German Studies
Contacts
Office: Building 260, Room 119
Mail Code: 94305-2030
Phone: (650) 723-3266
Email: germanstudies@stanford.edu
Web Site: http://germanstudies.stanford.edu
Courses offered by the Department of German Studies are listed on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site under the subject code GERMAN. For courses in German language instruction with the subject code GERLANG, see the “Language Center” section of this bulletin.
The department’s goal is to provide students with the linguistic and analytic ability to explore the significance of the cultural traditions and political histories of the German-speaking countries of Central Europe. At the same time, the interdisciplinary study of German culture, which can include art, history, literature, media theory, philosophy, and political science, encourages students to evaluate broader and contradictory legacies of modernity, such as how the literary, artistic, and cultural responses to the belated and rapid modernization of Germany allow for reflection on the modern condition in general.
Similarly, the German experience of national identity and political unification sheds light on wider issues of cultural cohesion and difference, as well as on the causes and meaning of phenomena such as racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust. In general, an education in German Studies not only encourages the student to consider the effects of German-speaking thinkers and artists on the modern world, but also provides a lens through which the contours of the present and past can be evaluated.
The department offers students the opportunity to pursue course work at all levels in the languages, cultures, literatures, and intellectual histories of the German-language traditions. Whether interested in German literature or the influence of German thought on other fields in the humanities, students find a broad range of courses covering language acquisition and refinement, literary history and criticism, cultural history and theory, history of thought, continental philosophy, and linguistics.
By carefully planning their programs, students may fulfill the B.A. requirements for a double major in German Studies and another subject. A coterminal program is offered for the B.A. and M.A. degrees in German Studies. Doctoral students may elect Ph.D. minors in Comparative Literature, Humanities, Linguistics, and Modern Thought and Literature.
Special collections and facilities at Stanford offer possibilities for extensive research in German Studies and related fields pertaining to Central Europe. Facilities include the Stanford University Libraries and the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. Special collections include the Hildebrand Collection (texts and early editions from the 16th to the 19th century), the Austrian Collection (with emphasis on source material to the time of Maria Theresa and Joseph II, the Napoleonic wars, and the Revolution of 1848), and the Stanford Collection of German, Austrian, and Swiss Culture. New collections emphasize culture and cultural politics in the former German Democratic Republic. The Hoover Institution has a unique collection of historical and political documents pertaining to Germany and Central Europe from 1870 to the present. The department also has its own reference library.
Haus Mitteleuropa, the German theme house at 620 Mayfield, is an undergraduate residence devoted to developing an awareness of the culture of Central Europe. A number of department courses are regularly taught at the house, and there are in-house seminars and conversation courses. Assignment is made through the regular undergraduate housing draw.
Mission of the Undergraduate Program in German Studies
The mission of the undergraduate program in German Studies is to provide students with the linguistic and analytic background necessary to explore the significance of cultural traditions and political histories of the German-speaking countries of Central Europe. In addition, its interdisciplinary component prepares students to evaluate how the literary, artistic, and cultural responses to the belated yet rapid modernization of Germany allow for reflection on the modern condition. Students pursue course work at all levels in the languages, literatures, and intellectual histories of the Germanic nations. The program prepares students for careers in business, social service, and government, and for graduate work in German Studies.
Learning Outcomes (Undergraduate)
The department expects undergraduate majors in the program to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are used in evaluating students and the department's undergraduate program. Students are expected to demonstrate:
- oral proficiency beyond the interpersonal level with presentational language abilities.
- writing proficiency beyond the interpersonal level with presentational language abilities.
- close reading skills of authentic texts in German.
- the ability to develop effective and nuanced lines of interpretation.
Graduate Programs in German Studies
The University requirements for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees are described in the "Graduate Degrees" section of this bulletin.
Learning Outcomes (Graduate)
The purpose of the master's program is to further develop knowledge and skills in German Studies and to prepare students for a professional career or doctoral studies. This is achieved through completion of courses, in the primary field as well as related areas, and experience with independent work and specialization.
The Ph.D. is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research and analysis in German Studies. Through completion of advanced course work and rigorous skills training, the doctoral program prepares students to make original contributions to the knowledge of German Studies and to pursue career tracks in higher education and in other sectors.
German Studies and a Minor Field
Students may work toward a Ph.D. in German Studies with minors in such areas as Comparative Literature, History, Humanities, Linguistics, or Modern Thought and Literature. Students obtaining a Ph.D. in such combinations may require additional training.
Bachelor of Arts in German Studies
Majors must demonstrate basic language skills, either by completing GERLANG 1,2,3, First-Year German, or the equivalent such as an appropriate course of study at the Stanford in Berlin Center. Students then enroll in intermediate and advanced courses on literature, culture, thought, and language. Courses counted toward degree requirements must be taken for a letter grade unless that grading option is not available. Students can combine a major in German Studies with a major in any other field.
