliner Platz 1 Neu: German for Beginners: Student Pack PLUS, English Edition; ISBN 978-3-468-96994-2  Berliner Platz 2 Neu: Deutsch im Alltag: Student Pack PLUS; and ISBN 978-0-934034-38-8  English Grammar for Students of German, fifth edition.

German 1103.01 • German III

4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE Foreign Language course
Development of skills for independent use of German. Discussions, presentations, writing, & listening/viewing activities that address topics of contemporary German-speaking world. CEFR Level B1. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit.
Prereq: 1102.01, or 4 sem cr hrs of 1102.51, or 1266.
Texts: ISBN 978-3-468-96994-2  Berliner Platz 2 Neu: Deutsch im Alltag: Student Pack PLUS and ISBN 978-0-934034-38-8  English Grammar for Students of German, fifth edition.

German 1101.51 • 1102.51 • 1103.51  Self-paced Individualized

GE Foreign Language course
each course is 4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

German 2101 • Texts and Contexts I: Contemporary German Language, Culture and Society

Karyekar | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Development of communication skills and knowledge about recent social, cultural, and political developments in German speaking countries through texts, media and film; CEFR level A2/B1. Closed to native speakers of this language.
Prereq: 1103.01 or 1103.51, or equiv, or permission of instructor. No audit. FL Admis Cond course.

German 2102 • Texts and Contexts II: 20th-Century German Language, History and Culture

Karyekar & Heck | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Continued development of communication skills; gain an understanding of major social and cultural developments in 20th century German history through texts, media, film. CEFR level B1/B2. Closed to native speakers of this language.
Prereq: 2101 or equiv, or permission of instructor. FL Admis Cond course.
Texts:
ISBN 978-3-19-011657-7  Hering,  Matussek & Perlmann-Balme, Übungsgrammatik für die Mittelstufe. Hueber Verlag, 2009.
ISBN 978-3-12-676615-9  Mittelpunkt B2 + C1 Redemittelsammlung, Klett Verlag, 2008. 

German 2251 • German Literature and Popular Culture

Richards| 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

[T/Th  9:35-10:55am]  German Science Fiction
                           ... a genre of imagination and
                        speculation that predicts the future,
                     critiques society, constructs and deconstructs colonial fantasies,   
                 poses questions of identity and existence, explores alternate realities      
             and journeys through time, all while attempting to unravel the enigma of   
         alienation and estrangement of modern life.
Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs. GE lit course. Taught in English.

German 2251 • German Literature and Popular Culture

Connolly | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

[T/Th  2:20-3:40pm] "God, Gutenberg, and Grimmelshausen": A wide-ranging survey of Renaissance, Reformation, and Baroque era literature (approx. 1400-1700 CE) in the historical context of the invention and development of book printing. All works in English translation; taught in English.
Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs. GE lit course.

German 2252H • The Faust Theme

Hammermeister | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Major versions of the Faust story, their socio-cultural context, and their symbolic expression of recurring human concerns. Taught in English.
Prereq: Honors standing, and English 1110.01 (110) or equiv, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 263H. GE lit and diversity global studies course. EN Admis Cond course.
Texts: Marlowe: Doctor Faustus; Goethe: Faust; Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray; Klaus Mann: Mephisto.

German 2350 • Introduction to German Studies

Byram | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

This course provides a broad introduction to German history and culture and to the field of German Studies. Taught in English, it is an ideal course for students considering a major or minor in German, or for those with a general interest in German-language history and culture.

The course will have four components

• lectures on history (social, cultural, political, and linguistic)
• lectures on contemporary German-language society and culture
• discussion about works of literature, film, philosophy, art, music, etc.
• introductions to methods for studying language and culture

In the end, students will have a broad overview of German-language history and culture and a catalog of questions that will include tools for analyzing everything from medieval sagas to television shows, political speeches to the words they use.
Taught in English.
Required books (in recommended English editions):
Das Niebelungenlied: The Lay of the Niebelungs.Oxford Classics, ISBN 978-0199238545
The Sorrows of Young Werther. Oxford Classics, ISBN: 978-0199583027
Lieutenant Gustl. Green Integer, ISBN: 978-1931243469 (used copies are available at reasonable prices)
These books are also available as open-access editions, or contact instructor for information about German or German-English editions.
Recommended book:
Mary Fulbrook, A Concise History of Germany, ISBN: 978-0521540711

German 2367 • German Literature and American Culture

Richards | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

German perspectives on and in 20th-century American culture. Influence of German thought and writings on American culture; German views of American culture. Taught in English.
Prereq: English 1110.01, 1110.02, and 1110.03 or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 367. GE writing and comm course: level 2. EN Admis Cond course.

