2000-01 Bulletin Entry for:
Faculty
Stephen Dowden, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head, German
German modernism. Romanticism. The Novel: Kafka, Bernhard, Thomas Mann, Broch, Musil, Goethe. Austrian literature.
Joan Chevalier
Foreign language pedagogy. Second language acquisition. Slavic linguistics. Sociolinguistics.
Robin Feuer Miller
Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Nineteenth-century Russian literature and comparative literature. The novel. Reader-response criticism.
Andrew Swensen, Undergraduate Advising Head, Russian
Nineteenth- and 20th-century Russian literature. Russian and comparative Romanticism. Russian and comparative literature of the fantastic.
Sabine von Mering
Eighteenth- and 19th-century German literature. German women writers. Feminist theory. Language pedagogy. Drama.
(file last updated: [6/23/2000 - 18:42:0])
Objectives
The German section of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages offers instruction in the German language and literature aimed at providing access to many aspects of the culture, past and present, of Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland. German has always been one of the prime languages of international scholarship, and the recent reunification of Germany has drawn renewed attention to the European and indeed worldwide importance of that country. In past years, German majors have gone on to graduate school in German literature to prepare for a career of teaching and research or to professional schools in law, medicine, or business, entered government work, or found employment with publishing companies or business firms with international connections.
How to Become a Concentrator
The department welcomes all students to become concentrators in German language and literature. Both non-concentrators and concentrators are offered computer-aided instruction in German, and work in the classroom and the Language Media Center is supplemented with regular German-speaking events. Concentrators in German literature are encouraged to participate in the annual Brandeis Summer Program at Augsburg, Germany, or spend their junior year in Germany or any other German-speaking countries. In addition to the major in German literature, the section offers a minor in German literature and participates in the program in European Cultural Studies. (The abbreviation GECS denotes German and European Cultural Studies courses.) Virtually all German literature courses are given in German.
Requirements for Concentration (German)
A. ECS 100a (European Cultural Studies: The Proseminar) to be completed no later than the junior year.
B. Advanced language and literature study: Required are: GER 103a and 104a, plus any six German literature/culture courses above GER 104a, at least two of which must be conducted in German.
C. Concentrators wishing to graduate with departmental honors must enroll in and complete GER 99d (Senior Thesis), a full year course. Before enrolling students should consult with the coordinator. Candidates for departmental honors must have a 3.50 GPA in German courses previous to the senior year. Honors are awarded on the basis of cumulative excellence in all courses taken in the concentration and the grade on the honors thesis. One semester of the Senior Thesis may be counted towards the six required upper-level courses.
Requirements for the Minor in German Literature
GER 103a or 104a is required, plus three German literature/culture courses above GER 104a. Successful completion of GER 30a, or GER 39a, or a departmental language exemption exam is a prerequisite for the minor.
Courses of Instruction
(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students
GER 10a Beginning German
Enrollment limited to 18.
Intended for students with little or no previous knowledge of German. Emphasis is placed on comprehending, reading, writing, and conversing in German, and the presentation of basic grammar. Class work is supplemented by extensive computer-aided exercises. Usually offered every year.
Staff
GER 20b Continuing German
Prerequisite: GER 10a or the equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18.
Conclusion of the basic grammar presentation started in GER 10a. Continued practice of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in the context of German cultural topics. The textbook from GER 10a is supplemented by a vocabulary-building reader and extensive computer-aided exercises. Usually offered every year.
Staff
GER 30a Intermediate German
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Prerequisite: GER 20b or the equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18.
The major objectives are systematic grammar review with emphasis on some fine points, expansion of vocabulary, reading of literary and expository prose, writing of short essays, and conversation in German. A review grammar and reader will be used, with occasional newspaper, magazine, and video material. Some individual choice of emphasis may be available through special projects. Usually offered every year.
Staff
GER 39a Intermediate German: Honors
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Prerequisite: GER 20b, 30a, or the equivalent. Signature of the instructor required.
An intensive course covering essential elements of a third and fourth semester language sequence in one semester. Review of grammatical trouble spots; reading, viewing, and discussion of cultural material, and extensive vocabulary building will require independent student effort. A final grade of B- or better in this course will provide direct access to 100-level German courses. Three class hours and one scheduled lab hour per week. Usually offered every year.
Staff
GER 98a Independent Study
May be taken only with the permission of the advising head. Signature of the instructor required.
Readings and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every year.
Staff
GER 98b Independent Study
May be taken only with the permission of the advising head. Signature of the instructor required.
Readings and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every year.
Staff
GER 99d Senior Thesis
Signature of the instructor required. Students should consult advising head.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students
The abbreviation GECS denotes German and European Cultural Studies courses.
GER 103a German Grammar and Composition
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Prerequisite: GER 39a, A- or better in GER 30a, or the equivalent.
Focuses on increasing speed of reading, using literary and nonliterary texts, on grammar, composition, and on further developing oral and written communication skills. Usually offered every year and also in the annual Brandeis Summer Program at Augsburg, Germany.