Degree Requirements
- Completion of 60 units. All classes taken towards this major must be taken for a letter grade unless the only option is C/NC. Units earned towards the Bachelor of Arts in German Studies with Honors degree may be applied to the 60 unit total.
- Completion of two GERMAN Literature courses at the 120-level:
Units GERMAN 120Q Contemporary Politics in Germany 3 GERMAN 121N Memory in the Modernist Novel 3 GERMAN 123 German Culture and Film 3-5 GERMAN 124 Introduction to German Poetry 4 GERMAN 128N Medicine, Modernism, and Mysticism in Thomas Mann's the Magic Mountain 3 - Completion of German Studies Core series:
Units GERMAN 131 Intro to 18th Century German Literature: The Age of Reason, Feeling and Revolution 3-5 GERMAN 132 Intro to Nineteenth-Century German Literature 3-5 GERMAN 133 Twentieth Century and Contemporary Literature and Culture 3-5 or GERMAN 134 Freud's Vienna - Senior Capstone:
Units GERMAN 190 German Capstone: Reading Franz Kafka 3-5 - Remaining units to be completed through elective courses approved in consultation with the Chair of Undergraduate Studies. A maximum of 27 units of GERLANG courses and/or 25 units from courses covering German material taught in other departments may be applied to these elective units. IHUM or Thinking Matters courses approved by the Chair of Undergraduate Studies for a maximum of 10 units. As well as Structured Liberal Education, students may count 10 units of SLE towards the major electives.
German and Philosophy
The German and Philosophy major option offers students the opportunity to combine studies in literature and philosophy. Students take most of their courses from departments specializing in the intersection of literature and philosophy. This option is not declared in Axess; it does not appear on the transcript or diploma. This option requires a minimum of 16 courses, for a minimum total of 65 units.
Degree Requirements
German Studies:
- Completion of two GERMAN Literature courses at the 120-level:
Units GERMAN 120Q Contemporary Politics in Germany 3 GERMAN 121N Memory in the Modernist Novel 3 GERMAN 123 German Culture and Film 3-5 GERMAN 124 Introduction to German Poetry 4 GERMAN 128N Medicine, Modernism, and Mysticism in Thomas Mann's the Magic Mountain 3 - Completion of German Studies Core series:
Units GERMAN 131 Intro to 18th Century German Literature: The Age of Reason, Feeling and Revolution 3-5 GERMAN 132 Intro to Nineteenth-Century German Literature 3-5 GERMAN 133 Twentieth Century and Contemporary Literature and Culture 3-5 or GERMAN 134 Freud's Vienna - German Studies Senior Capstone:
Units GERMAN 190 German Capstone: Reading Franz Kafka 3-5
Philosophy:
- PHIL 80 Mind, Matter, and Meaning
- GERMAN 181 Philosophy and Literature
- Aesthetics, Ethics, Political Philosophy: one course from PHIL 170 series.
- Language, Mind Metaphysics, and Epistemology: one course from PHIL 180 series.
- History of Philosophy: one course in the history of Philosophy, numbered above PHIL 100.
- Two additional elective courses of special relevance to the study of philosophy and literature as identified by the committee in charge of the program. Students must consult with their advisers, the Chair of Undergraduate Studies, and the undergraduate adviser of the program in philosophical and literary thought.
- Capstone: One of the courses must be taken in the student’s senior year. When choosing courses, students must consult with their advisers, the Chair of Undergraduate Studies, and the undergraduate adviser of the program in philosophical and literary thought:
Units ENGLISH 117A Irony: From Socrates to David Foster Wallace 5 COMPLIT 199 Senior Seminar 3-5 GERMAN 282 Martin Heidegger 3-5
Units devoted to meeting the department’s language requirement are not counted toward the 65-unit requirement.
The capstone seminar and the two related courses must be approved by both the German Studies Chair of Undergraduate Studies and the undergraduate adviser of the program in philosophical and literary thought administered through the DLCL. Substitutions, including transfer credit, are not normally permitted for items 3b, 3c, and 3d, and are not permitted under any circumstances for items 2, 3a, and 5. Up to 10 units taken in the Philosophy Department may be taken CR/NC or S/NC; the remainder must be taken for a letter grade.
Honors
German majors with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or above, and who maintain a 3.5 (GPA) in major courses, are eligible to participate in the DLCL's honors program. Prospective honors students must choose a senior thesis adviser from among their home department's regular faculty, in their junior year, preferably by March 1, but no later than May 1.
Honors papers vary considerably in length as a function of their topic, historical scope, and methodology. They may make use of previous work developed in seminars and courses, but display an enhanced comparative or theoretical scope. Quality rather than quantity is the key criterion. Honors theses range from 40-90 pages not including bibliography and notes.
During Spring Quarter of the junior year, a student interested in the honors program should consult with the Chair of Undergraduate Studies of their home department to submit a thesis proposal (2-5 pages), DLCL Honors application and an outline of planned course work for their senior year. During this quarter, students may enroll for 2 units in DLCL 189C Honors Thesis Seminar for the drafting or revision of the thesis proposal. The proposal is reviewed by the Chair of Undergraduate Studies and the Director of the department and will be approved or returned for submission.
