HCD/GermanLL/94

Germanic Studies

Director of Undergraduate Studies and Departmental Adviser:

Peter Jansen, Wb 215, 702-8547, pjansen@midway.uchicago.edu

Coordinator for Language Courses in German: Hildegund Ratcliffe, C 505, 702-8017, hratclif@midway.uchicago.edu

Secretary for German in the College: Vreni Naess, Cl 25F, 702-8494,
v-naess@uchicago.edu

E-mail: german-department@uchicago.edu

World Wide Web: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/humanities/german

Program of Study

The concentration program for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Germanic studies is intended to provide students with a highly personalized and wide- ranging introduction to the language, literature, and culture of German-speaking countries and to various methods of approaching and examining these areas. It is designed to be complemented by other areas of study, such as anthropology, art history, comparative literature, economics, film studies, history, philosophy, political science, and sociology.

Students planning to concentrate in Germanic studies are urged to spend at least one quarter in a German-speaking country as early in their course of study as possible. The College presently sponsors a spring quarter program in Weimar (for students in their first year of German) and cosponsors, with the Berlin Consortium for German Studies, a yearlong program in association with the Freie Universität Berlin (for students who have completed German 203 or reached an equivalent level of language competence). It is also recommended that all students complete the University's certificate of competency in German.

Program Requirements

Beyond the courses needed to establish a basic knowledge of the German language (German 201 or equivalent), students concentrating in Germanic studies normally take four additional courses in German language, five courses in German literature and culture, and a thesis tutorial. The department wishes to provide students with a variety of courses that both prepare them well for their field of concentration and permit them to pursue special interests in other, but related, areas. Some students may wish to concentrate in Germanic studies, but with a focus in another area. Such students might count some relevant German-oriented courses in other departments in the Humanities or Social Sciences toward the requirements of the concentration in Germanic studies. Students must establish any individual program of study with the assistance and approval of the departmental adviser.

Students may reduce the number of language courses required for the concentration through placement or accreditation examinations.

A B.A. paper is required for the completion of the concentration in Germanic studies. A proposal should be submitted to the director for undergraduate studies during autumn quarter of the senior year

Summary of Requirements

German German 101-102-103 and 201 or

Language German 104-105 and 200 (or equivalent)

Preparation

Concentration 2 German 202-203 (or equivalent)

2 German 210, 212

4 German 220 and above (literature and culture)

3 German literature and culture courses (may be taken in other departments)

- B.A. paper

Grading. The following policies pertain to grading:

1. Students concentrating in Germanic studies must take a letter grade in all courses taken as part of their concentration requirements.

2. Students not concentrating in Germanic studies and not fulfilling a language requirement have the option of taking courses in the department on a P/N basis.

3. Students with previous background in Germanic studies who register for German 101-102-103 without the permission of the department will be graded only P/N or P/F.

Honors. Special honors are reserved for those graduating seniors who achieve overall excellence in grades for courses in the College and within the concentration, and complete a B.A. thesis that shows proof of original research or criticism. Students with an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 for College work and a grade point average of at least 3.5 in classes within the concentration, and whose B.A. thesis is judged superior by the two readers, will be recommended to the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division for special honors.

Faculty

ANDREAS GAILUS, Assistant Professor, Department of Germanic Studies and the College

SANDER L. GILMAN, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Liberal Arts in Human Biology; Professor, Departments of Germanic Studies, Psychiatry, and Comparative Literature; Committees on Jewish Studies and on the History of Culture, Fishbein Center for the History of Science, and the College; Chair, Department of Germanic Studies

REINHOLD HELLER, Professor, Departments of Art History and Germanic Studies, Committee on the Visual Arts, and the College

SAMUEL P. JAFFE, Professor, Department of Germanic Studies, Committees on Jewish Studies, Medieval Studies, and the College

PETER K. JANSEN, Associate Professor, Department of Germanic Studies and the College

HILDEGUND RATCLIFFE, Senior Lecturer, Department of Germanic Studies and the College

