Classroom and laboratory practice to develop basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The course sequence of foreign language instruction is Elementary Level 101, 102, Intermediate Level 201, 202. A student who has received a C (2.00) grade or better in any course in this sequence or its equivalent cannot subsequently receive credit for a course which appears before it in the sequence. Proficiency range after German 102: Novice Mid to Novice High (ACTFL); A1 (CEFR); 0/0+ (ILR).
Classroom and laboratory practice to develop basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The course sequence of foreign language instruction is Elementary Level 101, 102, Intermediate Level 201, 202. A student who has received a C (2.00) grade or better in any course in this sequence or its equivalent cannot subsequently receive credit for a course which appears before it in the sequence. Proficiency range after German 102: Novice Mid to Novice High (ACTFL); A1 (CEFR); 0/0+ (ILR).
Students continue to develop German language skills at the intermediate level, with emphasis on reading authentic texts, building a more sophisticated vocabulary, expanding grammar, honing their speaking and listening skills, and writing strategies that focus on long-term and short-term assignments. Greater emphasis on cultural competency and acquisition. GERM 201 and 202 prepare students for advanced coursework in German Studies and study abroad in a German-speaking country. The course sequence of foreign language instruction is Elementary Level 101, 102, Intermediate Level 201, 202. A student who has received a C (2.00) grade or better in any course in this sequence or its equivalent cannot subsequently receive credit for a course which appears before it in the sequence. Proficiency range after German 202: Intermediate Mid to Intermediate High (ACTFL); A2-B1 (CEFR); 1/1+ (ILR).
Students continue to develop German language skills at the intermediate level, with emphasis on reading authentic texts, building a more sophisticated vocabulary, expanding grammar, honing their speaking and listening skills, and writing strategies that focus on long-term and short-term assignments. Greater emphasis on cultural competency and acquisition. GERM 201 and 202 prepare students for advanced coursework in German Studies and study abroad in a German-speaking country. The course sequence of foreign language instruction is Elementary Level 101, 102, Intermediate Level 201, 202. A student who has received a C (2.00) grade or better in any course in this sequence or its equivalent cannot subsequently receive credit for a course which appears before it in the sequence. Proficiency range after German 202: Intermediate Mid to Intermediate High (ACTFL); A2-B1 (CEFR); 1/1+ (ILR).
This course is designed for students at any level above German 102 who wish to gain further practice with various targeted advanced grammar topics in German. May be taken concurrently with other GERM courses as a supplement. Content will vary with instructor and needs of students. May be repeated once for credit. GERM 210 does not count toward major or minor requirements.
This course is a .25 unit academic lab course designed for students at any level above GERM 215 who wish to gain further practice with spoken German who are currently enrolled in a course whose language is English. May be taken concurrently with other German Studies courses as a supplement to other coursework. Content may vary with instructor and needs of students. GERM 215 does count toward major or minor requirements. GERM 215 may be repeated once for credit (.5unit total).
This course is intended for advanced students of German in their junior or senior years who participate in the undergraduate experiential teaching partnership at Washington Elementary School in Tacoma.
This course surveys the history and development of German cinema after 1945, including canonical works by Staudte, Schloendorff, Wenders, Kluge, and Fassbinder. The course begins with the immediate post-WWII era and continues through contemporary films, examining major trends of German cinematography during four major periods: the Truemmerfilm, the New German Cinema of the Federal Republic, DEFA films in the GDR, and the cinematic trends after German reunification. In order to come to a better understanding of how one can define German cinema, students' focus will be on both thematic and formal aspects. Class discussions will focus on questions such as: What is the relationship between a specific film and its historical-cultural context? Is this relationship overt or hidden? What does (or did) a German audience see in the film? How can we analyze and interpret these films from today's standpoint? German films might reflect on German issues, but is there a distinct German film language/style and what position do these films occupy within world cinema? What are the theoretical and formal concerns of German filmmakers? May be taught in German or English.