Honors students are encouraged to participate in the honors college hosted by Bing Honors College and coordinated by the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages. The honors college is offered at the end of the summer, during the weeks directly preceding the start of the academic year, and is designed to help students develop their honors thesis projects. Applications must be submitted through the Bing program. For more information, view the Bing Honors website.
In Autumn Quarter of the senior year, the students must enroll in DLCL 189A Honors Thesis Seminar, a 5 unit seminar that focuses on researching and writing the honors thesis. During Winter Quarter students then enroll for 5 units in DLCL 189B Honors Thesis Seminar while composing their thesis. Students who did not enroll in DLCL 189C Honors Thesis Seminar during their Spring Quarter junior year may do so in the Spring Quarter of their senior year while revising the thesis, if approved by the thesis supervisor. A total of 10-12 units will be awarded for completion of honors course work, and the finished thesis. Honors essays are due to the thesis adviser no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 15th of the terminal year. If an essay is found deserving of a grade of 'A-' or better by the thesis adviser, honors are granted at the time of graduation.
Overseas Studies and Internships in German Studies
All students who are planning to study at Stanford in Berlin or engage in an internship are encouraged to consult with the Chair of Undergraduate Studies and the Overseas Studies office about integrating work done abroad into their degree program. Through the Center, students with at least two years of college-level German can also take courses at the Freie Universität, Technische Universität, or Humboldt Universität. Most credits earned in Berlin can be applied to the undergraduate major in German Studies. For course descriptions and additional offerings, see the listings in the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site, or the Bing Overseas Studies web site.
Internships in Germany are arranged through the Bing Overseas Studies Program. In addition, students may consult with the department to arrange local internships involving German language use or issues pertaining to Germany or Central Europe. Returning interns who wish to develop a paper based on their experience should enroll in GERMAN 298 Writing Workshop.
Minor in German Studies
The department offers two minor options; the DLCL offers one additional minor option.
Minor in German Language and Culture
Students may choose to minor in German Language and Culture if they are particularly interested in developing a strong ability in the German language, or in pursuing linguistic issues pertinent to German. Students satisfy the requirements for the minor in German Language and Culture by completing 35 units of course work, including at least three courses at the GERMAN 100-139, with coursework taught in German. Study at the Stanford in Berlin Center for at least one quarter is highly recommended.
Minor in German Cultural Studies
Students who wish to study German literature, culture, or thought, without necessarily acquiring facility in the German language, may pursue a minor in German Cultural Studies. Students meet the requirements for the minor in German Cultural Studies by completing 35 units of course work in German literature, culture, and thought in translation, including at least three courses at the GERMAN 130- or 140- level.
Minor in Modern Languages
The Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages offers a minor in Modern Languages. This minor draws on literature and language courses offered through this and other literature departments. See the “Literatures, Cultures, and Languages” section of this bulletin for further details about this minor and its requirements.
Master of Arts in German Studies
This program is designed for those who do not intend to continue studies through the Ph.D. degree. Students desiring the M.A. degree must complete a minimum of 45 units of graduate work. If students enroll for three quarters for a minimum of 15 units per quarter, they can fulfill the M.A. requirements in one year. The program normally includes at least one course in each of the three areas of concentration: language and linguistics, literature, and thought.
In addition, students must take graduate-level courses in German and/or approved courses in related fields such as art history, comparative literature, linguistics, history, or philosophy.
M.A. candidates must take an oral examination toward the end of their last quarter.
Coterminal Programs
Students may elect to combine programs for the B.A. and M.A. degrees in German Studies. University requirements and forms for the coterminal M.A. are described in the "Coterminal Bachelor's and Master's Degrees" section of this bulletin.
Doctor of Philosophy in German Studies
The requirements for the Ph.D. in German Studies include:
- Required Courses. A total of 135 units is required for the Ph.D.; doctoral candidates must complete at least one course with each member of the department. During each quarter in year one and year two, enrollment in and completion of at least two graduate courses taught by German Studies faculty are required.
