German Program
Current Courses
Course Offerings Fall 2009
| Course # | Title | Instructor | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| GE 10101-01 | Beginning German I | McChesney, Anita | MWF 9:35- 10:25; T 11:00 - 11:50 |
| GE 10101-02 |
Beginning German I | Wimmer, Albert | MWF 10:40 - 11:30; T 11:00 - 11:50 |
| GE 10101-03 | Beginning German I | Staff | MWF 1:55-2:45; R 12:30-1:20 |
| GE 10102-01 |
Beginning German II | Della Rossa, Denise | MWF 10:40 - 11:30; T 9:30-10:20 |
| GE 10102-02 | Beginning German II | Wimmer, Albert |
MWF 1:55 - 2:45; T 12:30-1:20 |
| GE 10111-01 | Intensive Beginning German I | Weber, Hannelore | MWF 10:40-11:30; TR 11:00-12:15 |
| GE 13186-01 | University Seminar | Della Rossa, Denise | TR 2:00 - 3:15 |
| GE 20201-01 | Intermediate German I | Boes, Tobias | MWF 10:40 - 11:30 |
| GE 20201-02 | Intermediate German I | Profit, Vera | MWF 1:55 - 2:45 |
| GE 20202-01 | Intermediate German II | Hagens, Jan | TR 11:00 - 12:15 |
| GE 20211-01 | Intensive Intermediate German I | Weber, Hannelore | MWF 9:35 - 10:25; TR 12:30 - 1:20 |
| GE 30102-01 | The ABCs of Reading & Writing about Literature | Profit, Vera | MWF 10:40-11:30 |
| GE 30108-01 | Literatur von gestern und heute | Della Rossa, Denise | TR 11:00 - 12:15 |
| GE 30215-01 GE 90215-01 |
Medieval German Literature | Wimmer, Albert | MW 3:00 - 4:15 |
| GE 30685-01 |
Discourses in Unity-Germany | McChensey, Anita | MW 11:45 - 1:00 |
| GE 40610-01 |
The Crises of Modernity in German Culture, 1900-1933 | Boes, Tobias | MW 1:30 - 2:45 |
Course Descriptions
GE 10101 Beginning German I
An introductory course of the spoken and written language. Aims at the acquisition of basic structures, vocabulary, and sound systems. For students with no previous study of the language.
GE 10102 Beginning German II
Continuation of an introductory course of the spoken and written language. Aims at the acquisition of basic structures, vocabulary, and sound systems.
GE 10111 Intensive Beginning German I
In this course, students will develop skills in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing German. They will also attain a grasp of the basic structures of the language. During class, emphasis will be placed on using the language to communicate and interact in a variety of situations and contexts. In addition, there will be a comprehensive introduction to the culture of German-speaking countries, with a particular emphasis on Austria, as this course is designed to prepare students with no previous study of German to participate in the International Studies Program in Innsbruck.
GE 10112/90112 Intensive Beginning German II
Continuation of GE 10101 (with permission) or GE 10111. In this course, students will develop skills in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing German. They will also attain a grasp of the basic structures of the language. During class, emphasis will be placed on using the language to communicate and interact in a variety of situations and contexts. In addition, there will be a comprehensive introduction to the culture of German-speaking countries, with a particular emphasis on Austria, as this course is designed to prepare students to participate in the International Studies Program in Innsbruck.
GE 13186 University Seminar: Justice German Detective Novel
This course will explore changing depictions of justice in some of the most prominent German Detective novels from 1786-1996. Each work will be read and discussed with careful attention to its formal characteristics as well as to the historical changes in the judicial system that are reflected in the works. Among the authors we will read are Schiller, Kleist, Hoffmann, Dürrenmatt and Schlink.
