Courses that Fulfill GE Requirements

Find German, Scandinavian, Swedish, and Yiddish courses that fulfill your GE.

General Education - New = GEN
- for students who first enrolled in Autumn 2022 or later

General Education - Legacy = GEL
- for students who first enrolled before Autumn 2022

THEMES **

Citizenship for a Just and Diverse World

German 3250 -- Taught in English!
Citizenship in the Age of Technology: Exploring Social Justice through Science Fiction in Germany
Investigating the promises & pitfalls that technologies once confined to the pages of science fiction pose to our relationships, our communities, and our world, with a specific focus on the challenges they will bring to our concept of citizenship. Recent German science fiction will illuminate the debate on the future of democracy as it unfolds in Germany, the USA & in a broader global context.
GE THEME citizenship for a just and diverse world course.
German 3252.01 or 3252.02 -- Taught in English!
The Holocaust in Literature and Film
Reading, analysis, and discussion of representative works pertaining to the Holocaust from the perspective of German literature and film.
GE THEME citizenship for a just and diverse world course.
German 3254H -- Taught in English!
Representations and Memory of the Holocaust in Film
Students will view, discuss, and examine major filmic representations of the Holocaust from several countries from the 1940s through the 1990s. Students will learn how these films have contributed to our understanding of a complex phenomenon of WWII and how the directors have coped with the thorny issues of representing something that many people consider to be unrepresentable.
GE THEME citizenship for a just and diverse world course.
German 3351 -- Taught in English!
Democracy, Fascism and German Culture
Culture of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany in literature, film, the other arts; the roots of fascism and its echoes in postwar Germany.
GE THEME citizenship for a just and diverse world course.
German 3798.02 - Global May Germany
The Global City Berlin: Cultures, Spaces, and Experiences
Students will explore and experience the cosmopolitan and increasingly diverse Berlin by learning about some of the most influential or memorable persons who live or have lived in the city–from its establishment as a capital of the Prussian Kingdom in the 18th century to its present role as capital of a reunified, democratic Germany and a center of European and global politics and culture. GE education abroad and global studies (International Issues successors) course.
* Open only to students who are admitted to participate in the "Global May Germany" Study Abroad Program.
GE THEME citizenship for a just and diverse world course.
Yiddish 3399 -- Taught in English!
The Holocaust in Yiddish Writing and Film
* 4-credit course; Integrative Practice: Research and Creative Inquiry. Meets in-person 3x/week, 220 minutes total (two 80-minute sessions and one 55-minute session per week).
About six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II in a series of events that came to be known as the Holocaust or, in Yiddish, as the “khurbn” (“destruction”). Yiddish was the first language of millions of the victims, but the contributions of speakers of this language to the documentation and representation of the Holocaust have often been overlooked or effaced.
In this course, while we will learn about the systematic destruction of Yiddish culture and society, we will also consider how Yiddish-language writers, artists, intellectuals, and filmmakers documented and resisted that destruction. In class discussions and assignments, we will analyze texts, films, and other media produced during and after the Holocaust and consider how these materials, written in or incorporating a language that was itself victimized, open up different perspectives on a seemingly well-known history. We will also consider how these materials participate in ongoing debates about citizenship and minority rights, justice and restitution, the representation of violence, and cultural memory. In addition to providing an introduction to the academic study of the Holocaust and Yiddish culture, this course will familiarize students with cutting-edge research methods and techniques in the humanities and interpretive social sciences (e.g., close reading, archival research, oral history, etc.).
All readings and discussion in English. No knowledge of Yiddish is required.
GE THEME citizenship for a just and diverse world course.

Lived Environments

German 3352 -- Taught in English! I
The Development of Contemporary Dresden
Investigation of German life and culture, past and present, through an exploration of the city of Dresden and surroundings; summer study abroad course with first-hand experience of German culture. (Summer term Study Abroad)
GE THEME lived environments course.
German 3689 -- Taught in English!
Words Across the World
cross-listed with NESA and Spanish
Language, at the heart of our social life, drives much of what humans do: converse, convey beliefs & views, label, categorize, include & exclude people. We'll critically examine how we use language to interact with our lived environments (LE) & analyze & discover ways in which words are used & manipulated to impact our LE & how changes & developments in our LE can have a direct effect on language.
GE THEME lived environments course.