German 3101 • Texts and Contexts III: Historical Perspectives

Heck | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Development of intermediate/advanced communication skills; broadening of cultural and historical knowledge through interaction with literary and non-literary materials informed by historical perspective; CEFR level B2. Closed to to native speakers of this language.
Prereq: 2102 or equiv, or permission of instructor. FL Admis Cond course.
Texts:
ISBN 978-3-19-011657-7  Hering,  Matussek & Perlmann-Balme, Übungsgrammatik für die Mittelstufe. Hueber Verlag, 2009.
ISBN 978-3-12-676615-9  Mittelpunkt B2 + C1 Redemittelsammlung, Klett Verlag, 2008.

German 3200 • Around the Bauhaus - Topics in German Literature, Art and Film

Hammermeister | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

This course will explore the many facets of the German Bauhaus that revolutionized architecture and design and was highly influential in the areas of theater, film, dance, fashion, painting and several others. We will explore the various phases of the Bauhaus from its expressionist beginnings to its final international style architecture as well as the figures who are responsible for its lasting fame (Gropius, Itten, Paul Klee, Kandinsky, Feininger, Schlemmer, Albers etc.). We will also look at the related movements in literature in order to better conceptualize the achievements of the Bauhaus school. As the Bauhaus is part of the modern avant-garde, we will examine how its particular project of merging art and life played out not only in its artifacts, but also in the way it organized life for its students and faculty in dormitories, labs, lecture halls, during free time and parties.
Required books: Magdalena Droste: Bauhaus (Taschen Verlag, German edition) and Boris Friedewald: living_art: Bauhaus (Prestel Verlag).
Prereq: 2102 or equiv, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs. Admis Cond course.

German 3252 • The Holocaust in Literature and Film

Reitter | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Reading, analysis, and discussion of representative works pertaining to the Holocaust from the perspectives of the German and Ashkenazic traditions. Taught in English.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 399, or Yiddish 3399 (399). GE lit and diversity global studies course. Cross-listed in Yiddish 3399.

German 3254H • Representations and Memory of the Holocaust in Film

Holub | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

NEW COURSE!  GE Visual and Performing Arts and GE Diversity-Global Studies course.

The Holocaust has been a tremendously important topic in postwar cinema. There are major films in almost every major European country dealing with the Holocaust, directed by some of the foremost directors and featuring some of the greatest actors and actresses, and some of the most innovative filmic techniques. The Holocaust has been represented in various filmic forms: documentary, drama, comedy; indeed, there are probably more films on the Holocaust and more footage of the Holocaust placed in films than any other historical event outside of World War II. Yet the question of representation, in particular adequate representation is one that is continuously raised and debated. In this course we will identify the complex interplay between history and filmic representation in connection with a major event of the twentieth century. Through examining films along with historical documents, as well as cultural and theoretical writings this course aims at teaching students how film as a unique art form deals with intricate historical phenomena and substantive issues of ethics. Films will be screened outside of class.
Taught in English.

German 3600 • Using German - Topics in German Linguistics/Language

Grotans | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Understanding the German language in its historical development, standardization and its contemporary manifestations. Systematic overview of German phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and varieties of modern German.
Prereq: 2102 or equiv, or permission of instructor. *Ger 2350 is NOT required as a prerequisite *
Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs. FL Admis Cond course.

German 3602 • German for the Professions I

Heck | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Development of cultural knowledge and communication skills for the professions; introduction to the world of German business through audio, video, print materials; CEFR level B1-B2.
Prereq: 2102 or equiv, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 202. No audit. Admis Cond course.

German 4200 • Senior Seminar in German: Literature, Art and Film (German) 

Cancelled | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Taught in German. Counts toward fulfillment of advanced requirement for the major.
Prereq: 3101 and one course at the 3000 level, and Sr standing, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs.