GE 13186 University Seminar: Faust: 16th-20th Century
In connection with the Faust year at Notre Dame, we will read some of the most important literary works dealing with this essential figure of modernity, whose desire for knowledge and striving for the infinite capture much of our age. In the center will be Goethe's Faust, the greatest work of German literature, but we will begin with Marlowe's Faust drama and end with Klaus Mann's novel Mephisto, a remarkable analysis of one artist selling his soul to the Third Reich.
GE 20201 Intermediate German I
In this course, students will build on and develop their communicative abilities acquired in Beginning German I and II. The four-skills approach (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) is centered on authentic texts, recordings, videos, and other images. The course includes grammar review, concentrated vocabulary expansion, and intensive practice.
GE 20202 Intermediate German II
In this bridge course, students will strengthen and refine the four linguistic skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing). Students will work toward greater fluency, accuracy, and complexity of expression. They will debate, analyze, and express opinions. Materials and class discussions will center on a cultural topic that will carry through the entire semester.
GE 20211 Intensive Intermediate German I
Comprehensive training in all language skills leading to a balanced mastery of German. For students with two to three years of German in high school, this course serves as preparation for the Central European Studies Program in Innsbruck.
GE 20212 Intensive Intermediate German II
This course provides comprehensive training in all language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening). Students will read and discuss selected cultural and literary texts with an emphasis on the period between 1945 and the present. They will review grammar in the context of situations and readings, become acquainted with Austrian culture and history, employ typical conversational strategies and gambits, sharpen listening skills, produce various types of written expression, and enlarge their active and passive vocabulary. This course is designed to prepare students with some previous study of German for the Central European Studies Program in Innsbruck.
GE 30102 The ABCs of Reading & Writing about Literature (in German)
At most, two works will be read: Durrenmatt's Der Richter und sein Henker and Der Besuch der alten Dame. We will read these carefully, with great attention to detail. Writing assignments will evolve from the readings; they may include a character portrayal, the description of an outdoor event, a short conversation, description of a crime scene, etc. They will increase in length from a single paragraph to two or three pages.
GE 30103 Advanced German Conversation
This is an advanced German language course, designed for students who have successfully completed a minimum of four semesters of German. This course expands on the grammatical structures of the German language spoken in German-speaking countries today, with emphasis on communication and acquisition of advanced language skills: reading and listening comprehension, and oral and written expression. A study of everyday German culture supports the language study. The conversational component of the course requires student-teacher and student-student interaction (in large and small group settings) to exchange information, clarify meanings, express opinions, argue points of view, and engage in any other communicative function for which native speakers use language. The course includes ongoing evaluation of students, using a variety of evaluative instruments and communicative contexts. Note: Native speakers or students who already have achieved a high level of oral proficiency (to be determined by an oral proficiency interview with the instructor) will not be given credit for this course.
GE 30105 Advanced Stylistics and Composition
This course offers students the opportunity to increase the sophistication of their written German. Speaking, listening, and reading skills also will benefit. Assignments are varied widely to address the interests and strengths of all students and to allow many opportunities for creativity. For example, students may work at writing letters, biography or autobiography, short stories, editorials, film reviews, or advertisements, to name just a few of the genres and writing styles we explore. In the process, students build their vocabulary, including idiomatic expressions, and solidify their understanding of German grammar. German culture, as expressed in short texts, the Internet, films, and music, provide a rich and meaningful context for the writing process. Students work frequently in groups to read and edit each other's work.
GE 30106 The Face(s) of Germany
The dismantling of the border between the two German states not only changed the German landscape but also disrupted the silence regarding concepts of national identity in Germany. This course examines the cultural constructions of nation and identity in Germany, beginning with the French Revolution and continuing to today. The subjects we examine include essays, poetry, short stories, films, architecture, and painting, facilitating classroom discussions on the intersecting discourses of geography, religion, gender, ethnicity, and nationality and their influence on German identity.
