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German Courses
german 100 Intensive Elementary German +
Description:
An intensive language course that covers the entire elementary level in one semester. Speaking, listening, reading and writing are practiced in situations based on real-life, using authentic texts. Open to all students with no previous academic training in German. More Info
Offered in:german 101 Elementary German I +
Description:
GERMAN 101 is designed for students with no or very limited previous knowledge of German. Students will develop strategies for understanding spoken and written German and learn to express themselves orally and in writing. At the end of this course, students will be able to communicate in German in a basic manner. More Info
Offered in:german 102 Elementary German II +
Description:
GERMAN 102 is designed for students with basic knowledge of German (GERMAN 101 or equivalent). Students will broaden their ability to express themselves orally and in writing and expand their strategies for understanding spoken and written German. At the end of this course, students will be able to communicate in German in a simple manner using everyday expressions. More Info
Offered in:german 200 Intensive Intermediate German +
german 225L Berlin: Crossroads of History +
Description:
An interdisciplinary introduction to modern German history and culture from the late nineteenth century to the present. Using the German capital of Berlin as its focal point, the class examines the varied historical, socio-political, and artistic changes in German culture throughout the twentieth century. Based on a broad range of media - from literature, film, photography, drawing, and other visual arts to music and theater - students will investigate topics such as the aftermath of the German unification of 1871, Berlin's vibrant and provocative culture of the 1920s and early 1930s, the devastating Jewish genocide, the divided city of the Cold War, the collapse of the Wall and the creation of today's Berlin Republic. Taught in English; no knowledge of German necessary. More Info
Offered in:german 255L Pacting with the Devil: The Faust Tradition +
Description:
A reading and discussion course emphasizing critical interpretation of major texts in the Faust tradition from German folklore, Christopher Marlowe, J.W. von Goethe, Mikhail Bulgakov and others. Attention is given to the evolution of the legend and to other adaptations (in music and film) of Faustian material. More Info
Offered in:german 280 Special Topics in German Literary and Cultural History +
Description:
Announced topics, generally a particular author, work or historical moment. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
german 330L Ghostly Doubles and Evil Twins +
Description:
For more than two centuries, the figure of the doppelganger has played a major role in global folklore, fiction, popular culture and film. A doppelganger is a ghostly double of a living person and typically appears as his or her twin, shadow or mirror image, representing evil or misfortune. This course examines the doppelganger as a figure of supernatural horror that simultaneously facilities inquiries into questions of personal identity and the nature of the cinematic medium. Taught in English. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
german 337L Disney's European Fairy Tales +
Description:
It is difficult to think of any American who has had greater influence on narrative and visual culture around the world than Walt Disney. Yet the quality of Disney's creations has given rise to much debate, famously leading one critic to ask: ''It's Disney, but is it art?'' This course traces the first 65 years of the Walt Disney Animation Studios in an attempt to answer that question. A major focus will be the company's heavy reliance in these years on 'high art' from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. From illuminated manuscripts to palatial architecture, European art ''especially French, Italian, and German'' is pervasive in Walt Disney Studios storytelling. Beyond questions of adaptation, class discussion will also center issues of social commentary, analyzing how gender, sexuality, race, class, and ability were presented onscreen, and how they were treated in Studio culture. Through formalist, narrative, and sociohistorical analysis, students will achieve a better understanding of how European art shaped Disney, and how that art has engaged (or failed to engage) with societal change.Assignments are built around Disney's feature films, to be supplemented by the premodern texts and visual arts that inspired them, as well as relevant critical studies. Course taught in English; readings available in English and in original languages, where relevant. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
german 340L Moving Across Borders: Migration and Diversity +
Description:
Focusing on questions of identity and migratory experiences across the globe, this comparative class introduces students to key works of world media and culture. It examines the discursive construction of diversity in today's de-centered, globalized world and discusses the analytic benefits of `transculturality' for literary and cultural studies. Taught in English. More Info
Offered in:german 345L Dreams and Visions +
Description:
This comparative literature course focuses on dreams and visions as a cultural phenomenon and introduces students to key authors, genres, and movements in world media history. Adopting a comparative approach, students are led to explore exemplary works from French, German, Italian, and other European literature as cultural practices that shape our understanding of society, history, and culture. Students will investigate the concept of dreams from antiquity to modern psychoanalysis, discuss prophetic dreams and nightmares, and reflect on the connection between dreams and society, exploring French, Italian, German, and other global media cultures. More Info
Offered in:german 350L Green Germany: Environmental Thought and Policy +
Description:
This course will introduce students to German conceptions of nature and to the environmental debates and policies that have emerged from those ideas. Over the course of the last two centuries, environmental thought has had a major impact on German politics, history and culture. Comparing German perspectives and policies to those of other countries, this course will foster an understanding of the factors that have shaped German national identity, sustained the country's environmental movement and elicited Germany's current image as a world leader in environmental policy. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
german 355L European Crime Fiction +
Description:
This course examines suspects, felons, and detectives in European crime fiction between the 18th century and today (in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia). It introduces students to the historical development of crime literature focusing on key authors, genres and movements. Beginning with the popularization of crime narratives in the era of Enlightenment, the course examines the development of genre conventions in subsequent centuries until the post-modern disintegration of narrative patterns. Particular emphasis is placed on the construction of gender roles, social class, national and regional identity through literature as a cultural practice. Taught in English; readings in the original language are available upon request. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
german 365L German Pop Culture +
Description:
This course introduces students to German popular culture, focusing on stories that have shaped our civilization over the centuries, including their modern adaptations in various media. It explores major themes and tendencies in the German cultural imagination and reflects how concepts of ’Germanness’ and national identity developed over time. By critically analyzing a variety of popular aesthetic traditions, students expand and deepen their understanding of today’s cultural landscape. Taught in English. More Info
Offered in:german 372L German Cinema +
Description:
German cinema constitutes one of the most creative, influential and exciting of all filmic traditions. In this course students will analyze masterpieces of the German cinema and develop an understanding of their expressive modes and formal structures. Topics may include Nazi cinema, cinema and technology, minority filmmaking, German filmmakers in American exile, German New Wave, women filmmakers, and contemporary German cinema. Taught in English. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
german 374L Love Stories: A Historical Handbook to Happily Ever After +
Description:
What is love? Or rather, what do we think love is? From the Beatles' ''all you need is love'' to Shakespeare's ''whoever loved that loved not at first sight?'' we are bombarded in our culture with preconceived notions about the nature of amorous affection. This course takes a transhistorical view of Western civilization, from the Middle Ages to the present, in order to trace and interrogate societal constructs about love. Our goal is to figure out how love stories work, so that we understand better how they work on us. As part of this work, we will explore how people have historically disrupted heteronormative and patriarchal narratives of love, forming alternative models of domestic bliss. We will consider society and history through literature, so texts like sonnets, love letters, and excerpts from novels will make up the bulk of our reading. However, assignments will be drawn from multiple disciplines, as well as popular culture, including song lyrics, reality television, and film.FRENCH 374L and ITAL 374L and GERMAN 374L and MLLC 374L are the same course. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
german 377L Rebellion! On Being Young in European Fiction +
Description:
This comparative literature course examines youth cultures, intergenerational relationships and conflicts, coming-of-age stories, narratives of filial rebellion, and the quest for one's own identity in French, German, and Italian fiction. Through this thematic lens, the class introduces students to key authors, genres, and movements in European literary history between the 18th century and today, while also focusing on the interconnectedness between literature and culture. Taught in English. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
german 379 Independent Study +
Description:
Independent Study is offered to students to study particular topics that are not provided for by regular curriculum offerings. The course enables a student to pursue a topic that is directly relevant to the student's course of study and to do so with a course instructor's oversight. More Info
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