German Studies 101f: Elementary German
(Speaking-intensive course) This course introduces speaking, reading, and writing German. Cultural and literary readings, video materials, and World Wide Web resources dealing with everyday situations and experiences in the German-speaking countries will be used on a regular basis. Students complete online grammar, vocabulary, and culture exercises. Audiotapes and conversation sections with native speakers supplement class work.

M. Lauer    MTuWF 10:00-10:50

German Studies 103f: Intensive Elementary German
(Speaking-intensive course) Two semesters in one. Practice in speaking, reading, and writing German. Cultural and literary readings together with frequent use of Web resources dealing with everyday situations and experiences in the German-speaking countries sensitize students to the cultural context in which the language is spoken. Online grammar and audio exercises, as well as weekly conversation sessions with an assistant from Germany supplement class work.

D. Van Handle    MTuWF 8:35-9:50     8 credits

German Studies 201f: Intermediate German
(Writing-intensive course) The course emphasizes the development of reading, writing, and speaking German by focusing on contextualized grammatical features. Combining content and language knowledge, we look at a variety of texts and genres. The completion of various task-sheets and specific instructions on speaking and writing assignments will complement the work with the texts.

M. Lauer     MWF 11:00-12:15 p.m.    

German Studies 220f (01): German Culture Today: Stories and Histories
(Speaking-intensive course) (Speaking- and writing-intensive course) This course examines historical, cultural, and political developments that continue to frame debates surrounding the 20th century, WWII, the former GDR, and German unification. Thematic focus helps students develop accuracy, fluency, and complexity of expression. Reading, writing, and speaking are consistently integrated. Special emphasis placed on text organization toward expanding students' language abilities, with a gradual movement from personal forms of expression to written and public discourses.

K. Remmler     MW 11:00-12:15 p.m.

German Studies 220f (02): German Culture Today: Stories and Histories
Speaking-intensive course) (Speaking- and writing-intensive course) This course examines historical, cultural, and political developments that continue to frame debates surrounding the 20th century, WWII, the former GDR, and German unification. Thematic focus helps students develop accuracy, fluency, and complexity of expression. Reading, writing, and speaking are consistently integrated. Special emphasis placed on text organization toward expanding students' language abilities, with a gradual movement from personal forms of expression to written and public discourses.

M. Lauer    MW 2:40-3:55 p.m.

German Studies 223f: Topics in German Studies: German Culture from 1800 to 2000
This course examines the cultural, political and social developments from 1800 to the present by investigating a significant topic.  The selection of materials is exemplary rather than comprehensive and is based on thematic, historical, generic and other units.
Topic for Fall 2008: Geistergeschichten--Geistesgeschichte? Spirits and Spirit of German Culture
(Speaking and writing-intensive course) We will discuss "unreal" narratives, films, ballads, and fairytales which include elements of the fantastic and grotesque and inquire: how can these represent the "reality" of key periods in German culture? What kind of reality is meant? We will include Goethe's "vampire" ballad, a grotesque Brecht ballad, and a Borchert manifesto; classic "Nosferatu/dracula"; films from the 1920s and 70s; ghost stories, serious or humorous, by Kleist and Heine; grotesque art and narrative by Grosz and Kafka; film comedies of the later 20th century. Short historical, sociological, scientific texts further elucidate cultural reality. (Emphasis on essay revisions; oral presentations.)

G. Davis     TTh 11:00-12:15 p.m.

German Studies 315f: Topics in German Studies
Topic for Fall 2008: Color Me German: Perceptions of Others in German Culture from 1800-1933
(Speaking and writing-intensive course) How did Germans perceive people of African descent, Jews, Native Americans? What about images of the enemy during WWI? Materials to include: essays on race by Hegel and contributions to the Berlin anti-Semitism debate by Treitschke; novellas about interracial relationships by Kleist and Storm; texts by Charles Sealsfield, about "the essence of the Black man," an informative influence on German concepts of blacks; Karl May's depiction of the "noble savage," the native American, immensely popular even now; the Weimar Republic and its rage for the exotic: jazz, Völkerschauen, Josephine Baker, Duke Ellington and the "Chocolate Kiddies, documents, films, war cartoons, and art. 