ERIC L. SANTNER, Harriet and Ulrich E. Meyer Professor of Modern European Jewish History, Professor, Department of Germanic Studies, and the College

KATIE TRUMPENER, Associate Professor, Departments of Germanic Studies, Comparative Literature, English Language and Literature, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

ROBERT VON HALLBERG, Professor, Departments of English Language & Literature, Germanic Studies, and Comparative Literature, and the College

Courses

German

101-102-103. Elementary German for Beginners. PQ: Knowledge of German not required. No auditors permitted. The aim of the course is to teach students how to communicate in German and to do so as accurately as possible. It enables them to express ideas in simple sentences, to comprehend ideas expressed through the vocabulary and the structures acquired, to understand simple German prose on nontechnical subjects, and to write short passages about a familiar topic without the help of a dictionary. At the same time, the course seeks to convey knowledge about German-speaking countries and aspects of their everyday culture, and to familiarize the students with major issues of contemporary life in those societies. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

104-105. Elementary German. PQ: Placement test or consent of German language coordinator. No auditors permitted. Together with German 200, this sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. This sequence is an accelerated version of the German 101-102-103 sequence, building on students' previous knowledge of German. The objectives are identical to those of German 101-102-103. Staff. Autumn, Winter.

110. Reading German. This course is designed to prepare undergraduates with no previous experience in German to do research in German. By the end of the quarter students should have a fundamental knowledge of German grammar and a basic vocabulary. While the course does not teach conversational German, the basic elements of pronunciation are taught so that students can understand a limited amount of spoken German. This course does not count toward any part of the Common Core foreign language requirement. Staff. Spring.

200. Intermediate German (Variant A). PQ: German 105. No auditors permitted. Together with German 104 and 105, this course fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. The course objectives are identical to those of German 201. Classes conducted mostly in German. Staff. Spring.

201. Intermediate German (Variant B). PQ: German 103, 105, or equivalent. No auditors permitted. This course fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. Intensive review and practice in reading, writing, understanding, and speaking German. Short readings acquaint students with aspects of culture and the current situation in German-speaking countries. Some readings are chosen according to students' interests, with the sections geared to three tracks: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students should register for the track that corresponds to their interests. Classes conducted mostly in German. Staff. Autumn.

202-203. Advanced Intermediate German. PQ: German 201 or equivalent. No auditors permitted. This course refines skills in reading, writing, understanding, and speaking German. It serves as an introduction to literary analysis through readings of modern German writers and acquaints students with nonfiction writings of contemporary prose, including articles from major German newspapers and magazines. It includes discussion of the current situation in German-speaking countries. Readings are supplemented by audio and visual materials as appropriate. Classes conducted mostly in German. Staff. Winter, Spring.

210, 212. German Conversation and Composition. PQ: German 203 or equivalent. No auditors permitted. This two-course sequence is designed to make the transition from intermediate German to upper-level literature and culture courses. The courses are based on selected readings of increasing length, complexity, and intellectual challenge grouped around a theme chosen by the individual instructor. Classes conducted in German.

210. German Conversation. The course stresses the development of speaking skills through oral presentations and class discussions based on readings, tapes, films, videos, television, and radio programs. Staff. Autumn.

212. German Composition. Special emphasis is placed on writing correct German prose through frequent and varied assignments based on class readings. Staff. Winter.

222/412. Postwar Germany and the New German Cinema (=CMS 226, Eng 284/484, GS Hum 211/311, German 222/412). This course examines the emergence and development of the New German Cinema in relation to postwar German filmmaking and to concurrent New Waves elsewhere in Eastern and Western Europe, especially in the German Democratic Republic. We pay equal attention to the aesthetic strategies of individual films, to their reflections on history, memory, and subjectivity, and to the political and cultural contexts for the New German Cinema. Course may include films by Kluge, Schlöndorff, Fassbinder, Herzog, Straub and Huillet, Wenders, Lilienthal, Monk, Kotulla, Sander, Sanders-Brahms, Schroeter, Reitz, Staudte, Käutner, Maetzig, Beyer, Klein, and Wolf. Texts in English and the original; all films with subtitles. K. Trumpener.Winter.

