Chair: Gerd Gemünden
Professors B. Duncan, G. Gemünden, S. P. Scher; Associate Professors I. Kacandes, K. O. Kenkel, U. Rainer, E. R. Shookman; Assistant Professors V. Fuechtner, K. Mladek; Visiting Professor D. Grünbein; Lecturer C. Rinne.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR
Prerequisite: Two of the following: German 6 or 8; 9, 10, and 11; or permission of the Chair.
Students majoring in German Studies design an individual program in consultation with a departmental adviser. The Department of German Studies offers two routes to the major:
Major A focuses on literary and non-literary texts in their historical and intellectual contexts, comprising courses offered by the Department of German Studies. With permission of the Chair, one appropriate course in another department may be substituted.
Requirements: eight courses numbered above 29 (German 42 and 43, which are in translation, require additional work in German); normally, participation in the Foreign Study Program in Berlin with major credit for German 30 and 31. All majors must take German 86 in the winter term of their senior year. At the end of their senior spring term, all majors will give a presentation on the work done for German 86 or for their Honors thesis (German 87).
Major B combines resources of the Department of German Studies with a coherent selection of those of other departments and programs, such as Art History, Comparative Literature, Film Studies, Geography, Government, History, Music, Philosophy, and Religion. In principle, any relevant course in the Dartmouth curriculum that is approved by the Department of German Studies may qualify for this major.
Requirements: normally, participation in the Foreign Study Program in Berlin with major credit for German 30 and 31; four other advanced courses in the German Studies Department (German 42-43, which are in translation, require additional work in German); four advanced courses from among those offerings in other departments or programs that deal substantially with the culture of German- speaking countries. Regular courses that meet this requirement include:
Art History 41: Northern Renaissance
Government 41: European Politics
Government 64: Modern Political Thought
History 51: Modern European Intellectual History, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
History 52: Modern Germany, 1848-1945
Music 33: Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Western Art Music
Music 35: Beethoven in Context
Philosophy 15: Modern Philosophy: Hume and Kant
Philosophy 17: Existentialism and Phenomenology
All majors must take German 86 in the winter term of their senior year. At the end of their senior spring term, all majors will give a presentation on the work done for German 86 or for their Honors thesis (German 87).
Modified Major. The modified major combines German Studies with another discipline in a coherent program of study. This major is designed individually by the student with a departmental adviser. It may include study at Dartmouth’s Foreign Study center.
Major Courses: Six courses numbered above 29 (German 42-43, which are in translation, require additional work in German); four courses beyond the introductory level in another department or program of the College and approved by the Chair of the Department of German Studies. All majors must take German 86 in the winter term of their senior year. At the end of their senior spring term, all majors will give a presentation on the work done for German 86 or for their Honors thesis (German 87).
Senior Culminating Experience: In the winter term of their senior year, all German majors must take German 86. This course will count as one of the eight courses required for Major A and one of the 10 courses required for Major B. For students who are writing Honors theses, German 86 will be their first term of research. For students not writing an Honors thesis, German 86 will result in a one-term research paper written under the supervision of a member of the faculty. All students will participate in regular class meetings to be arranged; they will present the result of their research and receive a grade for German 86 at the end of the spring term.
Minor: The Department of German Studies offers a minor with the following requirements:
Prerequisite: German 1, 2, 3, or permission of the Chair.
Minor Courses: a total of six courses including
a) two of the following: German 6, 8, 9, 10, 11;
b) Four advanced courses above German 29 (German 42-43, which are in translation, require additional work in German).
One of these advanced courses may be replaced with an appropriate advanced course in another department or program such as History, Music, Film Studies, Government, Philosophy, and Jewish Studies.
Students wishing to declare a minor must sign up for it no later than the fall term of their senior year.
THE LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTER AND THE COMPUTER
Independent use of the computer and the language laboratory augment classroom work. Both programs are designed to provide individualized exercises in the written and spoken language.
LANGUAGE STUDY IN GERMANY
Prerequisite: German 2 with a grade of B- or better, or equivalent preparation, and admission to the German Language Study Abroad Program. The programs are conducted in Berlin during the winter and spring terms. Students live with local families and take courses taught by local instructors and the Dartmouth faculty member in residence. Upon successful completion of the program, students receive credit for German 3, 5, and 6. German 3 can serve to complete the College language requirement.
DARTMOUTH FOREIGN STUDY PROGRAM IN GERMANY
Prerequisite: Any two courses above German 5 (excluding 7; German 42-43, which are in translation, require additional work in German) with an average grade of B or better.