German 4250 • Selfhood in German Literature and Culture - Senior Seminar in German Studies: Literature, Art and Film (English)

Byram | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Who are you? How do you define yourself?
What does it mean to be an individual, a human being?
This course will examine how people in German-speaking cultures have answered these questions over time. Our primary concern will be to explore how changing ideas of selfhood are related to changing modes of literary representation. To do so, we’ll read poems, stories, novels, and philosophy. But we’ll also consider artwork, music, and film.
Counts toward fulfillment of advanced requirement for the major.
Taught in English.
Books will be assigned in discussion with student participants. Please contact instructor for details
Prereq: Jr or Sr standing. FL Admis Cond course.

German 6101 • Basic German for Graduate Students

Fehervary | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

The fundamentals of German grammar, as required for the reading of German texts in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Prereq: Grad standing. Not open to students with credit for 571. No audit. Credit does not apply to the minimum hours required for the master's or doctoral degrees.
Text: Jannach's German for Reading Knowledge (6th), isbn 1413033490

German 6102 • German for Research

Fehervary | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Reading of difficult material at a reasonable rate of speed and with only infrequent use of dictionaries.
Prereq: Grade of C or above in 6101, Grad standing, or equiv. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs. FL Admis Cond course. Does not count towards Master's or Doctoral degree.

German 6200 • Introduction to Literary Culture

Fischer | 4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Lecture-based introduction to the methodology and  tools of literary scholarship and to major contemporary theoretical approaches to literary studies; contextualization of these methodologies and approaches within literary history.
Prereq: Grad standing, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 702.

German 6600 • Introduction to Teaching and Learning German at the College Level

Taleghani-Nikazm | 4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Developing an understanding of communicative language teaching and second language acquisition as it applies to German. Overview of instructional strategies and techniques for various modalities.
Prereq: Open to Graduate Teaching Associates enrolled in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures; all others by permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 840.

German 7888 • Interdepartmental Seminar in Critical Theory

Cancelled | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

German 8200 • Political Theater & Modernism: Bertolt Brecht, Peter Weiss, Heiner Müller ~ Seminar in Literature and Literary Culture 

Fehervary | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

We will consider plays by these dramatists according to general topics as listed below. Our approach will be comparative: How do these playwrights, all three of them exponents of epic theater, contend with similar political topics at different times, under different circumstances, and using different poetic discourses?
Requirements: Final research paper of at least 15 pp.; two reports as to the research paper topic; final or near-final draft of the research paper distributed for class discussion in our last session.

From Capitalism to Political/Sexual Revolution:
  Brecht, Die Dreigroschenoper; Weiss, Marat/Sade; Müller, Die Hamletmaschine
Colonialism:
  Brecht, Mann ist Mann; Weiss, Gesang vom lusitanischen Popanz; Müller, Der Auftrag
National Socialism:
  Brecht, Furcht und Elend des 3. Reichs; Weiss, Die Ermittlung; Müller, Germania Tod in Berlin

Prereq: 6200, or Grad standing, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs. Admis Cond course.

German 8300 • Modernity and Postmodernity in Jürgen Habermas and Manfred Frank - Seminar in Intellectual History and Cultural Studies

Holub | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Perhaps the two most important theoretical books to appear in the mid-1980s, and two of the most important theoretical reflections of the postwar era, were the large volumes by Jürgen Habermas on the Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (1985) and Manfred Frank’s What Is Neostructuralism? (1984). Both books were originally lecture series delivered at Frankfurt and Tübingen, respectively. The authors are two of the foremost intellectuals in postwar Germany, both of whom are philosophers with broad interests and international reputations. In this seminar we will be looking at these two books as our primary texts and examining the questions: what is modernity? and what is postmodernity?
We will deal with Habermas first, since his survey of modernity allows us to reflect on German philosophy from the period of German Idealism (Kant, Hegel) through twentieth century philosophers like Heidegger. Frank’s topic is in some respects more limited, since it deals in his first chapters with structuralism (Saussure), and then with what he calls “neostructuralism,” but which we usually refer to as “poststructuralism.” Frank’s central focus are poststructuralist thinkers: Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, and Deleuze. Some of his reflections therefore take up topics also found in Habermas’s book (Foucault, Derrida), although Frank’s treatment is more exhaustive.
Although the two books will be the major texts everyone will read, we will also look at works by some of the theorists they discuss as supplementary material. We will therefore gain insight into central figures in German intellectual history, as well as into seminal figures in discussions in the humanities from the French tradition. We will gain insight into Habermas’s project and Frank’s philosophical outlook, but we hope to simultaneously learn something about the traditions on which they focus in their books.
The texts by Habermas and Frank are available in both German and English. Supplementary texts will also be chosen so that they are accessible to readers in the original language (German and French) or in English translation.
Prereq: 6200, or Grad standing, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs. Admis Cond course.