234. Power and Resistance: The Case of the German Democratic Republic in the Eastern European Context. This course pursues three goals: (1) to analyze the history and culture of "real existing" socialism, (2) to introduce students to concepts of power and resistance developed inside and outside of a socialist context, and (3) to employ these concepts to investigate, if not to explain, the breakdown of socialism. Critically, the course aims at questioning the current discussions of socialism and its breakdown in terms such as "commitment" and "autonomy," "subversion" and "affirmation." More constructively, we confront these Eastern and Western reflections with the historical specificity of the GDR as a German socialist state; that is, a state between East and West, Fascism and Socialism. Texts by Wolf, Fühmann, Hein, Kundera, Solzhenitsyn, Foucault, Kristeva, Havel, and others. A. Pinkert. Winter.

235. German and Norwegian Literature: Reconnecting Two Germanic Literatures (=German 235, Norweg 235). This course explores the intrinsic, yet neglected, relationship between modern German and modern Norwegian literature. Examining the period from approximately 1870 to 1933, we expose not only the undeniable connections between the two modern traditions, but also, in particular, the substantial impact of Norwegian literature's so-called "modern breakthrough" on German literature of the period. Classes conducted in English; texts in English and the original. K. Kenny. Spring.

246/346. Rereading the Canon: Radical Interpretation on Stage and Screen. This course covers history and aesthetics of radical interpretation of canonical works in theater, opera, and film. We examine aesthetic tracts (e.g., Appia, Artaud, Brecht, and Peter Brooks), historical materials from the Russian, German, and American avant garde, as well as modern forays into radical interpretation (e.g., Orson Welles' Macbeth, Patrice Chereau's Ring, Peter Sellers' Don Giovanni, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, and recent work by the Wooster Group). D. Levin. Autumn.

279. Art in the Weimar Republic, 1918-1933 (=ArtH 259/359, German 279). PQ: Any 100-level ArtH or COVA course. The years between the end of World War I and the rise of Adolph Hitler in 1933 were among the most productive and innovative in the history of German art. Movements ranging from Dada to the Bauhaus to neo-Objectivity proliferated; artists as diverse as Käthe Kollwitz, George Grosz, Wassily Kandinsky, and Max Beckmann experimented with the limits of art or sought to reestablish tradition in a context of political and social turmoil. The course seeks to explore aspects of this doomed, hopeful generation of German artists and their work to analyze their critical import, and also establish relationships with political events, literature, and film. R. Heller. Spring.

288/388. Literary Expressionism (=GS Hum 219/319, German 288/388). PQ: Reading knowledge of German and consent of instructor. Representative examples of the literary component of the movement that flourished between 1910 and 1925 are read, analyzed, and discussed, both with regard to their intrinsic merit and peculiarity and in light of the cultural, social, and political context from which they arose. We also examine literary expressionism as part of a historical continuum. Readings include drama, lyric poetry, narrative prose, and expository writings. Some readings in German; lectures and discussions in English. P. Jansen. Spring.

296. Unerhörte Begebenheiten: Ein Genre auf der Suche nach einer Definition. PQ: Reading knowledge of German and consent of instructor and a grade of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement Examination. Course. This course does not fulfill any part of the foreign language requirement. This course is intended especially but not exclusively for incoming students who have taken four years of high-school German or spent at least one year in a German-speaking country and who are not native speakers. Goethe's famous question, "Was ist die Novelle anders als eine sich ereignete unerhörte Begebenheit?" is one among countless attempts to define a genre that seems to elude definition. Instead of adding to their number, we analyze some short German narratives from the eighteenth century to the twentieth (by authors such as Kleist, Hoffmann, Brentano, Tieck, Keller, Meyer, Raabe, Storm, Schnitzler, Mann, and Kafka) and debate the question whether the search for a definition is necessary or even desirable. P. Jansen. Autumn.