Sustainability

Scandinavian/German 3354 -- Taught in English!
From Viking Saga to Climate Fiction: Nature in Nordic and Germanic Literatures
This course explores how sustainable human-nature relationships are conceived, represented, and reflected in the literatures of Nordic and German-speaking countries, from the medieval period to the present—e.g., in Icelandic saga; Gothic Romantic narrative; modern fairy tale; graphic novel; poetry; song; philosophical essay; and climate science-fiction.
GE THEME sustainability course.

Traditions, Cultures, and Transformations

German 3253 -- Taught in English!
German Immigration in the US
Germans who immigrated to the US between 1820 and 1930 sought to flee political upheaval, conflict, starvation, & economic suffering. Although the majority of these immigrants were classified as "German" in US Census data, their group was anything but homogeneous. This course examines immigrant communities and their assimilation to majority society with the advent of new technologies and urbanization.
GE THEME traditions, cultures, and transformations course.
Scandinavian 3350 -- Taught in English!
Norse Mythology and Medieval Culture
What do we know about Thor and Odin and how do we know it? What do the Norse Myths tell us about the worldview and beliefs of pagan Scandinavia? What did medieval Christians think about these same stories? Students will read the most important surviving textual sources on Scandinavia's pre-Christian mythology and learn to analyze them as vehicles for meaning.
GE THEME traditions, cultures, and transformations course.
GEL Literature & GEL Diversity: Global Studies course.

~ FOUNDATIONS

~ World Languages

~ Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity (REGD)

German 3317 -- Taught in English!
Black Identity and Culture in German-Speaking Europe

This course discusses the history of Afro-Germans in Europe and internationally (including, but not limited to, the US, France, Namibia, England, and South Africa). Conversations and questions thematized in this course pertain to identity formation and erasure; systemic racism; Westernization; xenophobia; and eugenics. The content discussed in this course is introductory for the study of race, ethnicity, and gender diversity through the adoption of a historical timeline that spans the 18th century to the present. This course discusses milestones in German history where we see significant and often detrimental interaction between the Black diaspora and German-speaking Europe.

German 3317H -- Taught in English! Seats are limited!
Black Identity and Culture in German-speaking Europe

This honors course discusses the history of Black people in German-speaking Europe and internationally (including, but not limited to, the US, France, Namibia, and England). Conversations and questions thematized in this course pertain to identity formation and erasure; systemic racism; Westernization; xenophobia; and eugenics. The content discussed in this course is introductory for the study of race, ethnicity, and gender diversity through the adoption of a historical timeline that spans the 18th century to the present. We will discuss milestones in German history where we see significant, and often turbulent, interaction between the African diaspora and German-speaking Europe.

~ Historical and Cultural Studies

German 2350 -- Taught in English!
Introduction to German Studies
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. German 2350 will cover:
-- history (social, cultural, political, and linguistic)
-- contemporary German-language society and culture
-- works of literature, film, philosophy, art, music, etc.
-- and introduce 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.
Yiddish 2241 -- Taught in English!
Yiddish Culture
This course provides an introduction to the history of Yiddish culture in its many of forms of expression - literature, film, folklore, visual arts, family life, food, politics, and religion. Lectures and discussions will focus, in particular, on how migration has shaped Yiddish culture. We will explore the movement of people and ideas between Europe, North America, and the Middle East and investigate how Yiddish culture developed without state support and across borders. We will grapple with concepts like diaspora, identity, and marginality and analyze texts, films, and other media about the shtetl and modern urban life, about border crossings and deportations, about acculturation and self-assertion, about nationalism and socialism, about gender and sexuality, etc. We will also consider how Yiddish culture was—and continues to be—transformed through generative and often fraught encounters with other languages and cultures. While gaining familiarity with the diversity of Yiddish culture, students will develop a conceptual toolbox for the study of culture and migration more generally.
Cross-listed in Jewish Studies.

~ Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts

German 2251 -- Taught in English!
German Literature and Popular Culture
Study of popular culture forms in relation to the artistic, intellectual, historic, and literary traditions of the German-speaking world.
German 2253 -- Taught in English!
Magic, Murder and Mayhem
Origins and highlights of German culture and life to 1648 as reflected in literary and poetic works, Germanic mythology, religion, and the arts.
German 2254.01 or 2254.02 -- Taught in English!
Grimms' Fairy Tales and their Afterlives
Working to understand the meaning and the enduring appeal of one of Germany's greatest successes in the realm of cultural exportation - the Grimms' fairy tales, a book whose circulation figures are exceeded in Western culture only by those of the Bible. To explore their reach, we will also compare them to their adaptations in literature and film, from dark to Disney. Taught in English.
German 2256 -- Taught in English!
Fan Fiction: From Homer to Harry Potter
Enthusiastic readers of Harry Potter write sequels, prequels, and spinoffs and post them online every day. But writing fan fiction is far from new. In this course, we will investigate the surprising history of this literary form. We'll analyze works of fan fiction, asking how ideas of originality, authorship, and intellectual property influence art and literature.

Cultures and Ideas
Global Studies
Education Abroad
Foreign Language
Literature
Visual and Performing Arts
Writing and Communication 2

Cultures and Ideas

German 2350
Introduction to German Studies
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. GE cultures and ideas course.

German 2255
Postwar Germany and Japan
In this course, we will be probing the dynamics of postwar culture in Germany and Japan by looking closely at an extensive body of the cultural material produced in these two most notorious “perpetrator nations”--films, theoretical writings, memoirs, artist manifestos, and, above all, literary works--and by subjecting our material to cross-cultural analysis, which should deepen as our basis for drawing distinctions, comparisons, and connections expands. In doing all this, we will enlist the help of a few secondary resources, most notably the groundbreaking recent efforts of the critic Ian Buruma. Team-taught with faculty in Japanese.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Japanse 2255. Cross-listed in Japanese. GE cultures and ideas course.

German 3253
The German Experience in North America
Introduction to literature, culture, and history of German immigrants to North America, especially to the Midwest and Ohio, from the seventeenth century into the twenty-first. GE cultures and ideas course.

German 3256
Coming to Terms with the Holocaust and War in Germany: Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung
Dedicated to examining how postwar Germans came to terms with war and the Holocaust by looking at various responses in several genres, from philosophy and public debates to poems and films. Students will be confronted with difficult historical, aesthetic, and ethical issues in the various German responses to the Holocaust. Taught in English. GE cultures and ideas course.

German 3351
Democracy, Fascism and German Culture
Culture of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany in literature, film, the other arts; the roots of fascism and its echoes in postwar Germany. Taught in English. Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 299. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

German 3352
Development of Contemporary Germany: Dresden Yesterday and Today
Introduction to German life and culture, past and present, including the new federal states; taught within summer study abroad program with students experiencing German culture firsthand.
* Open only to students who participate in the German Language in Dresden Summer Study Abroad Program. Admitted students register for German 3352 and 5797 (3 credits), and also for either German 2101 (3 credits) OR German 2102 (3 credits) during the Summer session.
All credits taken in Dresden can be used towards the German major or minor.

GEL: Culture & Ideas and Diversity: Global Studies
GEN THEMES - Lived Environments

German 3353H
German Intellectual History: Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud
Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud are essential for understanding intellectual thought in the late nineteenth and twentieth century. They have retained their importance into the twenty-first century. The focus of the course will be the way in which Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud reconceived the notion of history, historical progress, and historiography. GE cultures and ideas course.

German 3451H
Religion in Modern German Literature and Philosophy
Interdisciplinary perspectives on the relationship between religion and society from the Enlightenment to the present. Taught in English. Prereq: Honors, and Soph, Jr, or Sr standing. Not open to students with credit for 590H. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Yiddish 2241
Yiddish Culture
Introductory survey of political, social, ideological, and religious trends as reflected in Yiddish culture, especially folklore and literature. Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 241 or JewshSt 2241. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. Cross-listed in JewshSt.

Yiddish 2367
Jewish-American Voices in U.S. Literature
Introduction to Jewish-American literature; development of expository writing and argumentation skills through systematic and critical reflection upon their own country from the perspective of an ethnic community. Prereq: English 1110 (110) or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 367 or JewshSt 2367. GE writing and comm: level 2 and cultures and ideas course. Cross-listed in JewshSt.

Global Studies

German 2250
Berlin: Stories, Languages, and Ideas
Students will learn about the roles Berlin played in Europe's and the world's major upheavals, from the Thirty Years' War to the Fall of the Wall in 1990, and will gain insight into the increasing internationalization of Berlin from three perspectives: stories told by and about Berlin's citizens; philosophical & scientific ideas generated in Berlin; and multilingual dialects and variations. GE lit and Global Studies (International issues successors) course.

