1. Introductory German
08F: 9S, 10 09W, 09S: 9S 09F: 9S, 10 10W, 10S: 9S
Introduction to written and spoken German. Intensive study of basic grammar and vocabulary through readings, drills, composition exercises, conversation, and practice in the lab oratory. Never serves in partial satisfaction of the Distributive or World Culture Requirement. The staff.
2. Introductory German
08F: 10 09W: 9S, 10 09S, 09F: 10 10W: 9S, 10 10S: 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
08F: 11 09S: 11, D.L.S.A. 09X: D.L.S.A. 09F: 11 10S: 11, D.L.S.A.
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
09S, 09X, 10S, 10X: 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. WCult: W.
6. Readings in German Literature
09S, 09X, 10S, 10X: 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 plays and view their performances in some of the many theaters in Berlin.
Prerequisite: acceptance into the Dartmouth Language Study Abroad Program. Dist: LIT; WCult: W.
7. First-Year Seminars in German Literature
Consult special listings
8. Advanced Language Skills
09X: 9L
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. WCult: W. Schnader.
9. Introduction to German Studies: From the Reformation to Reunification
09S, 10S: 11
This introduction to German cultural history examines social and historical developments as they are reflected in literature, art, music, and philosophy from the age of Martin Luther to the unification of Germany in 1990. Emphasis is placed on Germans’ growing awareness of nationhood 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.
Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Kenkel.
10. German Culture and Society before 1900
09W, 10W: 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 09W, Germany and the East. While “the Orient” had already intrigued the earliest German authors known to us, during the Enlightenment fascination with these exotic lands, traveled and imagined, finds its counterpart in Germany’s growing investment in Eastern Europe. Reading the works of Gellert, Lessing, Goethe, Herder, and Stifter, among others, we will explore eighteenth- and nineteenth-century facets of this cultural parallelism and consider their political ramifications. Conducted in German.
Prerequisite: German 3, or equivalent. Open to all classes. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Komska.
In 10W, 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. Readings include plays, poems, and prose ranging from fairy tales and other short fiction to aesthetic, philosophical, and political treatises. Structured around a series of videos, this course focuses on important periods in German cultural and intellectual history. Essays, oral reports, and a final exam encourage students to hear, read, speak, and write educated German. Conducted in German.
Prerequisite: German 3, or equivalent. Open to all classes. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Shookman
11. German Culture and Society in the Twentieth Century
08F: 2 09F: 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 08F, Literary Modernism. The course will consider Modernism in German-speaking countries, examining prose works by Hauptmann, Hofmannsthal, Kafka, and Christa Wolf; plays by Brecht, Dürrenmatt, and Frisch; and poetry by Rilke, George, Trakl, Ball, Celan, and Bachmann. The readings, discussions, essays, oral reports, and final exam help to further students’ ability to hear, read, speak, and write German. Depending on the needs of the enrolled students, there will be some review of grammar, as well.
Prerequisite: German 3, or equivalent. Conducted in German. Open to all classes. Duncan.
In 09F, Autobiography and Memory in 20th Century German Culture. After a brief historical introduction, we will analyze autobiographical and literary texts, artwork, films, and contemporary architectural projects. Readings include works by Heinrich Mann, Anna Seghers, Elias Canetti, Christa Wolf and Walter Benjamin, the Nazi-era diaries of Viktor Klemperer, the paintings of Gerhardt Richter, and films such as Black Box Germany, documenting a society polarized by terrorism. We conclude by analyzing architectural projects memorializing German history. Conducted in German.
Prerequisite: German 3, or equivalent. Open to all classes. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Fuechtner.
13. Beyond Good and Evil
09S: 10 10S: 10
Borrowing its title from Nietzsche, this course examines some of the most famous and infamous figures—mythological, fictional and historical—that have profoundly shaped German identity. As we explore the actual lives, works, and influence of the likes of Luther, Faust, and Leni Riefenstahl, you will not only develop a greater understanding of Wagner’s question “What is German?” but also learn how the answer to that question has come to epitomize notions of good and evil in general. Conducted in English.
Open to all classes. WCult: CI. Mladek.
29. Advanced Language Training
08F, 09F: 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. WCult: W.
30. Studies in German History
08F, 09F: 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. WCult: W.
31. Studies in German Theater
08F, 09F: 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; WCult: W.
42. Topics in German Civilization (in English translation)
09S, 10W: 10A
In 09S, Freud: Psychoanalysis, Jews, and Gender (Identical to, and described under, Jewish Studies 51; also Women’s and Gender Studies 67.1).
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. SOC; WCult: CI. Fuechtner.