Was National Socialism the incarnation of evil in the modern world? How could twelve years of Nazi control in Germany alter world history? Did its culture consist only of propaganda and party rallies? Why did the Nazi leadership consider art and culture so central to its political goals? In the past 25 years scholars have taken a serious look at Nazi culture and revealed a much more complex set of factors at work in all areas of cultural life. This interdisciplinary course introduces students to the often contradictory but fascinating historical, social, and economic conditions that led to cultural shifts when the Nazis came to power in 1933 and then examines how Nazi policies simultaneously and systematically influenced all aspects of life in Nazi Germany (Gleichschaltung). Students consider both the 'lowbrow' culture and everyday life as well as the more traditional and sophisticated domains of 'high' culture. Topics include: religion, youth education, the 'camp system,' Fascism, environmentalism, racial theories, disability and discrimination, propaganda and entertainment films, colonial ambitions, art and architecture, gender roles and family, and consumer culture.
This course explores the words, actions, thoughts, and feelings during one of the most tumultuous periods of early twentieth century cultural history. The course treats a wide variety of materials with a focus on the fascinating and groundbreaking innovations in visual and performing arts, material culture, and urban planning and architecture that relate to turn-of-the-century Europe, World War I, Weimar Germany, and the rise of German National Socialism.
No one can hope to comprehend the challenges Germany faces today without confronting the triumphs and tragedies of the German past. Questions of sovereignty and individual freedom, as argued by bloggers and in the press, acquire supreme significance when viewed in light of Germany under Bismarck, the failure of the Weimar Republic, the nightmare of National Socialism, forty years of division, the Pandora's box of unification, and Germany's crucial role in the European Union. Students study the evolution of the German political system even as they develop the basic vocabulary of history and politics.
Thirty years ago, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall opened. Less than a year later East and West Germany were politically and economically united, and the German Democratic Republic officially ceased to exist. Yet scholars, journalists, writers and filmmakers have continued to explore the 40 years of divided Germany, including tensions that continued after unification. This seminar explores some of the many literary and cinematic representations of the East both as a place many are glad to have left behind as well as a place of longing for others. The course begins with a brief discussion of the history the GDR, the "Wende," or time of transition leading up to the fall of the fall, and German unification. Among other questions, the course considers these questions: What aspects of the GDR past are thematized in texts? Which aspects are glorified or denigrated? Which aspects are remembered wistfully and which angrily? How do western and eastern authors/filmmakers differ in their treatment of the GDR past? What do these differences suggest about unification and the future of Germany? Class will be conducted in German in a supportive environment. All assignments will be written or presented in German.
The focus of this course is on didactic literature: fables, fairy tales--many of which serve both to teach and to entertain (docet et delectat, the Latin dictum)--and the modern-day parables of authors such as Franz Kafka.
Being green is not a new trend for Germans. In fact, Germany has consistently led the way, not only within Europe but also throughout the world, in how to be environmentally friendly and natural resource conscious. Germany is (and has been) a world leader in solar and wind technologies and boasts one of the smallest carbon footprints of any industrialized major economy in the world. Why are Germans so green? What is Germany's position on today's major debates surrounding global warming, climate change, conservation, urban planning, public transportation, sustainable agriculture, and environmental protection? How do Germans see themselves vis-à-vis nature as represented in the arts? In this course students explore these and other questions related to nature and the environment from a German perspective, from the mid-eighteenth century through today. The course introduces students to a wide variety of subject matter and topics in literature, film, news items/current events, science, art, politics, language, and contemporary consumerism.
This course is designed to engage students with various aspects of German Studies at the upper-division level. Course topic and content will vary by author, genre, and medium based on departmental needs and course instructor. Because course content varies, this course may be repeated once for credit.
This course offers students a deeper analysis of literary and cultural studies taught in English. No prior knowledge of German is required. Course may be taken twice for credit, as content may change with the instructor.
This course offers an introduction to basic grammatical concepts, terminology, and linguistics of Germanics with emphasis on the relationship between German and English. The course provides an overview of IPA transcription, phonology, morphology, etymology, syntax, and a linguistic approach to the history of Germanic languages and peoples in Northern and Central Europe through social contact and migration. Languages covered may include Old, Middle, and New High German; Old and Middle English; Frisian; Dutch and Afrikaans; Old Saxon; Old Norse (modern Icelandic); and Yiddish. Prior knowledge of German is required. No prior knowledge of general linguistics and/or language history is assumed.