The Dartmouth Foreign Study Program is conducted in Berlin each fall term. Students live with local families and normally take German 29, 30, and 31. If their preparation warrants, they may replace German 29 with an independent project supervised by the program director. For more information, inquire in the Off-Campus Programs Office, 103 Wentworth Hall, or the Department of German Studies, 333 Dartmouth Hall.
GERMAN HONORS PROGRAM
Students of exceptional attainment who satisfy the minimum College requirement (pages XXX-XXX) are encouraged to participate in the Honors Program. Prospective honors students must submit their thesis proposal for approval by the Department and enroll in German 86 for the winter term. They are expected to provide sufficient written material by the end of winter term to warrant continuation of their project. Students not attaining the required minimum standards for honors work cannot enroll in German 87 in the spring term, but may have to take another German course to fulfill the major requirement. (See also Senior Culminating Experience, page XXX)
1. Introductory German
04F: 9, 10 05W, 05S: 9 05F: 9, 10 06W, 06S: 9
Introduction to written and spoken German. Intensive study of basic grammar and vocabulary through readings, drills, composition exercises, conversation, and practice in the laboratory. Never serves in partial satisfaction of the Distributive or World Culture Requirement. The staff.
2. Introductory German
04F: 10 05W: 9, 10 05S, 05F: 10 06W: 9, 10 06S: 10
Continuation of German 1. Continued intensive work on the fundamentals of oral and written German in classroom and laboratory. Never serves in partial satisfaction of the Distributive or World Culture Requirement. The staff.
3. Intermediate German
04F: 11 05W: D.L.S.A.05S, 05F: 11 06W, 06S: D.L.S.A. 06S: 11
Designed primarily to develop reading and speaking skills; emphasis on expansion of vocabulary and reinforcement of grammatical structures. Reading and discussion of texts of literary and cultural interest. Oral and written assignments. Never serves in partial satisfaction of the Distributive or World Culture Requirement. The staff.
5. Aspects of Contemporary German Culture
05W, 06W, 06S: D.L.S.A.
Using the city of Berlin itself as a site and object of study, students will explore contemporary German culture in its widest sense. Visits to religious, architectural, scientific, and industrial sites will acquaint them with multiple aspects of life in Berlin today.
Prerequisite: acceptance into the Dartmouth Language Study Abroad Program. Class of 2007 and earlier: Dist: PHR; WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W.
6. Readings in German Literature
05W, 06W, 06S: D.L.S.A.
This course introduces students to the interpretation of stories, poems, and articles from various periods of German history. Depending on availability, we will also read a play and view its performance in one of the many theaters in Berlin.
Prerequisite: acceptance into the Dartmouth Language Study Abroad Program. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W.
7. First-Year Seminars in German Literature
Consult special listings
8. Advanced Language Skills
05X: 9
Designed to develop facility in oral expression and writing; emphasis on vocabulary expansion and reinforcement of grammatical structures. The course will draw much of its material from the web, as well as from television films and more traditional print media. These works will serve as a basis for discussion and frequent writing assignments about contemporary linguistic, cultural, social, and political issues. Not open to returning FSP participants. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Rainer.
9. Introduction to German Studies: From the Reformation to Reunification
05S, 06S: 11
This course is an introduction to German cultural history. It examines social and historical developments as they are reflected in literature, art, music, and philosophy conceived from the age of Luther in the early sixteenth century to the unification of East and West Germany in 1990. Emphasis is placed on Germans’ growing awareness as a nation and on analysis of aesthetic and intellectual accomplishments representative of major periods in their history. May be elected as a prerequisite for the Foreign Study Program. Conducted in German. Class of 2007 and earlier: Dist: PHR; WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Rinne.
10. German Culture and Society before 1900
05W, 06W: 11
Before Germany became a nation state in 1871, language and culture defined its identity. Courses under this rubric will explore various ways in which writers, philosophers, politicians, and artists created and criticized different aspects of this identity. Figures treated will range from Goethe to Freud and from Beethoven to Nietzsche.
In 05W, Enlightenment, Emotion, and Emancipation: German Life and Literature, 1750- 1850. An introduction to the lives, times, and main works of major writers of the Golden Age of German literature, e.g., Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Bürger, Novalis, Hölderlin, Hoffmann, Eichendorff, Heine, Kleist, Büchner, and the Brothers Grimm. Readings are taken from plays, poems, and prose that ranges from fables, fairy tales, and other short fiction to aesthetic, philosophical, and political treatises. Structured around a series of videos, this course is divided into units that address important periods in German cultural and intellectual history, i.e., the Enlightenment, Storm-and-Stress, Weimar Classicism, Romanticism, and Young Germany. Essays, oral reports, and a final exam help students develop the ability to hear, read, speak, and write educated German.