GE 30107 Kulturgeschichte
This course offers a survey of major developments in the cultural history of Germany and Central Europe. The course will investigate different manifestations of German and Central European cultures, such as literature, painting, architecture, music, and philosophy, as well as their interrelationship and historical contextualization. The course will provide an overview of important cultural and historical developments that have shaped German-speaking Europe. The goal is to familiarize students with basic techniques of approaching and interpreting texts and artifacts while preparing them for a wider range of more specialized courses. Taught in German.
GE 30108 Literatur von gestern und heute
This course acquaints students with the major periods and issues of German literature through the examination of a significant constellation of literary texts. Students read, discuss, and analyze selected texts from prose, poetry, and drama and become familiar with basic techniques of approaching and interpreting texts that will prepare them for a wider range of more specialized courses.
GE 30113/90113 Business German
German business language and practices. Designed to introduce the internationally oriented business and German major to the language, customs, and practices of the German business world.
GE 30215 Medieval German Literature
This course constitutes a survey of German literature from its beginnings during Germanic times until the 16th Century. Ideas, issues, and topics are discussed in such a way that their continuity can be seen throughout the centuries. Lectures and discussions are in German, but individual students' language abilities are taken into consideration. Readings include modern German selections from major medieval authors and works such as Hildebrandslied, Rolandslied, Nibelungenlied, Iwein, Parzival, Tristan, courtly lyric poetry, the German mystics, secular and religious medieval drama, Der Ackermann Aus Buhmen, and the beast epic Reineke Fuchs. Class discussions and brief presentations in German by students on the selections are intended as an opportunity for stimulating exchange and formal use of German.
GE 30565 The German Novella
This course will explore the German Novella, one of the most popular genres of 19th-century German literature. Each work will be read and discussed with careful attention to its formal characteristics as well as its historical and cultural contexts. By proceeding chronologically through the literary periods of Romanticism, Biedermeier, Poetic Realism, and Naturalism, students will gain a sense of literary developments in the 19th century and how these reflect shifts within the broader culture. Among the writers to be read: Goethe, Tieck, Kleist, Hoffmann, Eichendorff, Stifter, Storm, Keller and Hauptmann. As a 30000-level course, writing will be emphasized. Students will be required to rewrite each of their essays.
GE 30620/90620 Three Modern German Writers
Detailed study of selected short fiction by three authors whose work exemplifies both different stylistic approaches to and different periods of German literary modernism. Primary sources will be complemented by background readings on German history from 1890 to 1945 and by a few theoretical texts on modernism and modernity in both English and German. Class conducted in German.
GE 30650 The Romantic Tradition
Between 1790 and 1830, the movement known as Romanticism profoundly changed the artistic, musical, historical, religious, and political sensibilities on the Continent and in Britain. Romanticism marked a turn from the rational formalism of the classical period and reawakened an interest in myth, religious faith, the imagination, and emotional experience. In this course we will focus principally on the German contribution to Romanticism and trace its origins, development, and eventual decline in works of literature, philosophy, theology, music, painting, and architecture. Works to be studied will include those by the writers Ludwig Tieck, Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis), and Friedrich Schlegel; the philosophers Fichte and Schelling; the theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher; the painters Caspar David Friedrich and some members of the Nazarene school; the composers Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, and Robert Schumann; and the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
GE 30685 Discourses of Unity or Disunity? Representing Germany after 1990
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 brought the hope of unity to two diverse German traditions. Yet despite rapid political and geographical unification. Even now, more than 15 years later, Germany seems in many respects more dis-unified than ever. In this course, we will examine the unity discourse in contemporary German film and text. Focusing in particular on current depictions of the former East and West, we will consider whether these representations contribute to a new sense to national unity by emphasizing the similarities in a common past and present, or whether in fact they accentuate a sense of disunity by bringing out areas of difference, divergence, and even conflict. The course will facilitate exploratons of the literary, cultural and historical impact of (dis)unity in present-day Germany through intensive discussion, written essays, and short student-led presentations.