In 10W, Whodunnit and Why? The Criminal, the Detective, and Society. Tracing the development of crime and detective fiction from its 19th century origins to modern crime stories and films, we will focus on the intersections between these texts/films and the cultures in which they were written. We will consider the development of the genre, the relationship between the figures of the detective, the police and the criminal within (and outside of) society, and the ways tales of crime depict a culture’s fantasies and fears.
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. Mladek.
43. History and Theory of German Film (in English translation)
09F: 3A
In 09F, Continental Strangers: European Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933-1950 (Identical to, and described under, Film Studies 42).
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. ART; WCult: CI. Gemünden.
44. The Faust Tradition (in English translation)
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
45. The Burden of the Nazi Past: World War, Genocide, Population Transfer, and Firebombing (in English translation) (Identical to Jewish Studies 37.2 and Comparative Literature 64)
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
46. The German Novel (in English translation)
09X: 10
In 09X, The Twentieth Century Novel. Great 20th-century German novels in translation and several of their film adaptations: Rilke’s Malte Laurids Brigge, Musil’s Young Törless, some of Franz Kafka’s shorter fiction, Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain, Frisch’s Homo Faber, Grass’s Cat and Mouse, and Christa Wolf’s Search for Christa T. We will explore these works’ treatments of topics like alienation, class, gender, adolescence, disease, death, memory, and myth, as reflected in the protagonists’ quest for self-knowledge, aesthetic fulfillment, and spiritual salvation.
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; WCult: W. Duncan.
47. German Drama (in English translation)
08F: 10A
In 08F, From Enlightenment to Atonement: German Drama in its Historical and Societal Context. Reading plays from the 18th century to the present, we will trace the formal, thematic, and historical developments of the German theatrical tradition. From Lessing’s Emilia Galotti, Schiller’s Maria Stuart, Goethe’s Egmont, Büchner’s Woyzek, Brecht’s Galileo, Dürrenmatt’s The Physicists, Frisch’s Andorra to Hochhuth’s The Deputy we will examine continuities as well as breaks in the authors’ theoretical and societal concerns about the role and function of drama as literature and public institution. Audiovisual materials are included as well.
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; WCult: W. Rainer.
61. The Age of Goethe
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
62. Literature of the Romantic Period
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
64. Literature of the Modern Period
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
65. Topics in Twentieth Century German Cultural Studies
09W: 2A 10W: 10A
In 09W, Major Transformations. This seminar will introduce students to four major issues in German culture during the twentieth century: Grossstadt, Gewalt und Antisemitismus; Stunde Null; Multikulturalismus; and Die Berliner Republik. Through primary readings in German and study of visual and musical material, students will become familiar with the methods of cultural studies, with the use of different media to explore a topic, and will improve their spoken and written German. The course includes oral presentations of paper topics. Conducted in German.
German majors can take this course for Senior Seminar credit if they do additional work.
Open to all classes. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Kacandes.
In 10W, Modes of Belonging: What is Heimat? This seminar will introduce students to major issues in German culture that span the course of the twentieth century and consider them through the prism of our theme. It will further familiarize students with the methods of cultural studies, teach them how to explore a topic using different media, and improve their speaking and writing in German. The course is divided into several segments with a week at the end for oral presentations of paper topics. For each topical segment there will be primary readings in German as well as materials in other media. Conducted in German.
German majors can take this course for Senior Seminar credit if they do additional work.
Open to all classes. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Komska.
67. German Drama
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
81. Seminar
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
82. Seminar
09S, 10S: Arrange
Seminar conducted in German. Topic and instructor to be announced.
84. Seminar
Not offered in the period from 08F through 10S
85. Independent Study
All terms: Arrange
87. Honors Thesis
09S, 10S: Arrange
See German Honors Program, page XXX.
The Department encourages students to consider the following courses in related disciplines:
Art History 43: Northern Renaissance Art
Art History 51: Visions of Modernity: The Nineteenth Century
Art History 53: Classic Modernism: Painting and Sculpture, 1900-1914
Government 41: European Politics
Government 64: Modern Political Thought
History 48: European Society in the Industrial Age
History 51: Modern European Intellectual History, 18th and 19th Centuries
History 52: Modern Germany, 1800-1945
History 65: Europe in the Twentieth Century
Music 32: Western Art Music from the Early Baroque through Beethoven
Music 33: Western Art Music from Early Romanticism to the Late 20th Century
Music 35: Beethoven in Context
Philosophy 15: Modern Philosophy: Hume and Kant
Philosophy 16: Modern Philosophy: Nineteenth Century Continental
Philosophy 17: Phenomenology and Existentialism
GERMANIA
Germania, the German club, is open to all students interested in German language, literature and culture. Members meet for informal discussions and special events.