Prerequisite: German 3, or equivalent. Open to all classes. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Shookman.
11. German Culture and Society in the Twentieth Century
04F, 05F: 11
In the course of the twentieth century, Germany has undergone changes with global implications. Courses under this rubric will explore important moments in the cultural history of German-speaking countries in the twentieth century, from the Weimar Republic to the Holocaust, and from the Cold War to the fall of the Berlin Wall and beyond.
In 04F, Passion for Justice. Arguably no other concept in the history of Western culture has made people commit so many sacrifices and crimes as in the name of law and justice. This course examines the significance and impact of justice and violence on German culture from Kafka and Weimar cinema, through literary and film accounts of the Holocaust trials after World War II, and to contemporary explorations of justice. The course will cover a range of 20th century German literature, film and critical thought including Kafka, Arendt, Weiss, Dürrenmatt, and Sebald along with contemporary German film (Das Experiment, Black Box Germany). Documentary films (Eichmann in Jerusalem; Nuremberg) will accompany the readings. Conducted in German.
Prerequisite: German 3, or equivalent. Open to all classes. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Mladek.
29. Advanced Language Training
04F, 05F: D.F.S.P.
Intensive work in spoken and written German. Systematic grammar review and vocabulary building, with special emphasis on idiomatic expression. Weekly written assignments and oral reports on Berlin-related topics. Does not carry major credit.
Prerequisite: acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W.
30. Studies in German History
04F, 05F: D.F.S.P.
More than any other German city, Berlin encapsulates Germany’s complex recent past. From the Brandenburg Gate to the Olympic Stadium and from the Wannsee to Alexanderplatz, every corner of the capital evokes memories of Nazi rule, World War II, Cold War divisions, or Unification. This course addresses significant aspects of postwar German history and cultural memory. In-depth studies of important developments will be complemented by visits to museums and historical sites.
Prerequisite: acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program. Class of 2007 and earlier: Dist: PHR; WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W.
31. Studies in German Theater
04F, 05F: D.F.S.P.
Berlin is one of the culturally most vibrant cities in Europe. There are over a hundred theaters and several opera houses with performances that range from classical drama to vaudeville and from musicals to serious opera. For the FSP literature course, students will view stage productions and read, discuss, and write weekly essays about the plays. The repertory varies from year to year.
Prerequisite: acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W.
42. Topics in German Civilization (in English Translation)
05X: 10 06W: 11
In 05X, The Twentieth-Century German Novel. An introduction in translation to some of the finest German, Austrian, and Swiss novels of the twentieth century, as well as to some of their film adaptations: Rainer Marie Rilke’s The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, Robert Musil’s Young Törless, Franz Kafka’s The Trial, Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, Max Frisch’s Homo Faber, Günter Grass’s Cat and Mouse, and Christa Wolf’s Cassandra. To discover what is specifically modern (or pre-postmodern), German, and novelistic about the twentieth-century German novel, the course will explore how these works treat broad topics like alienation, class, gender, adolescence, disease, death, memory, myth, and history, as reflected in the protagonists’ quest for self-knowledge, aesthetic fulfillment, or spiritual salvation. Conducted in English.
German majors can take this course for major credit if they do additional work in German and participate in a German discussion section.
Open to all classes. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Rainer.
In 06W, Freud: Psychoanalysis, Jews, and Gender (Identical to Jewish Studies 61 and Women’s and Gender Studies 46, pending faculty approval). After a brief historical introduction to Freud’s time and environment, Fin-de-Siécle Vienna, we will discuss how Freud’s own writings, his biograpHy and his biographers have shaped the perception of psychoanalysis as a specifically Jewish theory and practice. Through a close reading of Freud’s seminal texts on gender, sexuality and religion, we will trace the connections between psychoanalysis, Jewishness and gender that have impacted theoretical discussions until today, i.e. on hysteria or on anti-Semitism. We will close the class with historical, theoretical readings that explore and critique Freudian psychoanalysis on issues of anti-Semitism, politics, gender and sexuality (among others Karen Horney, Wilhelm Reich and Herbert Marcuse) and discuss the most recent debates on the status of Freud in the U.S. Fuechtner.