German 2253
Magic, Murder and Mayhem
Origins and highlights of German culture and life to 1648 as reflected in literary and poetic works, Germanic mythology, religion, and the arts. Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 291. GE lit and diversity global studies course.

German 2798.02
Berlin, Then and Now: People, Places, and Experiences
Students will explore and experience the cosmopolitan and increasingly diverse Berlin by learning about some of the most influential or memorable persons who live or have lived in the city–from its establishment as a capital of the Prussian Kingdom in the 18th century to its present role as capital of a reunified, democratic Germany and a center of European and global politics and culture. GE education abroad and global studies (International Issues successors) course.

German 3252
The Holocaust in Literature and Film
Reading, analysis, and discussion of representative works pertaining to the Holocaust from the perspective of German literature and film. Taught in English. Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 399 or Yiddish 399. GE lit and diversity global studies course.

German 3254H
Representations and Memory of the Holocaust in Film
Students will view, discuss, and examine major filmic representations of the Holocaust from several countries from the 1940s through the 1990s. Students will learn how these films have contributed to our understanding of a complex phenomenon of WWII and how the directors have coped with the thorny issues of representing something that many people consider to be unrepresentable. Taught in English. GE Visual and Performing Arts and GE Diversity - Global Studies course.

GEL: Culture & Ideas and Diversity: Global Studies
GEN THEMES - Lived Environments

Scandinavian 3350
Norse Mythology and Medieval Culture
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 medieval 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.

Scandvn 3350 counts towards the Scandinavian minor.
Prereq: none
GE lit and diversity global studies course.
Required texts: Carolyn Larrington's Poetic Edda, 2nd edition; 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)

Yiddish 3371

Yiddish Literature in Translation
Reading, analysis, and discussion of representative works and of the development of major movements and genres in Yiddish literature. Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 371 or JewshSt 3371. GE lit and diversity global studies course. Cross-listed in JewshSt.

Yiddish 3399
The Holocaust in Yiddish and Ashkenazic Literature and Film
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 or German 399. GE lit and diversity global studies course.

Education Abroad

GEL: Culture & Ideas and Diversity: Global Studies
GEN THEMES - Lived Environments

Foreign Language

The 1101-1103 courses in the following languages fulfill the Foreign Language requirement:

Literature

German 2251
German Literature and Popular Culture
Study of popular culture forms in relation to the artistic, intellectual, historic, and literary traditions of the German-speaking world. Taught in English. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs. GE lit course.

German 2254
Grimms' Fairy Tales and their Afterlives
Working to understand the meaning and the enduring appeal of one of Germany's greatest successes in the realm of cultural exportation - the Grimms' fairy tales, a book whose circulation figures are exceeded in Western culture only by those of the Bible. To explore their reach, we will also compare them to their adaptations in literature and film, from dark to Disney.
GE lit course.

German 2256
Fan Fiction: From Homer to Harry Potter
Enthusiastic readers of Harry Potter write sequels, prequels, and spinoffs and post them online every day. But writing fan fiction is far from new. In this course, we will investigate the surprising history of this literary form. We'll analyze works of fan fiction, asking how ideas of originality, authorship, and intellectual property influence art and literature.
GE lit course

German 2310
Nature in Nordic and Germanic Literatures
This course explores how literature and culture––including, among others, traditional art forms, popular culture, folklore, lifestyle, social customs, and political culture––are deeply intertwined with our relationship toward nature and our natural and cultural environments, including forests, oceans, mountains, parks, and rural and urban spaces. At the center of this exploration are the history and culture of the Nordic and German-speaking countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany), from the medieval period to the present, and their interrelationships. The rich and diverse literatures and cultures of these countries can help explain their strong environmental performance today, as well as their intense engagement with current global environmental issues, from climate change and biodiversity loss to ocean acidification and soil erosion.
Representations and concepts of nature will be explored in a variety of literary genres: medieval sagas; Gothic Romantic tales; 19th-century fairy tales (e.g., “Snow Queen” that inspired Disney’s Frozen); the modernist novel; graphic novel; poetry; essay; and science-fiction, both dystopian and utopian; and series. Topics include the cultivation of Iceland; the landscape of war; witchcraft and the magic of nature; urbanization and the destruction of nature; back-to-nature movements; the fascist instrumentalization of nature; nature and memory; the reality and imagination of nuclear disaster and pollution; the philosophy of Deep Ecology; dystopia and utopia in the age of climate change and fears of irreversible environmental damage.
All readings available in English; taught in English. GE lit course.