- First Year. Students must enroll in a minimum of 54 graduate units during their first year of graduate study as well as 10 units during the first summer. During the first year of work, the student should select courses that provide an introduction to the major areas of the discipline. First year required coursework:
Units GERMAN 320 German Literature Pre 1700: Medieval and Early Modern German Literature 3-5 GERMAN 321 German Literature 1700-1900: From Enlightenment to Realism 4 GERMAN 322 German Literature and Thought from 1900 to the Present: Wrestling with Modernity 3-5 GERMAN 298 Writing Workshop (summer quarter) 1-12 DLCL 301 The Learning and Teaching of Second Languages 3 - Second Year. Students must enroll in a minimum of 30 units during their second year of graduate study as well as 10 units during their second summer. Second year required coursework:
Units GERMAN 298 Writing Workshop (autumn and summer quarters) 1-12 - Third Year. Students that have not reached TGR status must complete a minimum of 30 units during their third year of graduate study. Third year required coursework:
Units GERMAN 398 Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium (autumn quarter) 1-12 GERMAN 399 Individual Work (winter and spring quarters) 1-12
- First Year. Students must enroll in a minimum of 54 graduate units during their first year of graduate study as well as 10 units during the first summer. During the first year of work, the student should select courses that provide an introduction to the major areas of the discipline. First year required coursework:
- Canon Exam. On June 7 of spring quarter, all first year Ph.D. students must take their first-year examination. During the one-hour oral examination, the student is questioned by three faculty members on work undertaken in specific graduate courses. Students who fail this examination may request to retake it once before October 15. A second fail of the Cannon Exam will result in dismissal from the Ph.D. program.
- Language Requirement. A reading knowledge of one language other than English and German is required. Students in Medieval Studies must also have a reading knowledge of Latin.
- Article Submission. Based upon summer independent study and progress in GERMAN 298 Writing Workshop, the Ph.D. student will submit and defend an article in Autumn quarter of their second year. Article must be submitted by October 15 and defended on December 7.
- Dissertation Prospectus. Based upon work in Winter and Spring quarters of the students second year, a preliminary dissertation prospectus must be completed by the end of Spring quarter of the second year.
- The University Oral examination. The University Oral examination in the Department of German Studies involves a presentation of a dissertation prospectus. The prospectus, normally 25 pages plus bibliography, elaborates on the topic, the proposed argument, and the organization of the dissertation. It must be distributed to the committee members and the outside chair at least two weeks before the formal University Oral examination. Students should plan this examination for winter quarter of the third year. The examination lasts approximately two hours, permitting each of the four examiners a 25-minute question period and reserving an optional ten minutes for questions from the chair of the examination. Should a student fail the University Oral exam, they will be allowed an opportunity to retake the exam. A second fail of the University Oral exam will result in dismissal from the Ph.D. program.
- Submission and approval of a dissertation.
- Teaching Assistant. The teaching requirement is four quarters during the second and third years of study and mandatory for continued enrollment or support in the program. Students must teach a fifth course which may be a language course, but they may alternatively request to teach an additional literature course at a later time in the course of study, normally once their dissertation has reached an advanced stage, contingent upon department need and subject to approval of the director. Such teaching does not extend the length or scope of support.
- Research Assistant. The department expects candidates to demonstrate research skills appropriate to their special areas of study. The requirement can be fulfilled in the capacity of either a University Fellow or a Research Assistant. Graduate students are also advised to start developing skills in the teaching of literature by participating in the teaching of undergraduate literature courses. Students may enroll in independent studies with faculty members to gain experience as apprentices in undergraduate literature teaching.
- Department Colloquium. Regular attendance at the departmental colloquium is mandatory. Each student is expected to make a formal presentation at the colloquium for public discussion. The principal conditions for continued registration of a graduate student are the timely and satisfactory completion of University, department, and program requirements for the degree, and fulfillment of minimum progress requirements. Failure to meet these requirements results in corrective measures which may include a written warning, academic probation, and/or the possible release from the program.
- Candidacy. At the end of the second year of residency, students who are performing well, as indicated by their adviser, performance on the Qualifying Exam, and teaching and research assistantship performance, are advanced to candidacy. This step implies that the student has demonstrated the relevant qualities required for successful completion of the Ph.D. Future evaluations are based on the satisfactory completion of specific remaining department and University requirements. Students who are not advanced to candidacy will normally be terminated from the program and awarded a terminal M.A. degree. In some cases, the department may require that a student complete outstanding work or complete unmet requirements before admission to candidacy. The university requires that all students must be admitted to candidacy by the beginning of the third year in residence in order to continue in the Ph.D. program. Therefore all requirements stipulated by the department must be met before registration for the fall quarter of the student's third year.
- Yearly Review. In order to evaluate student progress and to identify potential problem areas, the department's faculty reviews the academic progress of each first-year student at the beginning of Winter and Spring quarters and again at the end of the academic year. The first two reviews are primarily intended to identify developing problems that could impede progress. In most cases, students are simply given constructive feedback, but if more serious concerns warrant, a student may be placed on probation with specific guidelines for addressing the problems detected. The review at the end of Spring Quarter is more thorough; each student's performance during the first year is reviewed and discussed. All students are given feedback from their advisers at the end of their first year of graduate work, helping them to identify areas of strength and potential weakness. At any point during the degree program, evidence that a student is performing at a less than satisfactory level may be cause for a formal academic review of that student. Possible outcomes of the spring review include: continuation of the student in good standing, or placing the student on probation, with specific guidelines for the period of probation and the steps to be taken in order to be returned to good standing. For students on probation at this point (or at any other subsequent points), possible outcomes of a review include: restoration to good standing; continued probation, again with guidelines for necessary remedial steps; or termination from the program.
