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Department of German Course Listings 2008-2009
Professor: Hansen (Chair), Kruse (A), Nolden, Ward (A2)
Visiting Lecturer: Brodersen
Director of Study Abroad Program: Nolden
Resident Director of Wellesley-in-Vienna: Millner
The Department of German offers a varied curriculum that encourages proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing German and offers students the opportunity to study the history, literature, film, arts, and philosophy of more than a 100 million people in Central Europe. All courses expose the student to a wide range of texts and contexts that acquaint her with the cultural heritage and contemporary life of Germany, Austria, and German speaking Switzerland. Language courses emphasize rapid acquisition of communication skills. Because almost all upper-level courses are conducted in German, the advanced student can achieve a high level of fluency.
The language of instruction above the 100 level is almost exclusively German unless otherwise noted. Students thus have constant practice in hearing, reading, speaking, and writing the language.
The department reserves the right to place a new student in the course for which she seems best prepared, regardless of background and number of units she offers for admission.
Students in GER 201 who wish to accelerate at the intermediate level may apply to the January-in-Vienna program. Participants travel to Vienna for two weeks in January where they study with a professor from the German department. During their stay they complete GER 202W and receive credit as they would for a course taken on campus. (Subject to Dean’s office approval.) Upon returning for the second semester at Wellesley, students are encouraged to continue with GER 239.
Qualified students are encouraged to spend the junior year in Austria in the Wellesley-in-Vienna program or another program approved by the College.
GER 101-102 Beginning German
Hansen, Brodersen Link to German 101-102 webpage
An introduction to contemporary German with emphasis on communicative fluency. Extensive practice in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Videos and Web-based activities introduce the student to topics from contemporary culture in German-speaking countries. Each semester earns 1.0 unit of credit; however, both semesters must be completed satisfactorily to receive credit for either course. Three periods.
Prerequisite: None
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
GER 201-202 Intermediate German
Nolden, Brodersen
Strengthening and expanding of all language skills with special emphasis on idiomatic usage. Thorough grammar review, oral and aural practice in classroom and language laboratory, readings on contemporary cultural topics, extensive practice in composition. Each semester earns 1.0 unit of credit; however, both semesters must be completed satisfactorily to receive credit for either course. Three periods.
Prerequisite: One to two admission units and placement exam, or 101-102.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
GER 202W Intermediate German in Vienna
Nolden
Like 202 on campus, this course strengthens and expands all language skills including idiomatic grammar review, oral and listening practice, readings on contemporary and historical topics, and practice in composition. This course is offered as an immersion experience and will feature an important cultural component. Not offered every year. Subject to Dean’s Office approval.
Prerequisite: 201 or permission of instructor. Application required.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Wintersession Unit: 1.0
GER 233 Berlin in the Twenties
Ward Link to German 233 webpage
Berlin, the capital of Germany during the Weimar Republic, was at the center of both the Political turmoil and the cultural fervor of the “golden” 1920s. The urban milieu provided the backdrop for avant-garde and popular culture. Issues will include political and social changes resulting from the economic dislocation caused by World War I and the rise of National Socialism. Texts will be drawn from journalism, autobiography, short fiction, poetry, theater, cabaret music, art, architecture, and film. Brecht’s Dreigroschenoper and the film, Comedian Harmonists, will be featured. Emphasis on the development of communicative skills in order to negotiate complex meaning in reading, speaking and writing. Review of selected topics in grammar. Designed for students with four semesters of language training or equivalent. Taught in German, three periods.
Prerequisite: 201-202 or placement examination.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Fall
GER 235 The Fantastic in German Literature
Hansen
The course surveys the rich tradition of German literature of the fantastic and the uncanny. These works, which employ allegories of escapist fantasy, horror, super-natural terror, delusion, and abnormal psychic states, are chosen for their literary treatment of fears that prey on the human imagination. We shall begin with a couple of less well-known examples from the Grimm's folktales, and explore works of major writers for images of the Doppelgänger, talkng animals, and magical helpers.