German 8500 • Doctoral Colloquium

Fischer | 1 credit unit | Autumn Semester 2014

Regular student-driven discussions of ongoing dissertations, current topics in the professional field, and new research approaches to Germanic Studies.
Prereq: Successful completion of Ph.D. candidacy exams or permission from Director of Graduate Studies and instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U. Admis Cond course.

German 8600 • Development of Standard German750-2014 ~ Seminar in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

Grotans | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Scandinavian 3350 • Norse Mythology and Medieval Culture

Kaplan | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE lit and diversity global studies course

What do we know about Thor and Odin, and how do we know it? This course examines the myths of the Old Norse gods and the sources in which those myths are recorded. Students will gain insight into the world view and beliefs of the pagan North by reading (in English translation) the most important textual sources on Scandinavia's pre-Christian mythology. Place-name, archaeological, and other evidence will also be discussed. Students intrigued by the Viking Age, medieval Northern Europe, or the interpretation of myth will find much of interest ( --as may bannermen of Houses Stark and Greyjoy).

Scandvn 3350 counts towards the Scandinavian minor.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Scandnav 222. GE lit and diversity global studies course.
Required texts: Andrew Orchard's translation of The Elder Edda (any edition; ISBN 978-0141393728 is fine); Anthony Faulkes’s translation of Snorri Sturluson’s Edda (any edition; 978-0460876162 is fine); John Lindow’s Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs (ISBN 0-195-153820); Optional: H. Mattingly and S. A. Handford’s translation of Tacitus, The Agricola and the Germania (again, any edition; 978-0140455403 is the most recent)

Swedish 1101 • Swedish I

Risko | 4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE Foreign Language course
Introduction to language and culture of Sweden with emphasis on the acquisition of basic communication skills in a cultural context. Closed to native speakers of this language.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 101.01, or to students with 2 or more years of study in this language in high school, except by permission of dept. GE for lang course.
Text: Althén, Anette. Mål 1 Lärobok (textbook with CD); Althén, Anette. Mål Övningsbok (workbook). Both Stockholm: Natur och Kultur (2007 edition).

Swedish 1103 • Swedish III

Risko | 4 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE Foreign Language course
Development of skills necessary for the independent use of Swedish. Discussions, presentations, writing and listening/viewing activities address topics of contemporary Sweden.
Prereq: Grade of C- or better in 102. Not open to students with credit for 103.01, 104.01, or to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit. GE for lang course. FL Admis Cond course.
Text: Althén, Anette. Mål 2 Lärobok (textbook with CD); Althén, Anette. Mål Övningsbok (workbook). Both Stockholm: Natur och Kultur (2007 edition).

Yiddish 2241 • Yiddish Culture

Miller  | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course
From Crackow to Columbus, from Brooklyn to Beechwood, the great majority of American Jews are heirs to the thousand-year old culture of Ashkenaz—the largest country in Europe. Yiddish 2241 explores the culture of Ashkenaz in its many forms of expression —literature, film, folklore, family life, food, politics, religion, academics, sports, entertainment, immigration, assimilation, self-assertion, marginality, subversion, and the "Jewishing" of the American dream.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 241. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Yiddish 3399 • Holocaust in Yiddish and Ashkenazic Literature

Hamblet | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

GE lit and diversity global studies course
Reading and analysis of texts, films and music pertaining to the topic of the Holocaust, the genocide perpetrated by Nazi Germany against European Jewry, and its impact on Ashkenazic-Jewish civilization.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 399. GE lit and diversity global studies course.

Yiddish 4721 / 7721 • Studies in Yiddish Literature

Miller | 3 credit units | Autumn Semester 2014

Advanced study of specific literary periods, figures, and/or topics involving extensive reading and discussion of appropriate primary and secondary source materials.
Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr. hrs.