Ms. von Mering
GER 104a German Readings and Conversation
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Prerequisite: GER 39a, A- or better in GER 30a, or the equivalent.
Intensive study and exercise of contemporary spoken German with an emphasis on fluency of expression, idiomatic accuracy, and proper pronunciation. Oral reports, discussions, speeches, and debates on a variety of intellectually challenging topics will be based on material derived from dramatic dialogues, radio plays, films, essays, the daily press, and guest speakers. Usually offered in even years.
Ms. von Mering
GECS 108a The German Tradition I: Lessing to Nietzsche
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Explores the dialectic of reason and the irrational from the late 18th century in Germany and Austria until their collapse in World War I. Works by Beethoven, Kant, Mendelssohn, Goethe, Lessing, Mozart, Heine, Novalis, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, and others. Lectures and discussions conducted in English. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the fall of 2000.
Mr. Dowden
GECS 109b The German Tradition II: Nietzsche to Postmodern
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Explores the dialectic of reason and the irrational from the late 19th century in Germany and Austria to the present. Works by Adorno, Benjamin, Brecht, Celan, Habermas, Heidegger, Junger, Kiefer, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Nietzsche, Schoenberg, Spengler, Expressionist painting and film. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the spring of 2001.
Mr. Dowden
GER 110a Goethe
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Intensive study of many of Goethe's dramatic, lyric, and prose works, including Goetz, Werther, Faust I, and a comprehensive selection of poetry. Lectures and readings in English. Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the fall of 2000.
Mr. Dowden
GER 120a German Enlightenment and Classicism
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Prerequisites: GER 39a, A- or better in GER 30a, or the equivalent.
Careful reading and discussion (in German) of some of the most moving dramatic scenes and lyrical poems written by Lessing, Klopstock, Lenz, Goethe, Schiller, Hölderlin, and others will provide an overview of those fertile literary and intellectual movements--Enlightenment, Storm and Stress, Idealism--that eventually culminated in German Classicism. A lower reading load and an optional grammar review make this course a good transition to more advanced German courses. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1998.
Ms. von Mering
GER 121a German Lyric Poetry
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Focuses on poets, poems, and cycles of poems in the German lyric tradition since Goethe, and introduces the various forms of poetry. Acquaints the student with some important critics of German lyric, including Adorno, Benn, Gadamer, Heidegger, Heller, Hofmannsthal, Kommerell, Szondi, and others. Conducted in German. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 2000.
Mr. Dowden
GECS 130b Jewish German Women Writers
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Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Explores the writing of Jewish German women from the 17th century to the present. Examines how women approached the challenge of their dual identity as Jewish and German, how women experienced the horrors of the Holocaust and how they created a new Jewish life in Germany and abroad after 1945. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 2000.
Ms. von Mering
GECS 165a German Film in Cultural Context
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Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
A study of important German films, from the time of silent movies to the present, and their relationship to the literary, artistic, and political developments of their time. Films are chosen to highlight their varied functions as works of art, entertainment, information, propaganda, and social criticism and to allow comparison with their literary sources. Usually offered in even years.
Ms. von Mering
GECS 166b Dreams and Nightmares: The Third Reich on Film
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Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in German and in English translation.
Explores the reflection of National Socialism and life under its regime in the films of the Third Reich (1933-45), and looks at the reaction to its triumphs and horrors in post-war German films and abroad. Unabashed propaganda, use of mass psychology, escapism and aestheticism, conformity and individuality, and collaboration and resistance are some of the topics we discuss. Conducted in English with special assignments for German concentrators. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. von Mering
GECS 180b European Modernism and the German Novel
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Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in German and in English translation.
A study of selected novelists writing after Nietzsche and before the end of World War II. This course will explore the culture, concept, and the development of European modernism in works by Broch, Canetti, Döblin, Jünger, Kafka, Mann, Musil, Rilke, and Roth. Readings and discussions in English. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Dowden
GER 181a Franz Kafka
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Prerequisites: B- or better in GER 39a, or the equivalent. (GER 103b is recommended.) Lectures and readings in German.
A detailed exploration of Kafka's works, life, and thought. Emphasis will be given to his place in the larger scheme of literary modernism. Conducted in German. Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the spring of 2001.
Mr. Dowden
GECS 182b Nietzsche
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Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English translation.
Covers Friedrich Nietzsche's life and writings, emphasizing the historical and cultural setting. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1998.
Mr. Dowden
GECS 183b A History of Death
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Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in German and in English translation. Signature of the instructor required.
How has the literary imagination responded to the perpetual outrage of death? We survey ancient and modern works of literature that explore the meaning of life from the standpoint of death. Special emphasis falls on death in German philosophy and literature. Topics include disease, war, murder, suicide, eroticism (Liebestod), immortality, aestheticism, and humor. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Dowden
Cross-Listed Courses
European Cultural Studies: The Proseminar