GE 30891 Masterpieces of German Literature
A sampling of the most beautiful, moving, and humorous prose and poetry of the 20th Century will be read and interpreted. Amongst other authors, we will focus our attention on selections from Heinrich Boll, Wolfgang Borchert, Max Frisch, Karl Krolow, and Rainer Maria Rilke. The written assignments will evolve from the texts studied. Taught in German.
GE 40440 Goethe and His Time
An intensive study of Goethe's major works of poetry, prose, and drama within the cultural framework of his times.
GE 40471 Twentieth-Century Prose and Poetry
In order to acquaint the student with the rich diversity characteristic of 20th-Century German literature, a wide variety of materials will be studied. They will not only encompass various genres: the short story, the drama, and the poem, but will also represent various time periods: from the beginnings of the 20th Century to the '50s. Among others, readings will include: Franz Kafka, Die Verwandlung, Wolfgang Borchert, Draussen Vor Der Tur, and poems from Rilke to Celan. An oral report, two papers, and a two-hour final will supplement thorough and engaging class discussions based upon close readings of the selected texts.
GE 40484 Overcoming Political Tragedy
An interdisciplinary course in drama and peace studies. Drama is a potentially fascinating topic for peace studies because, at the heart of traditional drama and theatre, there is conflict-and the question of whether it can be resolved. Moreover, just as politics is often dramatic, drama is often political; there is, for example, an extensive tradition of plays that make a theme of political revolution, usually in the form of tragedy or comedy. Students in this course read classic political dramas that are neither tragedies nor comedies, but rather bring potentially tragic public conflict to positive yet nontrivial resolution. Having discussed definitions of tragedy and comedy, and what might be the advantages of aesthetic renditions of conflict, the class then reads some of these dramas of political reconciliation: Aeschylus, Oresteia/eumenides; Shakespeare, Measure for Measure; Calderon, The Mayor of Zalamea; Corneille, Cinna; Lessing, Nathan the Wise; Schiller, William Tell; Kleist, The Prince of Homburg; Brecht, The Caucasian Chalk Circle; Lan, Desire; and Fugard, Valley Song. (We also may include selected films, such as "Meet John Doe," "On the Waterfront," or "Twelve Angry Men.") We will examine these plays (and films) through both the categories of drama analysis and theories of conflict resolution, mediation, and transformation, with the expectation of achieving greater depth in our interpretations of the dramatic texts and in our understanding of the theories of conflict resolution. Students of peace studies and political science who are familiar with these pieces of world literature will have acquired a new kind of resource for their ability to think through and work in conflict resolution.
GE 40486 Der Artusroman/Arthurian Epic
Come and explore the enduring legend of King Arthur and his court as interpreted by German authors of the high Middle Ages (late 12th and 13th Centuries). We spend the majority of the semester on the three best-known and most complete Arthurian epics in the German tradition: Erec and Iwein by Hartmann von Aue, and Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, as well as other later German adaptations they influenced. These tales are among the most imaginative and fascinating in the German canon, full of the adventures and exploits of knights and ladies. Our exploration of these texts focuses on their relationship to their French and English predecessors, on the many twists and turns in story line and character development that each individual author creates, and on the information they suggest about "real" life in the medieval world. We also take a look at some of the most interesting modern literary and film adaptations of the Arthurian legend.
GE 40490 Schiller (in German)
In this course, we will consider Friedrich Schiller as a dramatist, poet, aesthetic philosopher, and historian. We will read several of Friedrich Schiller's most important plays, including Die Rauber, Kabale Und Liebe, Die Verschworung Des Fiesko, Wallenstein, Maria Stuart, and Die Braut Von Messina. In addition, we will read from his letters on beauty (Kallias), and the essays "Uber Anmut Und Wurde," "Uber Naive Und Sentimentalische Dichtung," and "Die Asthetische Erziehung Des Menschen." Finally, we will also read selections from his historical works on the Thirty Years' War and on The Netherlands.