- Grading. Doctoral students in the department must take required courses for a letter grade if available and are expected to earn a grade of 'B+' or better in each course offered by the DLCL. Any grade of 'B' or below is considered to be less than satisfactory. Grades of 'B' or below are reviewed by faculty and the following actions may be taken: the grade stands and the student's academic performance is monitored to ensure that satisfactory progress is being made; the grade stands and the student is required to revise and resubmit the work associated with that course; or the student may be required to retake the course.
Emeriti: (Professors) Theodore M. Andersson, Gerald Gillespie, Katharina Mommsen, Kurt Müller-Vollmer, Orrin W. Robinson III
Director: Russell A. Berman
Chair of Graduate Studies: Amir Eshel
Chair of Undergraduate Studies: Márton Dornbach
Professors: Russell A. Berman, Elizabeth Bernhardt, Amir Eshel, Kathryn Starkey
Assistant Professors: Adrian Daub (on leave), Márton Dornbach, Charitini Douvaldzi
Courtesy Professor: Thomas Sheehan (on leave, Spring)
Senior Lecturers: William E. Petig, Kathryn Strachota
Visiting Professors: Karl Heinz Bohrer (Autumn)
Visiting Assistant Professor: Falk Cammin (Autumn)
Visiting Lecturers: Stefan Willer (Autumn)
Overseas Studies Courses in German Studies
The Bing Overseas Studies Program manages Stanford study abroad programs for Stanford undergraduates. Students should consult their department or program's student services office for applicability of Overseas Studies courses to a major or minor program.
The Bing Overseas Studies course search site displays courses, locations, and quarters relevant to specific majors.
For course descriptions and additional offerings, see the listings in the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses or Bing Overseas Studies.
| Units | ||
|---|---|---|
| OSPBER 15 | Shifting Alliances? The European Union and the U.S. | 4-5 |
| OSPBER 17 | Split Images: A Century of Cinema | 4 |
| OSPBER 52 | European Modernism in Art | 4 |
| OSPBER 53 | The Brothers Grimm and their Fairy Tales | 4 |
| OSPBER 66 | Theory from the Bleachers: Reading German Sports and Culture | 3 |
| OSPBER 70 | The Long Way to the West: German History from the 18th Century to the Present | 4-5 |
| OSPBER 101A | Contemporary Theater | 5 |
| OSPBER 115X | The German Economy: Past and Present | 4-5 |
| OSPBER 126X | A People's Union? Money, Markets, and Identity in the EU | 4-5 |
| OSPBER 161X | The German Economy in the Age of Globalization | 4-5 |
| OSPBER 174 | Sports, Culture, and Gender in Comparative Perspective | 5 |
| OSPBER 177A | Culture and Politics in Modern Germany | 4-5 |
Courses
GERMAN 10SC. Resistance Writings in Nazi Germany. 2 Units.
Developing the courage to do what is right and maintaining the strength to resist evil in the face of personal persecution are fundamental human dilemmas. Many who lived in Nazi Germany had neither the courage, the intellectual and/or spiritual means, nor the strength to speak or act against the evil with which they were confronted. But some did possess courage and strength, and they serve as touchstones for understanding the best of the human spirit during the worst of times. This course focuses on documents generated by nonmilitary resistance groups during the period of National Socialism. Letters, essays, diaries, and statements on ethics from the Bonhoeffer and Scholl families form the core of the readings. The resistance novel, Every Man Dies Alone, by Hans Fallada, is also included. Texts will be read as historical documents, reflections of German thought, statements of conscience, attempts to maintain normal relationships with others in the face of great risk, as poetic works, and as guides for the development of an ethical life.
GERMAN 80N. Modern Conservatives. 4 Units.
How do conservatives respond to the modern world? How do they find a balance between tradition and freedom, or between stability and change? This seminar will examine selections from some conservative and some classically liberal writers that address these questions. At the center of the course are thinkers who left Germany and Austria before the Second World War: Friedrich Hayek, Leo Strauss and Hannah Arendt. We will also look at earlier European writers, such Edmund Burke and Friedrich Nietzsche, as well as some recent American thinkers. Taught in English.
GERMAN 116. Writing About Germany: New Topics, New Genres. 3 Units.
For Seniors who are declared German Studies majors. How to write about various topics in German Studies for a wide public through opinion pieces or blogs. Topics based on student interests: current politics, economics, European affairs, start-ups in Germany. Intensive focus on writing. Taught in English. Meets the Writing in the Major requirement.
GERMAN 120Q. Contemporary Politics in Germany. 3 Units.
Examination of political debates, politicians and parties in contemporary Germany with particular attention to the debate over the future of Europe. Looking closely at political discourse, from right to left, to understand how public discussion frames policy formation. At stake is the role Germany can play in the new Europe, against the background of its economic influence and its national past. Examination and analysis of public speeches by contemporary politicians such as Chancellor Angela Merkel and examples of debate from the Bundestag. Taught in German. Prerequisites: Some familiarity with German language.