43. German Literature and Thought (in English Translation)
04F: 10 05F: 10A
In 04F, World War, Genocide, and Firebombing: The Burden of the Nazi Past (Identical to Jewish Studies 40). This course will examine the main events connected with the Second World War, the Genocide of European Jewry and Roma-Sinti, and the Allied attacks on the German civilian population. Its focus will be the different stages of coming to grips with that past on the part of the German population during events, directly after, and in the decades since. As a result, it will take up a number of controversies including those surrounding the Nuremberg and Frankfurt trials, the Eichmann trial, the construction of the Berlin Jewish Museum, the campaign to build a Holocaust memorial in Berlin, Neonazism, and the current campaign to remember German civilian casualties. Its approach will be interdisciplinary, utilizing history, journalism, music, literature, art, photography, and architecture. Its central question will be the formation of postwar German identity through the dialectic of suppressing and embracing past atrocities committed by and against the population. Conducted in English.
German majors can take this course for major credit if they do additional work in German and participate in a German discussion section.
Open to all classes. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: CI. Kacandes.
61. The Age of Goethe
05F: 10
62. Literature of the Romantic Period
Not offered in the period from 04F through 06S
64. Literature of the Modern Period.
04F, 06W: 2A
In 04F, Vienna at the Turn of the 20th Century. At the turn of the century Vienna was not only the capital of a vast, multilingual empire but also one of Europe’s most important cultural and intellectual centers. The artists, writers, and thinkers who were attracted to the city revolutionized the way we view the world and ourselves. Sigmund Freud’s theories changed perceptions of (wo)man forever. Painters, architects, and designers taught us to rethink the way we shape our environment. Poets, writers, and composers broke with traditions, thus breathing new life into established subjects and forms. We will read works by Hofmannsthal, Schnitzler, Rilke, Kafka, and Horvath, but also explore art, music, and major intellectual trends. Conducted in German.
Open to all classes. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Rainer.
65. Prose Fiction
Not offered in the period from 04F through 06S
67. German Drama
05W: 10A
In 05W, Stage-Revolutions. This course is an introduction to the most revolutionary and ground-breaking plays in German drama. Particular emphasis will be given to the dramatic innovations of the 19th and 20th centuries. We will read a selection of major plays by Schiller, Kleist, Büchner, Brecht, Dürrenmatt, Peter Weiss and Heiner Müller, and whenever possible also view the film versions. Conducted in German.
Open to all classes. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Mladek.
81. Seminar
Not offered in the period from 04F through 06S
82. Seminar
05S: 10A
In 05S, Ancient Mythology and Modern German Literature. Classical mythology and Greek and Roman antiquity have long been influential in European literature and art. In this course we will study the reception and creative appropriation of classic themes, motifs, and styles in modernist and postwar German literature. In particular, we will compare how authors before and after World War II, in East and West Germany, and from Jewish and Christian traditions have drawn on the classics to articulate their historical, political and philosophical concerns. Authors will include Rilke, Hofmannsthal, Kafka, Brecht, Wolf, Müller, and Grünbein. Conducted in German. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Grünbein.
84. Seminar
_06S: 10A
85. Independent Study
All terms: Arrange
86. Senior Independent Reading and Research
05W, 06W: 3A
A program of individual study, directed by a member of the staff, for all graduating majors. For students planning to write an Honors Thesis (German 87), this course will constitute the first term of research. A research project, signed by the adviser, must be approved by the Department by the beginning of the term and will culminate in a Senior Presentation at the end of the spring term. Conducted in German. Dist: LIT. Class of 2007 and earlier: WCult: EU. Class of 2008 and later: WCult: W. Kacandes.
87. Honors Thesis
05S, 06S: Arrange
See German Honors Program, page XXX.
The Department encourages students to consider the following courses in related disciplines:
History 48: Modern European Social History
History 51: Modern European Intellectual History, 18th and 19th Centuries
History 52: Modern Germany, 1848-1945
History 53: Europe in the Twentieth Century
Philosophy 15: Modern Philosophy: Hume and Kant
Philosophy 16: Modern Philosophy: Nineteenth Century Continental
Philosophy 17: Phenomenology and Existentialism
Art History 41: Northern Renaissance Art
Art History 51: Art of the Nineteenth Century
Art History 53: Classic Modernism
Government 41: European Politics
Government 64: Modern Political Thought
Music 32: Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Western Art Music
Music 33: Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Western Art Music
Music 35: Beethoven in Context
GERMAN CLUB
The German Club is open to all students interested in German language, literature and culture. Members meet for informal discussions and special events.