German 4252
Masterpieces of German Literature
Social and intellectual forces in Central Europe as reflected in German literature from the Enlightenment to the present. Taught in English. GE lit course.

Scandinavian 2310
Nature in Nordic and Germanic Literatures
This course explores how literature and culture––including, among others, traditional art forms, popular culture, folklore, lifestyle, social customs, and political culture––are deeply intertwined with our relationship toward nature and our natural and cultural environments, including forests, oceans, mountains, parks, and rural and urban spaces. At the center of this exploration are the history and culture of the Nordic and German-speaking countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany), from the medieval period to the present, and their interrelationships. The rich and diverse literatures and cultures of these countries can help explain their strong environmental performance today, as well as their intense engagement with current global environmental issues, from climate change and biodiversity loss to ocean acidification and soil erosion.
Representations and concepts of nature will be explored in a variety of literary genres: medieval sagas; Gothic Romantic tales; 19th-century fairy tales (e.g., “Snow Queen” that inspired Disney’s Frozen); the modernist novel; graphic novel; poetry; essay; and science-fiction, both dystopian and utopian; and series. Topics include the cultivation of Iceland; the landscape of war; witchcraft and the magic of nature; urbanization and the destruction of nature; back-to-nature movements; the fascist instrumentalization of nature; nature and memory; the reality and imagination of nuclear disaster and pollution; the philosophy of Deep Ecology; dystopia and utopia in the age of climate change and fears of irreversible environmental damage.
All readings available in English; taught in English. GE lit course.

Scandinavian 3350
Norse Mythology and Medieval Culture
The myths of the Old Norse gods and the worldview and beliefs of pagan Scandinavia.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Scandnav 222. GE lit and diversity global studies course.

Scandinavian 4250
Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature
Selected masterpieces of Scandinavian literature from contemporary theoretical perspectives.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Scandnav 500. GE lit course.

Scandinavian 5251
The Icelandic Saga
Revenge is the engine of Iceland’s most famous literature: the Sagas. These medieval texts describe a Viking Age society on the western edge of Europe, just beyond the reach of kings, in which honor is the main currency and insult can have deadly consequences. Unforgettable characters clash in these intricately plotted stories, and a pithy verse or a legal stratagem may overmatch even a steel axe. The class will consider the workings and failings of blood feud as a violence limiting system, the oblique influence of women in a male-dominated society, the lean literary art of Saga prose, and more. Students will get to know a distant society with unexpected relevance to our own and learn how to analyze, interpret, and enjoy Saga literature. There are no prerequisites. Taught in English.

Yiddish 3371
Yiddish Literature in Translation
Reading, analysis, and discussion of representative works and of the development of major movements and genres in Yiddish literature. Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 371 or JewshSt 3371. GE lit and diversity global studies course. Cross-listed in JewshSt.

Visual and Performing Arts

German 2451
Hollywood: Exiles and Émigrés
German cinema has played an influential role in the development of international film genres. In this class we look at examples of films made in Hollywood that bear the stamp of German influence. We also look at films made in Germany that show that influence flows in both directions. This course assumes no prior knowledge of German, German films, or film theory in general. Taught in English. GE Visual and Performing Arts course.

Writing and Communication 2

German 2367
German Literature and American Culture
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.

GE courses typically offered in the Summer

To confirm that the course you're interested in is actually going to be offered this coming Summer, please refer to the Registrar's Web page.

GEL: Culture & Ideas and Diversity: Global Studies
GEN THEMES - Lived Environments

THEMES **

** Citizenship for a Just and Diverse World **

** Lived Environments **

** Sustainability **

** Traditions, Cultures, and Transformations **

~ FOUNDATIONS

~ World Languages

~ Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity (REGD)

~ Historical and Cultural Studies

~ Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts

Cultures and Ideas

Global Studies

Education Abroad

Foreign Language

Literature

Visual and Performing Arts

Writing and Communication 2

GE courses typically offered in the Summer

Citizenship for a Just and Diverse World

Lived Environments

Sustainability

Traditions, Cultures, and Transformations