GERMAN 121N. Memory in the Modernist Novel. 3-4 Units.
As early as the mid-19th century, the French poet Charles Baudelaire saw a new "art of memory" as a main characteristic of modernity. An exploration of the relationship between memory and modernism through an intensive reading of three major narrative texts: Rainer Maria Rilke's "The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge," James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," and Marcel Proust's "Combray." Taught in English.
GERMAN 123. German Culture and Film. 3-5 Units.
This course has two primary goals. First, it is designed to provide students with a visual and linguistic foundation for discussing and writing about German film from the Weimar period to the present. To that end we will review important genres, directors, and technological developments in the history of German film. Second, using film as a lens, we will examine several key moments in German cultural history from the 1920s to the present. Certain themes will reoccur throughout the course, including gender, the city, technology, violence, and social crisis. All materials and class discussion in German.(Meets Writing-in-the-Major requirement).
GERMAN 124. Introduction to German Poetry. 4 Units.
Introduction to the reading and interpretation of lyrical poetry in German from the 18th century to present. Readings include poems by Goethe, Holderlin, Brentano, Eichendorff, Heine, Rilke, Trakl, Celan, Brecht. Ways of thinking about and thinking with poetry. Attention to poetic form, voice, figural language, and the interaction of sensory registers. Taught in German.
GERMAN 128N. Medicine, Modernism, and Mysticism in Thomas Mann's the Magic Mountain. 3 Units.
Published in 1924, The Magic Mountain is a novel of education, tracing the intellectual growth of a budding engineer through a maze of intellectual encounters during a seven- year sojourn in a sanatorium set high in the Swiss Alps. It engages with the key themes of modernism: the relativity of time, the impact of psychoanalysis, the power of myth, and an extended dispute between an optimistic belief in progress and a pessimistic vision of human nature. Through its detailed discussion of disease (tuberculosis), this remarkable text connects the study of medicine to the humanities. There will be an exploration of this rich and profound novel both as a document of early twentieth-century Europe and as a commentary on the possibilities of education that are urgent for liberal arts education today. Taught in English.
GERMAN 131. Intro to 18th Century German Literature: The Age of Reason, Feeling and Revolution. 3-5 Units.
This course provides insight into the literature and cultural history of 18th century Germany with a special emphasis on the themes of identity and romantic love in the force field of tradition and change. Taught in German.
GERMAN 132. Intro to Nineteenth-Century German Literature. 3-5 Units.
Literary works in their historical and cultural contexts. Romanticism, responses to the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of nationalism and the unification of Germany, the tension between science and religion, nihilism, social transformation. Authors include Tieck, Kleist, Buchner, Heine, Keller, Schnitzler. Taught in German. Prerequisites: Coursework on the German 120-level or equivalent.
GERMAN 133. Twentieth Century and Contemporary Literature and Culture. 3-5 Units.
This course is designed to provide students with a representative overview of German literature, film and music from World War I to the early twenty-first century. It draws on major texts from many of the twentieth century's great literary and artistic movements, from Expressionism and New Objectivity, via the Gruppe 47 to pop art and postmodernism. In keeping with German Studies Department's new pilot program, this course will be taught in English and in German - particular periods or literary or cultural movements will be discussed in English, while individual text will be discussed (and read) entirely in German. German language proficiency is therefore assumed, as is some familiarity with the rough outlines of German history in the 20th century.
GERMAN 134. Freud's Vienna. 3-5 Units.
An exploration of the intersections between literature, art, politics, psychoanalysis, and philosophy in turn of the century Vienna. Works by Hofmannsthal, Schnitzler, Bahr, Musil, Roth, Kraus, and Freud; shorter selections from Brentano, Herzl, Kraft-Ebbing, Loos, Mach, and Wittgenstein. Readings in German; discussion in English and German. (Replaces GERMAN 133 for 2012/13).
GERMAN 181. Philosophy and Literature. 5 Units.
Required gateway course for Philosophical and Literary Thought; crosslisted in departments sponsoring the Philosophy and Literature track: majors should register in their home department; non-majors may register in any sponsoring department. Introduction to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. Issues may include authorship, selfhood, truth and fiction, the importance of literary form to philosophical works, and the ethical significance of literary works. Texts include philosophical analyses of literature, works of imaginative literature, and works of both philosophical and literary significance. Authors may include Plato, Montaigne, Nietzsche, Borges, Beckett, Barthes, Foucault, Nussbaum, Walton, Nehamas, Pavel, and Pippin. Taught in English.
Same as: CLASSGEN 81, COMPLIT 181, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181.
GERMAN 182. War and Warfare in Germany. 3 Units.
Survey of Germany at war through historical, theoretical and literary accounts. War in the international system and the role of technology. Religious wars, rationalization of warfare, violence and politics, terrorism. War films, such as All Quiet on the Western Front. Readings by authors such as Clausewitz, Jünger, Remarque, Schimtt, and Arendt. Taught in English.