GE 40610 The Crises of Modernity in German Culture, 1900-1933
To a European citizen living in the year 1900, the world would have seemed a promising place. The continent had enjoyed almost universal peace for the past eighty years, science and the arts were prospering, the economy was booming. Yet less than fifty years later, Europe lay in ruins, reeling from a half-century of war, economic depression and genocide. This course will set out to explore what happened. Instead of focusing on political, economic or military history, however, we will enter the minds of some of the thinkers and poets who shaped cultural life during the first third of the century, choosing Germany as our specimen case. It was here that modern thought attained its greatest heights and here, also, that it ultimately sank to its lowest depths. Through close analysis of selected texts, we will uncover how the heights and the depths were intimately related to one another, and how modernity was from the very beginning dogged by a series of profound crises.
Readings and discussion in English. Students taking the course for German credit will study selected texts in the original and write their papers in German. Open to sophomores with permission of instructor only.
Authors will include Nietzsche, Freud, Weber, Heidegger, Brecht, Hesse, Höch, Riefenstahl and others.
GE 40648 German Cinema in the Weimar Republic (1918-33) (in English)
The years between 1918 and 1933 are the Golden Age of German film. In its development from expressionism to Social realism, the German cinema produced works of great variety, many of them in the international avant-garde. This course gives an overview of the silent movies and sound films made during the Weimar Republic and situate them in their artistic, social, and political context. The oeuvre of Fritz Lang, the greatest German director, receives special attention. Should we interpret Lang's disquieting visual style as a highly individual phenomenon independent of its environment, or can we read his obsessive themes (world conspiracies and terrorized masses, compulsive violence and revenge, entrapment and guilt) as a mirror image of the historical period? Might his films, as some critics have suggested, even illustrate how a national psyche gets enmeshed in fascist ideology? Films subtitled, dubbed, or in English; readings, lectures, and discussions in English.
GE 40669 Modern Metropolis in German Literature
If Paris was known as the capital of the 19th Century, turn-of-the-century Berlin was declared the capital of the 20th Century. The then-largest German metropolis came to epitomize rapid and spectacular modernization in Germany that started before World War I and continued during the Weimar Republic. Berlin had it all: gigantic industrial factories, glamorous boulevards, street lights, dazzling shop windows, night life, movies and entertainment, armies of white-collar employees, housing barracks, modern architecture, shopping, traffic, crime, and social problems. This course offers an introduction to one of the most dynamic periods in German cultural history (1900-33) as it is represented in texts and films about the big city. The discussions will focus on the following questions: Why did the big city appear fascinating and inspiring to some authors, and to others it loomed as a dreadful epitome of alienation and decadence? How were modern phenomena reflected in language and images? What were the forms of aesthetic innovation and artistic experimentation associated with the representation of modern life? Did men and women experience metropolitan modernity differently?
GE 40672 The Modern German Short Story
The German short story and other forms of prose from the "Stunde Null" in 1945 to the 1990s. Authors range from East and West German writers of the immediate postwar era to the most recent commentators on issues of politics, society, gender, and aesthetics.
GE 40675 Minority German Writers (in German)
This course explores German-language literature written by authors of non-German heritage. As a seminar it opens up the possibilities of reading a more diverse body of post-1945, and more specifically post-Wende, German literature. Secondary texts will help us to understand the social and historical context in which these authors write. The primary reading selections will include works by authors of African, Turkish, Sorbian, Roma, and Arab heritages.
GE 40685 Twentieth-Century German Literature
This survey course introduces students to the major writers in 20th-century German-language literature. We will be reading, discussing, and writing about poems, short stories, and dramas by authors such as George, Hofmannsthal, Rilke, Trakl, Thomas Mann, Kafka, Musil, Brecht, Celan, Bachmann, Frisch, Dürrenmatt, Enzensberger, Christa Wolf, Peter Schneider, Brinkmann, Hahn, and Königsdorf. By also considering these writers, contexts--the trends and movements they were part of, the activities in the other arts that influenced them, the contemporary discourses that surrounded them--we may be able to add depth and nuance to our readings. Thus, depending on student interest and ability, we will familiarize ourselves with the larger environs of 20th-century German-language culture. Taught in German.