298. B.A. Paper. PQ: Fourth-year standing. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

299. Individual Reading Course in German. PQ: Consent of department. Students must consult with an instructor by the eighth week of the preceding quarter to determine the subject of the course and the work to be done. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

310. Old English (=Eng 149/349, German 310). This course aims to provide the student with the linguistic skills and historical and cultural perspectives necessary for advanced work on Old English. C. von Nolcken. Autumn.

324. Introduction to Middle High German and Early New High German Texts and Cultures (=German 324, LngLin 350). PQ: Knowledge of modern German. This course serves as an introduction to classic Middle High German and Early New High German texts and as an introduction to pre-modern textual and cultural studies in general. S. Jaffe. Autumn.

364. Anti-Semitism in Germany, 1095 to 1933 (=German 364, JewStd 364). PQ: Consent of instructor. Reading knowledge of German helpful. This course explores the history of anti-Semitism in Germany through a close reading of selected anti-Semitic tracts and an analysis of anti-Semitic imagery from the First Crusade to Mein Kampf. Anti-anti-Semitic trends are also considered. S. Jaffe. Spring.

374. Faust: Faustbuch, Faust I, Doktor Faustus (=Fndmtl 279, GS Hum 390, German 374). PQ: Consent of instructor. Knowledge of German helpful. This course compares three classic variations on the Faust theme: the sixteenth century Faustbuch, Goethe's Faust I, and Thomas Mann's novelistic parable of Germany's temptation and fall in the twentieth century, Doktor Faustus. S. Jaffe. Winter.

380. Goethe: Literature and Science (=CFS 392, German 380, Hist 251/351, HiPSS 268, Philos 386). PQ: Knowledge of German helpful. This class examines the development of Goethe's thought, emphasizing the integration of his literary and scientific ideas. Among the works read are Werther, aesthetic essays, Journey to Italy, Faust, morphological essays, Theories of Colors, Wilhelm Meister, and poetry. R. Richards. Winter.

382. Freud, Women, and Jews (=GS Hum 369, German 382, JewStd 384). PQ: Consent of instructor. This course examines Freud's problematical relationships with women and Jews and the ways they helped shape psychoanalytic theory and practice. S. Jaffe. Winter.

395. Introduction to Psychoanalytic Theory (=ComLit 344, German 395, HiPSS 296, MAPH 310). PQ: Advanced standing and consent of instructor. This is a general introduction to the main concepts of psychoanalysis through a close reading of the central works of Sigmund Freud. S. Gilman, F. Meltzer. Autumn.

Norwegian

101-102-103. First-Year Norwegian. This course sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. The aim of this course sequence is to provide students with a practical foundation in reading, writing, and speaking Bokmaal, the dominant written and spoken language in Norway, and to introduce them to present-day Norwegian and Scandinavian culture and society. Language labs are at least one hour a week in addition to scheduled class time. K. Kenny. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

201-202-203. Second-Year Norwegian. PQ: Norweg 103 or consent of instructor. This three-quarter sequence further develops the students' ability to read, write, and converse authentically in Norwegian bokmaal. Classes are conducted in Norwegian and stress frequent student participation in conversation and role-playing. Reading and discussion topics are taken from a wide variety of cultural sources, including Norwegian newspaper articles, radio programs, films, and introductory literary texts (short stories, poems, plays, and one novel). The course sequence includes some use of nynorsk language and texts. Staff. Not offered 1997-98; may be offered 1998-99.

299. Individual Reading Course in Norwegian. PQ: Consent of department and instructor. Students must consult with the instructor by the eighth week of the preceding quarter to determine the subject of the course and the work to be done. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

Swedish

101-102-103. First-Year Swedish. This course sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. Reading and writing skills and a thorough foundation in Swedish grammar are basic aims in this introductory course sequence. Immediate emphasis is also given to oral communication. Short dialogues related to specific situations and based on the exchange of useful phrases facilitate the initial grasp of spoken Swedish. In addition, students are introduced to present-day Swedish culture and society. Staff. Not offered 1997-98; may be offered 1998-99.