Prerequisite: 201-202 or permission of instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Spring Unit: 1.0
GER 239 Germany and Austria Today: Advanced Conversation and Composition
NOT OFFERED IN 2008-09. Intensive practice in oral and written communication and presentation; introduction to rhetorical strategies of conversation and discussion; introduction to elements of German prose style; practice of various forms of writing. Review of selected grammar topics. On the basis of newspaper and magazine articles, essays and stories, television news, film clips, and website materials, we will discuss and write about current events and issues in Germany and Austria. Taught in German, three periods.
Prerequisite: 201-202 or permission of instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: N/O Unit: 1.0
GER 241 Themes of Childhood, Youth, and Adolescence in German Literature
NOT OFFERED IN 2008-09. This course will explore images of children and adolescents in adult literature. The texts encompass the medieval to contemporary periods and are unified thematically by such issues as youthful rebellion, inter-generational struggles, social initiation, and the crisis of adolescence. We shall analyze the portrayals of youth as idealized heroes, as innocent victims, and as critical witnesses of the adult world. Authors include Goethe, Stifter, Hesse, and Aichinger. We will also read Grimms’ folktales, Wilhelm Busch’s proto-comic book, Max und Moritz, and Heinrich Hoffmann’s cautionary verses, Der Struwwelpeter. Taught in German, two periods.
Prerequisite: [231] or 239 or permission of instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: N/O Unit: 1.0
GER 244 Deutschlandreisen-Fictional Journeys through Germany
Nolden
In this course we will read travel narratives in whch important authors, painters, and filmmakers of the last two centuries have captured their journeys through Germany. We will ask what it is that these travelers have perceived and experienced, how they have mapped out their journeys and how they have artistically represented their experiences. Texts, paintings, and films by Heinrich Heine, Joseph von Eichendorff, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Wim Wenders, Christian Kracht, Sven Nadolny, Konstantin Faigle, Wolfgang Büscher, Andre Kaminsiki, and others.
Prerequisite: [231] or 239 or permission of instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Spring Unit: 1.0
GER 250 Research or Individual Study
Prerequisite: Open by permission.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
GER 250H Research or Individual Study
Prerequisite: Open by permission.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 0.5
GER 256 Culture and Politics in East Germany 1949-89
Ward
We will trace the forty-year trajectory of the German Democratic Republic from the cold-war context of its founding in 1949 to its demise in 1989. Our focus will be the constant interplay between culture and politics. Major events like the uprising of 17 June 1953, the building of the wall in August 1961 and its fall in 1989 will form the background for a consideration of a broad range of literary and film texts, including autobiographical writings and poetry. We will conclude with several recent German films that look back after nearly two decades to consider what daily life was like in East Germany. Topics include dealing with the Nazi past, youthful rebellion, women and family policies, and the role of the church in the "Wende."
Prerequisite: 233 or 239 or permission of instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Fall Unit: 1.0
GER 275 World War II and Its Aftermath in German Literature
NOT OFFERED IN 2008-09. Sixty years after the end of World War II, Germans have begun the problematic task of remembering their recent history not only as perpetrators of the war and the holocaust but also as the war’s eventual victims. This course will examine representative examples of the literature memorializing World War II and its aftermath in their historical and cultural context. Texts read will include novels and novellas, essays, historical accounts, and memoirs. Authors represented will include Böll, Grass, Sebald, Nossack, Treitel, Timm and others. Taught in German, periods.
Prerequisite: [231] or 239 or permission of instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: N/O Unit: 1.0
GER 276 Franz Kafka (in English)
NOT OFFERED IN 2008-09. All aspects of Kafka’s works and life will be explored in the historical and social context of early twentieth-century Central Europe. We will read a wide selection from his novels, e.g. The Trial; short stories, The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony; parables and aphorisms; diaries and letters, such as his Letters to Felice. We will discuss the delight and difficulty of reading Kafka, his posthumous reception as a world author, and his importance as a cultural icon in the late twentieth- and early twenty-first centuries. Taught in English, two periods.
Prerequisite: None
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: N/O Unit: 1.0
GER 280 Film in Germany 1919-1999
NOT OFFERED IN 2008-09. This course provides a survey of the history of films made by German directors. It introduces the student to the aesthetics and politics of the individual periods of German film making, among them Expressionism, Film in the Third Reich, Postwar Beginnings, and New German Cinema. We will concentrate on films by Lang, Murnau, Riefenstahl, Sierck, Staudte, Herzog, Fassbinder, Wenders, and Tykwer. Taught in English.