GE 40801 Voice in Text and Theatre
In the 20th Century, voice gained importance in literature and in theatre. Stressing innovative forms of vocality, modern text and vanguard theatre aim to reveal the unconscious function of voice in written and spoken language. Verse or voice delivery are recognized not only as strategies to integrate physical heterogeneity in language and theatre, poets and theatre artists emphasize the vocal aspect of language as different vocal bodies. The course proposes to study the theoretical and esthetic implication of this phenomenon in confronting the new strategies of voice in text and in theater with historic ones. Among others, examples for voices will be text extracts from texts by Dante, Sollers, Racine, Goethe, Shakespeare, Artaud, Brecht, Heiner Muller featuring the vocal delivery styles of artists themselves or of interpreters like Carmelo Bene, Alexander Moissi, Fritz Kortner, Dario Fo, Klaus Michael Gruber, Robert Wilson, Meredith Monk, and Laurie Anderson. Please note: this three credit course runs for eight weeks, from February 28, 2006 to April 20, 2006.
GE 40855 German Drama 1750 to the Present (in German)
We will read and discuss some of the greatest plays in the German dramatic tradition, by authors such as Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Grillparzer, Nestroy, Freitag, Hauptmann, Hofmannsthal, Brecht, and Werfel. This semester we will focus on the so-called "drama of reconciliation," a newly rediscovered genre, where the conflict is serious but ends harmoniously. By interpreting classic German-language plays in the original, you will (1) learn how to approach drama analysis, and (2) develop a sense for the history of drama throughout the past 250 years. In addition, we will study a few short, and often English-language, texts in the theory of drama (Aristotle, Schelling, Carriere, and Cavell, as well as the department's own Hosle and Roche), which will (3) allow you to differentiate between the basic genres of drama (tragedy, comedy, and drama of reconciliation), and 4) better understand the nature of conflict and reconciliation. Students interested in other national literatures will have the opportunity to draw comparisons with plays by authors such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Shakespeare, Calderon, Corneille, Racine, and Ibsen; and those interested in film may branch out into analyzing works by directors such as Hitchcock, Renoir, Ford, Capra, Curtiz, Hawks, Chaplin, and Kurosawa.
GE 40889 Literature and Religion
Literature, according to Martin Walser, descends just as irrefutably from religion as human beings do from the apes. Indeed, there is no denying that even during aesthetic modernism, literature, art, and religion are closely intertwined. When art achieved autonomous status in the second half of the 18th century, it did, to be sure, shed its subservient function relative to religion, yet in terms of its topics, themes, and, most particularly, its claim to interpret and give meaning to human existence literature remained tied to religion, in fact became its great rival. This seminar will examine several stations of this development. Beginning with church hymns during the Renaissance and Baroque, we will see how the Bible was discovered as a literary text in the 18th century. At the end of the century, art is conceived as an autonomous, even holy artifact. Poetry, for some, even becomes the medium of human self-definition and the place in which new myths are created. In the Romantic period art and religion become fused into a single unity. A century later, art and religion again come into close contact in lyric poetry of the fin-de-siecle. The seminar concludes with a consideration of the psalm form in 20th-century poetry. Readings will include works by Luther, Paul Gerhardt, Klopstock, Hslderlin, Wackenroder, Stefan George, Rilke, Trakl, Brecht, Celan, and Bachmann.
GE 40891 Evil and the Lie (English and German)
In an attempt to define the nature of evil and its relation to such phenomena as lying and the preservation of a self-image, this seminar will carefully analyze works spanning the years 1890-1972. Among them will be Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray; Gide, The Immoralist; and Frisch, Andorra. Further courses acceptable for comparative literature majors will be found listed by the Department of English. Consultation of program director is required.