As a response to the horrors and destruction throughout Europe after World War II, the German-Jewish philosopher Theodor Adorno posited in 1949 that to write poetry after Auschwitz is "barbaric." In the decades that followed this now infamous and often misinterpreted dictum, it was a common belief that the systematic discrimination and mass extermination of European Jews and "undesirables" could not be represented, rationalized, or imagined. Despite this, there has been a steady stream of cinematic representations of the Holocaust extending through today. This course examines how these fictional and non-fictional stories are told mainly through film, starting at the end of World War II. Of particular interest is how filmmakers from Germany -- the land of the "perpetrators" -- try to make sense of these senseless events. During the first unit of the course, students engage with various theoretical and literary texts from contemporary writers and artists for context and background. Then, using a series of contemporary films from Europe, the US, and Israel, we will discuss different genres of Holocaust cinema. Class time will be a combination of discussion and short lectures in a supportive environment that will place films and readings in their respective cultural, social, and political contexts. No previous coursework in film studies or German is required.
The history, theory, and development of the literary genre Novella, featuring some of the more bizarre and fascinating works of the greatest German authors. Emphasis upon the function and limits of genre in literary analysis.
This course exposes students to representative German-language dramatic works, with the intention of staging a public performance at the end of the semester. Additional shorter texts on dramatic theory and visual and/or videos will supplement course materials. As a practical component to the course, we will also conduct technical acting exercises and in-class readings of the dramatic texts. Emphasis will be on closely reading texts, on discussing them in German, and providing opportunities to systematically advance and improve articulation of spoken German. Students participate in all facets of theatrical production, from character development, acting and performing, directing, requisitions and props, and promoting our play.
Students read a selection of works by German, Austrian, Swiss, and Romanian Nobel-prize-winning authors, including Gerhart Hauptmann, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Nelly Sachs, Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, Elfriede Jelinek, and Herta Müller.
This seminar introduces key themes and concepts in contemporary German-speaking literature and cultural studies with a focus on the role of human-nature interactions. Students examine contemporary issues and questions such as: How can we better understand climate change and its effects and develop systemic / planetary thinking according to proper scales (space, size, time)? How can we talk about our way of life and reflect on globalization, consumption, capitalism, civilization, alienation, and exploitation? What does it mean to be 'human' and how are we responsible for affecting / degrading the earth? What is the 'non-human' and how do these concepts interact? What is the 'Anthropocene' and is such a title really appropriate for our human-driven geological age? Does this require a completely new conception of history, memory, or knowledge? How do we define concepts such as nature, conservation, entanglement, connectedness, sustainability, resilience, and habitability within our current moment? How are social justice and feminism related to climate change?
This seminar seeks to interrogate assumptions about contemporary German and American culture and examine how one can better define what German and 'Germanness' means today (if at all possible) from the perspective of the outsider, the foreigner, and the other. What do the words 'Heimat' and 'Nation' mean to Germans today and why have these notions remained so fluid - even undefinable - in the German context? In this course, students engage with various literary texts, film, news items, and other media from Germany after reunification (1989/90). The course begins by touching on current events and debates surrounding the nation-state, immigrants, and multiculturalism in Germany's increasingly evolving social and political landscape in the twenty-first century. Then it explores these questions and topics in several units, focusing on the following themes: Germany's ever-changing capital Berlin and its role within the European and German cultural landscape; perspectives on contemporary Germany and the problems of identity, assimilation, and integration into the Leitkultur/dominant culture from German-Jewish, German-Turkish, and Afro-German writers, artists, and their communities; the on-going reassessment of life in the former German Democratic Republic and the phenomenon of so-called 'Ostalgie'; and finally, Germany's legacy of and continued struggle with fascism.
From the very beginning of its history, photography has served as a device to reflect on and about representation. In this seminar students explore the many interrelations between literature and photography specifically in the German context as they are represented in genres of fiction, illustrated texts, autobiography, photo books, and others. Students will read and discuss selected texts, photo narratives, and combinations of photos and texts, as well as the supposed affinities and analogies between story-telling and photographic images. The course highlights theoretical texts about photography and its inclusion (or intrusion) into the literary discourse, including a short history of the medium.
Synthesis of various aspects of literary studies. Since content changes, this course may be repeated for credit.
Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.
Independent study is available to those students who wish to continue their learning in an area after completing the regularly offered courses in that area.