G. Davis     TuTh 1:15-2:30 p.m.

German Studies 231f (CST-250-01): Introduction to Nineteenth Century Critical Social Thought
This course is taught in English and satisfies a Humanities I-a distribution requirement but not the language requirement. For credit toward the major/minor in German Studies students must enroll in German 232 (2 cr.) as well (and read, write about, and discuss selected materials from 231 in German)

An introduction to some of the great critical voices of the 19th century. We will explore the ideas of such mutinous thinkers as Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Franz Kafka, focusing on the style as well as the substance of their works and the circumstances that provoked them to write and/or that their writings helped provoke.The course will highlight the tension between appearance and reality, the dialectic of domination and subordination, and the place of reason and irrationality in social life.

K. Remmler     MW 1:15-2:30 p.m.

German Studies 232f: German StudiesTutorial: Introduction to Nineteenth Century Critical Social Thought
(Speaking-intensive course; taught in German) An introduction to some of the great critical voices of the 19th century. We will explore the ideas of such mutinous thinkers as Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Franz Kafka, focusing on the style as well as the substance of their works and the circumstances that provoked them to write and/or that their writings helped provoke.The course will highlight the tension between appearance and reality, the dialectic of domination and subordination, and the place of reason and irrationality in social life.

K. Remmler     TBA    2 credits

German Studies 100s  The Politics of Memory in Postwar German and Japanese Cultures     
First-year seminar (Speaking- and writing-intensive course; taught in English) Cultural exchanges between German and Japanese peoples have taken place for over 400 years. What has triggered and sustained exchanges of cultural, social, artistic, and military traditions? How have these historical exchanges affected the remembrance of World War II, the Holocaust, the Rape of Nanjing, and Hiroshima/Nagasaki in postwar narratives of both national cultures? We focus on the process of remembering war and atrocity in memoirs, fiction, and films in order to explore the politics of memory within transnational perspectives of gender, race, and class.
K. Remmler

German Studies 102s Elementary German           
Continuation of the elementary German course; practice in speaking, reading, and writing German. Cultural and literary readings together with frequent use of Internet resources dealing with everyday situations and experiences in the German-speaking countries sensitize students to the cultural context in which the language is used. Online grammar and listening comprehension exercises, as well as weekly conversation sessions with peer assistant from Germany supplement class work.

Meets Language requirement; does not meet a distribution requirement
M. Lauer
Prereq. See department for placement if you have not taken German 101 at Mount Holyoke College; 4 credits; 4 meetings (50 minutes), 1 lab (50 minutes)101 and 102 meet language requirement

German Studies 103s  Intensive Elementary German            
Two semesters in one. Practice in speaking, reading, and writing German. Cultural and literary readings together with frequent use of Internet resources dealing with everyday situations and experiences in the German-speaking countries sensitize students to the cultural context in which the language is used. Online grammar and listening comprehension exercises, as well as weekly conversation sessions with peer assistant from Germany supplement class work.

Meets Language requirement; does not meet a distribution requirement
The department                 
Prereq. none; 8 credits; 4 meetings (75 minutes) plus 1 lab (50 minutes)

German Studies 201s  Intermediate German: Experiencing the German-Speaking World      
The course emphasizes the development of German reading, writing, and speaking skills by focusing on contextualized grammatical features. Combining content- and language knowledge, we look at a variety of texts and genres. The completion of various task-sheets and specific instructions on speaking and writing assignments will complement the work with the texts.