GE 40905 "Siegfried": How Richard Wagner's Opera became a Code Word of Anti-Semitism
Richard Wagner was not only a musician, but also a prolific author. Indeed, his writings from the late 1840s onward are essential for a complete understanding of his music. In particular, his infamous essay "On Jewishness in Music" of 1850 lays the racist and anti-Semitic foundation for his final and most controversial work, Parsifal of 1882. In this course, we will focus on the anti-Semitic element of Wagner's creations and trace the evolution of the Wagner cult that began even before his death and culminated in his virtual deification during the National Socialism regime. Indeed, one can argue that Wagner's influence reached its apex - or perhaps better its nadir - in a phrase by Adolf Hitler that was inscribed on a bronze plaque above the museum erected in Munich to house the infamous exhibition on "Degenerate Art" in 1937: "Art is a sublime mission that demands fanaticism."
GE 40911 Self-Definition and Quest for Happiness in Continental and American Prose of the Twentieth Century
Everyone from the ancients to the most technologically conscious CEOs tell us that those who succeed know the difference between the important and the unimportant and they allocate their time accordingly. But how does one make these choices? If, in fact, success and happiness are synonymous, as some would claim, which way lies success, lies happiness? And what are the guideposts? What really matters? In an age such as ours, does anything have lasting value? Do I really matter? If I am most assuredly defined by my beliefs and my deeds, what then do I believe, what do I do? In the final analysis, who am I? If literature, as so many maintain, not only mirrors but also foretells world events, how have several 20th-century authors representing diverse national traditions formulated the answers to these seminal questions? Readings will include F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; Albert Camus, The Stranger; and Max Frisch, Homo Faber.
GE 40920/90920 Hermeneutics & Literary Theory
What makes an interpretation of a literary text valid? The reconstruction of what the author meant by his text, intentionalists say. But does one understand enough if one just goes back to what the author had in mind, some anti-intentionalists ask. Both intentionalists and anti-intentionalists claim to derive their respective hermeneutic norms from insights into the nature of textual meaning in general and literary semantics in particular. This seminar will focus on the relationship between the theory and methodology of interpretation and literary theory. We will analyze major contributions by, among others, Hans-Georg Gadamer, E.D. Hirsch, Paul Ric'ur, Frank Kermode, Umberto Eco, and Richard Rorty.Note: Readings in English and German, discussions in English.
GE 40980 From Goethe to Nietzsche to Kafka: The Search for God in German Literature and Philosophy
One of the peculiarities of German culture is the strong connection between philosophy and literature; another the heroic attempt to develop a religion no longer based on authority, but on reason. We will discuss the main steps in this German quest for God, alternating philosophical and literary texts by authors such as Lessing, Goethe, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Kafka. Texts and discussions in English. Prerequisite: junior or senior standing.
GE 40988 Plato Before The Republic
Plato is the philosopher most difficult to interpret. The range of his interests, the innovative nature and the complexity of his thought, finally the fact that he does not speak in first person adds to the difficulty. After a general introduction into the main problems and positions of Plato scholarship today, we will read some of his dialogues written before his most important work, The Republic, dealing with such various topics as virtues, the nature of art, the relation of ethics and religion, the politics of Athens, and the essence of knowledge. We will analyze both his arguments and the literary devices by which he communicates them and partly withholds and alludes to further ideas.
GE 40989 Philosophiae Dialogues
Philosophy is communicated in different literary genres-as essays, treatises, didactic poems- the choice of which influences in a subtle manner the contents exposed. One of the most interesting literary genres used by philosophers is certainly the dialogue, since it allows to hide the author's mind behind a variety of different positions which get the chance to articulate themselves and since it shows the connection between philosophical ideas and discursive behavior. We shall read different texts ranging from Plato to Feyerabend to see how different philosophers have exploited the possibilities of this genre.
