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The demands of the 21st century require future leaders to cultivate an awareness and appreciation of cultural differences and the ability to negotiate those differences in successful and productive ways. To this end, the German Area Studies Program focuses on training learners in translinguistic and transcultural competence. The skills leading to this competence include: to function as informed and capable interlocutors with educated native speakers in the target language; to reflect on the world and themselves through the lens of another language and culture; to comprehend speakers of the target language as members of foreign societies and to grasp themselves as Americans – as members of a specific culture; to learn to relate to other members of their own society who speak another language other than English. Instruction at all levels fosters the following skill sets: functional language abilities, critical language awareness, interpretation and translation, historical and political consciousness, social sensibility and aesthetic perception.
With translinguistic and transcultural competence as guiding principles, the program offers both a disciplinary and interdisciplinary minor. The minor requirements stress both thorough linguistic and cultural instruction to ensure that students develop the competency and skill sets described above.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR
disciplinary, 6 courses
The disciplinary minor in German area studies is comprised of six courses originating from the German curriculum. Students wishing to complete a disciplinary minor in German area studies must take three semesters of German language beyond GERM 102 and three courses in German literature and culture. One of these culture courses may be a GERE course (German culture taught in English), while the other culture courses must be upper-level German courses. Appropriate classes for this second requirement include GERM 340, GERM 341, GERM 370, or GERM 371.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR
interdisciplinary, 6 courses
The interdisciplinary minor in German area studies is made up of six courses: three required courses and three electives. The required courses would originate from the German curriculum. Students choosing an interdisciplinary minor in German area studies must take at least two semesters of German language beyond GERM 102. Moreover, students are required to take Introduction to German Area Studies I. Beyond these courses, students are expected to take three electives. These electives should reflect the three areas of inquiry, namely cultural legacies, historical heritages, and intellectual traditions. Students can take a GERE course to satisfy the cultural legacy requirement. When choosing electives, students must select at least one course from each area. The electives should be chosen from the crosslisted courses.
CROSS LISTED COURSES
Cultural Legacies
ART 226 Northern Renaissance Art
ART 250 20th-Century European Art: Reality Remade
ENG 287 Film Histories I (1895–1935)
ENG 368 Film and Ideology
ENG 376 New Waves
MDSC 224 Age of Propaganda I
MDSC 225 Age of Propaganda II
MUS 130 Beethoven: The Man and His Music
MUS 160 The Symphony
MUS 203 History of Western Art: Baroque and Classical (1600–1800)
MUS 204 History of Western Art: Romantic and Modern (1800–1950)
REL 401 Literary and Theological Responses to the Holocaust
Historical Heritages
HIST 237 Europe Since the War
HIST 238 The World Wars in Global Perspective
HIST 269 Modern Germany 1764–1996
HIST 272 Nazi Germany
HIST 276 The Age of Dictators
HIST 325 Medicine and Public Health in Modern Europe
POL 243 Europe after Communism
POL 245 Politics of New Europe
REL 270 Modern Jewish History
REL 271 History and Impact of the Holocaust
Intellectual Traditions
HIST 253 Renaissance and Reformation
HIST 256 Technology and Society in Europe
HIST 301 The Enlightenment
PHIL 373 Kant
POL 265 Modern Political Philosophy
COURSES TAUGHT IN GERMAN (GERM)
101 Beginning German I German instruction endeavors to foster cross-cultural competence by infusing historical knowledge, cultural artifacts, and social structures into the very first lesson. Auf geht’s!, the instructional materials for both German 101 and 102, sets as its goals intercultural understanding and intercultural communicative competence. While the former goal refers to the ability to analyze and think critically about the effects that culture, language and worldview have on each other, the latter describes the ability to interact with people from another country and culture in a foreign language in a way that is satisfactory to themselves and the other and that shows an awareness of the specific meanings, connotation, and the historical and social context of the target language. (Offered annually)
102 Beginning German II This course is a continuation of GERM 101 and continues to pursue the goals established above. Prerequisite: GERM 101 or the equivalent. (Offered annually)