GERMAN 184. Technology, Innovation, and the History of the Book. 3-5 Units.
An historical perspective on the intellectual and social impact of developments in information technology will be examined. Focusing on the evolution of media from scrolls to codices to printed books we will look at the social, historical, cultural, and economic sources and ramifications of innovation in media and information technology, and explore why such innovation occurs in certain places and within certain social groups and not others. Examples draw from German cultural history, e.g. Gutenberg and the printing press, but also from the broader European history of the book. Students will have the opportunity to work with historical materials from Special Collections. Taught in English.
GERMAN 190. German Capstone: Reading Franz Kafka. 3-5 Units.
This class will address major works by Franz Kafka and consider Kafka as a modernist writer whose work reflects on modernity. We will also examine the role of Kafka's themes and poetics in the work of contemporary writers. (Meets Writing-in-the-Major requirement)
Same as: COMPLIT 111, COMPLIT 311C, GERMAN 390, JEWISHST 147, JEWISHST 349.
GERMAN 199. Individual Work. 1-12 Units.
Repeatable for Credit. Instructor Consent Required.
GERMAN 210. Dionysus - Mythology and Poetry of a Nietzschean Inspiration. 3-5 Units.
The Greek god Dionysus became, like Apollo, the symbol of poetic imagination. In the modern era he substituted the Apolline tradition, while Apollo assumed the characteristics of Dionysus. We will examine this central poctological motif in texts by authors including Euripides, Keats, Nietzsche, Pound, and Eliot. Open to advanced undergraduates. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 256A, COMPLIT 356A, GERMAN 310.
GERMAN 220. German Literature Pre 1700: Medieval and Early Modern German Literature. 3-5 Units.
An overview of German literature from the Middle Ages to 1700. All materials will be available in the original and in modern German translation. Discussion in English. Open to graduate students and advanced undergrads.
Same as: GERMAN 320.
GERMAN 221. German Literature 1700-1900: From Enlightenment to Realism. 4 Units.
Key topics in German literary culture from the Enlightenment to the revolutions of 1848. Readings may include texts by Lessing, Hamann, Herder, Goethe, the Jena Romantics, Kleist, Büchner, Heine, Droste-Hülshoff. Taught in German; graduate-level but open to undergraduates who have done coursework on or above the 130 level.
Same as: GERMAN 321.
GERMAN 222. German Literature and Thought from 1900 to the Present: Wrestling with Modernity. 3-5 Units.
Masters of German 20th and 21st Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 222A, GERMAN 322.
GERMAN 234. The Bildungsroman and Other Biographical Fictions. 3-5 Units.
Life hermeneutics practiced in the psychological novel, Bildungsroman, and autobiography. Intersections and contrasts among these genres. The origins of the notion of progress and its fictional translations; possibilities of historical and fictional closure; and the emergence of the novel's protagonist as a disciplinary subject. Authors include Augustine, Rousseau, Goethe, Moritz, and Keller. Taught in English.
Same as: GERMAN 334.
GERMAN 245. German Idealist and Romantic Aesthetics. 3-5 Units.
Focus on influential theories of aesthetic experience as an autonomous cultural domain that supplements science and morality. How the discovery of beauty and sublimity in nature led to an unprecedented celebration of art as the highest form of human activity. The problem of the relation between aesthetic experience and conceptual understanding. Readings by Kant, Schiller, Friedrich Schlegel, Schelling, Hegel, and more recent responses to their works. Taught in English.
GERMAN 250. Humanities Education in the Changing University. 3 Units.
Advanced study in the humanities faces changes within fields, the university and the wider culture. Considers the debate over the status of the humanities with regard to historical genealogies and current innovations. Particular attention on changes in doctoral education. Topics include: origins of the research university; disciplines and specialization; liberal education in conflict with professionalization; literature and literacy education; interdisciplinarity as a challenge to departments; education policy; digital humanities; accountability in education, assessment and student-centered pedagogies.
Same as: COMPLIT 275, DLCL 320.
GERMAN 254. The Rhetoric of Futurity in German Literature Around 1800. 3-5 Units.
An examination of the transformation of the discourse concerning the future in literary and philosophical texts, especially the assertion of differences among past, present and future periods. The relationship between a historical epistemology of knowledge about the future and a rhetorical analysis of speech acts. Texts include Kant's Anthropology," Jean Paul's Conjectural Biography, Schiller's Wallenstein, Goethe's Hermann und Dorothea, Schleiermacher's Monologues and Schlegel's Athenaeum Fragments. This course will be conducted in German.
GERMAN 282. Martin Heidegger. 3-5 Units.
Working through the most systematically important texts by Martin Heidegger and their historical moments and challenges, starting with Being and Time (1927), but emphasizing his philosophical production after World War II. The philological and historical understanding of the texts function as a condition for the laying open of their systematic provocations within our own (early 21st-century) situations. Satisfies the capstone seminar requirement for the major tracks in Philosophy and Literature. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 213A, COMPLIT 313A, GERMAN 382.