Meets Language requirement; does not meet a distribution requirement
D. Van Handle
Prereq. Previous study of German; 4 credits; 3 meetings (75 minutes), 1 lab (50 minutes)

German Studies 210s  German Conversation and Composition II   
 (Speaking-intensive course) This course will help students improve their written and spoken German and review important points of grammar and syntax. Readings range from popular culture to literary texts. Extensive use of films, multimedia, and Internet resources to supplement class discussion. Topics based on students' individual interests. Recommended for students in conjunction with German 220 and 223 or for those who desire additional preparation before entering upper-level courses in the department.

Does not meet a distribution requirement
The department
Prereq. Previous study of German; 2 credits; 1 meeting (1 1/2 hours)

German Studies 214s  Crosscultural Learning: Studying in a German-speaking Country       
This course will focus on crosscultural communication and understanding, as well as issues of identity as they relate to study abroad in a German-speaking country. Emphasis on helping students prepare oral presentations and academic papers for a German-speaking university audience. A number of brief readings will address the challenges of moving across cultural boundaries. Use of media resources and the Web will also highlight everyday situations and practical concerns related to living and studying in a German-speaking context. Six 11⁄2 -hour meetings during the second half of the semester.

Does not meet a distribution requirement
The department
Prereq. Sophomore and juniors preparing for a year or semester of study abroad; 1 credit; Only for, and required of, students who will study in a German-speaking country at any time during the 2009-2010 academic year

German Studies 220s  German Culture Today: Stories and Histories     
 (Speaking- and writing-intensive course) This course examines historical, cultural, and political developments that continue to frame debates surrounding the 20th century, WWII, the former GDR, and German unification. Thematic focus helps students develop accuracy, fluency, and complexity of expression. Reading, writing, and speaking are consistently integrated. Special emphasis placed on text organization toward expanding students' language abilities, with a gradual movement from personal forms of expression to written and public discourses.

Does not meet a distribution requirement
M. Lauer
Prereq. Previous study of German; 4 credits; 2 meetings (75 minutes) 1 lab (50 minutes)

German Studies 223s  Topics in German Studies: The Lust of Transgression: Sex and Madness in German Culture         
German Culture from 1800 to 2000: The selection of materials is exemplary rather than comprehensive and is based on thematic, historical, generic and other units.
(Speaking- and writing-intensive course) We will investigate diverse acts of transgression in German culture: social, mental, or sexual, acts which society frequently deemed scandalous, traitorous, or blasphemous. Why, then, would literature/artifacts, usually considered representations of beauty, deal with cultural, political, gender, and sexual norms and deviations?Readings and films to include: Woyzeck, Frühlingserwachen, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum; material from contemporary TV; essays; sculpture; art; song. (Emphasis on essay revisions; oral presentations.)

Meets Language requirement or Humanities I-A requirement
G. Davis

German Studies 325s  Senior Seminar: Faust vs. Mephisto:
The Struggle for the "Western Soul"        
This seminar is designed to explore theoretically and practically the nature of our field of inquiry. We explore such questions as: What does German studies mean? What is interdisciplinary work? What role does literature play in culture studies? What is the relationship between language and the construction of culture? What meanings have been attributed to the terms of "culture" and "civilization?" Texts from a variety of disciplines. Students write term papers on topics related to their major field(s) of interest.
(Speaking- and writing-intensive course) Faust is often called "the epitome of Western 'man'"; but the Faustian is tied to the struggle with the Mephistophelian, thereby signifying the dualism characteristic of the Western world view. We will focus on an investigation of the Faust topos from early 16th-century historical records and Johann Spies's Faustbuch, via Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus (1594/1605), Goethe's Faust I (excerpts from: Urfaust, Faust II) and Klaus Mann's Mephisto and its censorship scandal in 1968. Other possibilities for class or seminar projects: excerpts from Thomas Mann's Dr. Faustus; Michail Bulgakov's Der Meister und Margarita; Opera by Gounod or Berlioz.

Meets Language requirement or Humanities I-A requirement
G. Davis
Prereq. Seniors, non-seniors per permission of the instructor; 4 credits; 1 meeting (3 hours)