Prerequisite: None
Distribution: Arts, Music, Theatre, Film, Video or Language and Literature.
Semester: N/O Unit: 1.0
GER 325 Goethe
NOT OFFERED IN 2008-09. Texts from all phases of Goethe’s literary career will be studied in their socio-historical context. Readings will include: poetry, dramatic works including Faust, and narrative works. Taught in German, two periods.
Prerequisite: One 200-level unit, [231] or 239 or above, taught in German, or by permission of the instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: N/O Unit: 1.0
GER 329 Readings in Enlightenment and Romanticism
Nolden
This course introduces students to the main authors, genres, and issues of the literature of Enlightenment, Storm and Stress, and Romanticism. Special focus on literary images of the family, the outsider, women, and power relationships. Texts by Gellert, Lessing, Goethe, Schlegel, Kleist, and Tieck. Taught in German, two periods.
Prerequisite: One 200-level unit, [231] or 239 or above, taught in German, or permission of the instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Fall Unit: 1.0
GER 350 Research or Individual Study
Prerequisite: Open by permission to juniors and seniors.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
GER 350H Research or Individual Study
Prerequisite: Open by permission.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 0.5
GER 360 Senior Thesis Research
Prerequisite: By permission of department. See Academic Distinctions.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
GER 370 Senior Thesis
Prerequisite: 360 and permission of department.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
GER 389 Seminar
Nolden
Topic for 2008-09: The Berlin Republic in the Face of Globalization. This seminar will explore how the "Berlin Republic" positions itself towards its historical origins, its European neighbors, and towards the challenges of globalization. Among the topics of discussion are: the new internationalism of contemporary German cinema; the cultural productions of non-native Germans; the cultural divide between East and West; the reshaping of the German language and the discussion about native cultures.
Prerequisite: One 300–level unit or permission of instructor.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Spring Unit: 1.0
Related Courses
For Credit Toward the Major
EXTD 288 Hitler: The Man in History, Literature, and Film (in English)
Directions for Election
The department offers a major in language and literature as well as a minor in German. GER 101-102 is counted toward the degree but not toward the major or minor. Students who begin German at Wellesley and wish to major will be encouraged to advance as quickly as possible to upper-level work by doing intermediate language training during the summer or accelerating in our January-in-Vienna program during Wintersession.
Students interested in an interdepartmental major in German studies are referred to the listing for this interdepartmental program.
The major in German language and literature
The major in language and literature develops advanced language skills with emphasis on the critical reading of texts while also stressing a deeper acquaintance with the literary and cultural traditions of German-speaking countries. GER 202 may count toward the eight-unit minimum major. GER 233 [231] or 239 and two 300-level units are required, either 325 or 329 (offered in alternate years) and one seminar (389). Of the remaining minimum four elective units, one unit can be a 200-level course offered by the department in English, but if a 300-level of the same course is offered with an extra session taught in German, this is highly recommended. With approval of the department, certain courses taken abroad may count toward the major at the 200 level. Courses on the German studies related courses list are also recommended as complements to the language and literature major. Each student should consult her departmental advisor about the best sequence of courses for her major program.
The minor in German
The minor offers an opportunity to acquire advanced skills in the language with emphasis on communicative strategies and cross-cultural understanding. GER 202 may count toward the five-unit minimum minor. GER 233 [231] or 239 is required. One 300-level unit is highly recommended. One unit can be a 200-level course offered by the department in English, but if a 300-level of the same course is offered with an extra session taught in German, this is highly recommended. With the approval of the department, certain courses taken abroad may count toward the minor. Students are encouraged to supplement the minor with any of the related courses listed under German studies. Each student should consult with her departmental advisor about the best sequence of courses in her case.
Honors Program
The department offers two plans for the honors program. Plan A (See Senior Thesis Research, 360 and 370) offers the opportunity for original work in language and literature (for honors work in German Studies, please see German Studies), culminating in the writing of a longer paper or papers with an oral defense. See Academic Distinctions. Plan B, honors by examination, is open to candidates in language and literature only. Written and oral examinations are based on a reading list devised by the student under the guidance of an advisor. Plan B carries no course credit, but where appropriate, students may elect a unit of 350 to prepare a special author or project that would be included in the honors examination.
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