GERMAN 291A. Oedipus, Hamlet, Moses: Archetypes of the Hero. 3-5 Units.
Texts that provided psychoanalysis with its foundational myths. Oedipus, Moses, and Hamlet as archetypes of the hero related to moments of emerging modernity: from mythos to logos, polytheism to monotheism, and action to thought. The interplay among knowledge, recognition, and desire; the role of sameness and alterity in the constitution of personal, familial, and national identities; violence and the construction of history. Readings include: Exodus, Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare, Freud, Cavafy; theoretical essays by Laplanche, Lacan, Certeau, Kofman, Assmann, and Cavell. Taught in English.
Same as: GERMAN 391A.
GERMAN 298. Writing Workshop. 1-12 Units.
Open only to German majors and to students working on special projects, including written reports for internships. Honors students use this number for the honors essay. May be repeated for credit.
GERMAN 310. Dionysus - Mythology and Poetry of a Nietzschean Inspiration. 3-5 Units.
The Greek god Dionysus became, like Apollo, the symbol of poetic imagination. In the modern era he substituted the Apolline tradition, while Apollo assumed the characteristics of Dionysus. We will examine this central poctological motif in texts by authors including Euripides, Keats, Nietzsche, Pound, and Eliot. Open to advanced undergraduates. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 256A, COMPLIT 356A, GERMAN 210.
GERMAN 320. German Literature Pre 1700: Medieval and Early Modern German Literature. 3-5 Units.
An overview of German literature from the Middle Ages to 1700. All materials will be available in the original and in modern German translation. Discussion in English. Open to graduate students and advanced undergrads.
Same as: GERMAN 220.
GERMAN 321. German Literature 1700-1900: From Enlightenment to Realism. 4 Units.
Key topics in German literary culture from the Enlightenment to the revolutions of 1848. Readings may include texts by Lessing, Hamann, Herder, Goethe, the Jena Romantics, Kleist, Büchner, Heine, Droste-Hülshoff. Taught in German; graduate-level but open to undergraduates who have done coursework on or above the 130 level.
Same as: GERMAN 221.
GERMAN 322. German Literature and Thought from 1900 to the Present: Wrestling with Modernity. 3-5 Units.
Masters of German 20th and 21st Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 222A, GERMAN 222.
GERMAN 334. The Bildungsroman and Other Biographical Fictions. 3-5 Units.
Life hermeneutics practiced in the psychological novel, Bildungsroman, and autobiography. Intersections and contrasts among these genres. The origins of the notion of progress and its fictional translations; possibilities of historical and fictional closure; and the emergence of the novel's protagonist as a disciplinary subject. Authors include Augustine, Rousseau, Goethe, Moritz, and Keller. Taught in English.
Same as: GERMAN 234.
GERMAN 369. Introduction to Graduate Studies: Criticism as Profession. 5 Units.
A number of faculty will present published work and discuss their research and composition process. We will read critical, theoretical, and literary texts that address, in different ways, "What is a World?" Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 369, DLCL 369, FRENCH 369, ITALIAN 369.
GERMAN 382. Martin Heidegger. 3-5 Units.
Working through the most systematically important texts by Martin Heidegger and their historical moments and challenges, starting with Being and Time (1927), but emphasizing his philosophical production after World War II. The philological and historical understanding of the texts function as a condition for the laying open of their systematic provocations within our own (early 21st-century) situations. Satisfies the capstone seminar requirement for the major tracks in Philosophy and Literature. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 213A, COMPLIT 313A, GERMAN 282.
GERMAN 390. German Capstone: Reading Franz Kafka. 3-5 Units.
This class will address major works by Franz Kafka and consider Kafka as a modernist writer whose work reflects on modernity. We will also examine the role of Kafka's themes and poetics in the work of contemporary writers. (Meets Writing-in-the-Major requirement)
Same as: COMPLIT 111, COMPLIT 311C, GERMAN 190, JEWISHST 147, JEWISHST 349.
GERMAN 391A. Oedipus, Hamlet, Moses: Archetypes of the Hero. 3-5 Units.
Texts that provided psychoanalysis with its foundational myths. Oedipus, Moses, and Hamlet as archetypes of the hero related to moments of emerging modernity: from mythos to logos, polytheism to monotheism, and action to thought. The interplay among knowledge, recognition, and desire; the role of sameness and alterity in the constitution of personal, familial, and national identities; violence and the construction of history. Readings include: Exodus, Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare, Freud, Cavafy; theoretical essays by Laplanche, Lacan, Certeau, Kofman, Assmann, and Cavell. Taught in English.
Same as: GERMAN 291A.
GERMAN 398. Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium. 1-12 Units.
Repeatable for Credit.
GERMAN 399. Individual Work. 1-12 Units.
Repeatable for Credit. Instructor Consent Required.
GERMAN 802. TGR Dissertation. 0 Unit.