GE 43439 Goethe on His Life and on His Discovery of Italy
Goethe is doubtless the greatest German poet. He was the last Renaissance man--a philosophical mind, a scientist, and a statesman, who has written some of the most sublime German literature in all three genres. But one of his greatest artworks was his own life. We will read his autobiography Dichtung Und Warheit, which gives us a splendid overview of Germany's intellectually most prolific time, and his Italienische Reise, one of the most intense experiences of the essence of Italian culture ever. One of the focuses of the seminar will be on the literary transformation of biographical facts peculiar to all autobiographies, and to Goethe's in particular.
GE 43483 Seminar on German Women Writers (in German)
Participants in this seminar will explore the rich literary history of female writers from German-speaking Europe. We read works of many genres (drama, short story, novella, novel, letter) by women from the early Middle Ages to the present. In the process, we encounter Europe's first playwright, one of the 21st-century's brightest young literary stars, and an array of intriguing women who lived in the interim. We scrutinize and apply various theoretical and critical approaches to women's literature, both in writing and in lively debates.
GE 43499 German Literature Senior Seminar
Seminar devoted to the intensive study of selected works, periods, and genres of German literature.
GE 47498 Special Studies
Prerequisite: Senior standing, Dean's list.
GE 48439 Goethe's Lives
Goethe is doubtless the greatest German poet. He was the last Renaissance man - a philosophical mind, a scientist, and a statesman, who wrote some of the most sublime German literature in all three genres. But one of his greatest artworks was his own life. We will read his autobiography, Dichtung und Wahrheit, which gives us a splendid overview of Germany's intellectually most prolific time, and his Italienische Reise, one of the most intense experiences of the essence of Italian culture ever. One of the focuses of the seminar will be on the literary transformation of biographical facts peculiar to all autobiographies, and to Goethe's in particular.
GE 48499 Senior Thesis
German majors who wish to graduate with honors may write a senior thesis. For those German majors who elect to write a thesis, several requirements must be met: (1) The student must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major, (2) the thesis must be at least 30 pages long, and (3) the thesis must be written in German. The student writing a thesis enrolls in GE 48499 and receives one course credit (three credit hours) for the course. Although the thesis is graded by the advisor (to receive honors, the thesis must receive a grade of B+ or higher), the entire department reads the thesis, acting as an advisory body to the advisor. The thesis is due the week after spring break, and the student is strongly advised to begin thinking about it and start conferring with the advisor before the October break of the fall term.
GE 60500 German Graduate Reading
Intended as review for graduate students who wish to take the GRE in German. The final examination of the course, if passed, fulfills the requirements of the GRE.
GE 60502 The ABC's of Reading & Writing
At most two works will be read: Durrenmatt's Der Richter und sein Henker and Der Besuch der alten Dame. We will read these carefully with great attention to detail. Writing assignments will evolve from the readings; they may include a character portrayal, the description of an outdoor event, a short conversation, description of a crime scene, etc. They will increase in length from a single paragraph to two or three pages.
GE 90215 Medieval German Literature
This course constitutes a survey of German literature from its beginnings during Germanic times until the 16th century. Ideas, issues, and topics are discussed in such a way that their continuity can be seen throughout the centuries. Lectures and discussions are in German, but individual students' language abilities are taken into consideration. Readings include modern German selections from major medieval authors and works such as Hildebrandslied, Rolandslied, Nibelungenlied, Iwein, Parzival, Tristan, courtly lyric poetry, the German mystics, secular and religious medieval drama, Der Ackermann Aus Buhmen, and the beast epic Reineke Fuchs. Class discussions and brief presentations in German by students on the selections are intended as an opportunity for stimulating exchange and formal use of German.
GE 90430 Classical Period
Modern German literature comes into being at the middle of the eighteenth century. This period of German culture, often referred to as its "Classical Age," is represented by such figures as Klopstock, Lessing, Herder, Schiller, Goethe, Hölderlin, and Kleist. In this class we will read and discuss some of the great works written by these authors and analyze them in relation to the intellectual and cultural currents of the time.
GE 93499 - German Literature Senior Seminar
Seminar devoted to the intensive study of selected works, periods, and genres of German literature.