201 Intermediate German I Instruction at the 200-level continues along the same lines as that on the 100-level in that tranlinguistic and transcultural competency is the overriding goal. The materials of instruction is Weiter geht's!, the second year companion to Auf geht's! and instruction focuses on training learners translinguistic and transcultural awareness. (Offered annually)
202 Intermediate German II This course is a continuation of GERM 201 and continues to pursue the goals established above. Prerequisite: GERM 201 or the equivalent. (Offered annually)
301 Introduction to German Area Studies I This course represents students’ first exposure to the field of German Area Studies. In addition to stimulating the growth of the students’ ability to express their thoughts clearly, concisely, and correctly in spoken and written German, the class will introduce students to core issues of the field, i.e. the culture of German-speaking Europe takes many forms and expressions. Besides learning about canonical texts and figures, students will also explore film, music, politics, and pop-culture as contributors to the bright palate that constitutes the culture of central Europe. Prerequisite: GERM 202 or its equivalent, or permission of instructor. (Offered annually)
302 Introduction to German Area Studies II This class continues the work begun in GERM 301, in that it investigates the seminal issues of German Area Studies. Topics covered will vary from instructor to instructor, but the goal will remain the same: to acquaint students with central questions of the field, yet will do so with more depth and rigor than in GERM 301. Ultimately, this class will include a brief study tour in Central Europe that integrates the topics covered over the course of the semester. Prerequisite: GERM 301 or its equivalent, or permission of instructor. (Offered annually)
340 Introduction to German Literature and Culture I Germany, a country that forms the crossroads of Europe, has always been forced to define itself by the influences that have come outside, from other surrounding cultures. A study of the social, religious, and economic influences, as seen in the literature and other historical documents of Germany, this course introduces students to the rich and varied background of the nation from the period of the Völkerwanderungen to the Middle Ages to the Reformation to the beginning of Aufklärung. Prerequisite: GERM 301 or permission of instructor. (Offered every three years)
341 Introduction to German Literature and Culture II Beginning with the Aufklärung, this survey course treats epochs and major developments in the area of German literature and culture from the 18th century to the present. Individual representative texts (including plays, paintings, and films) are studied and discussed in terms of their literary significance and their relation to the historical, cultural, and social contexts. The course develops critical and analytical skills through an intensive introduction to the study of German literature, culture, and political history. Prerequisite: GERM 301 or permission of instructor. (Offered every three years)
370, 371 Special Topics The topic of these courses will be determined by the instructor. Possible topics include Immigrantenliteratur, Kafka, Romanticism, and the Image of America in German Culture. Prerequisite: German 301 or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. (Offered annually)
450 Independent Study
495 Honors
COURSES TAUGHT IN ENGLISH (GERE)
205 Identity as Image: the Bildungsroman The Bildungsroman, or novel of formation, traces the development and maturation of an individual. These texts, however, do more than just tell a story. This genre illustrates the ever-shifting attempts to define identity in the intellectual tradition of German-Speaking Europe. Central questions concerning this class include: What constitutues identity? What does it mean to be German? (Klaus, Spring, offered every three years)
206 Madness in Modernity The first decades of the 20th century constituted a period of great uncertainty that was felt across Europe. At this time, artists experimented with novel ways of articulating the uneasiness and angst that they themselves experienced and that they witnessed in their surroundings. The course focuses on the German-speaking countries of Europe and investigates the ways in which the art of that period registers potentially devastating shifts in the social, cultural, and epistemological tenets that define modern life. Students also integrate texts, paintings, and film into their inquiry. (Klaus, Spring, offered every three years)
208 Guilt and Punishment in German Culture Whether the crime is theft, incest, or murder, transgression and the resulting guilt and punishment have factored prominently in German-language novellas over the last two centuries. What are these crimes and what repercussions arise from them? What do these transgressions reveal about German-speaking Europe? Does this particular genre lend itself to tales of sin and despair? These and other questions guide this tour of these truly remarkable texts. (Klaus, Spring, offered every three years)
