• First Year German I and II

  Introduction to German language and culture. Four-skills (understanding, speaking, reading, writing)and communicative approach to the language of everyday life in German-speaking countries, the language of their histories and societies, their arts and letters.

• Intermediate German I and II

Each of these courses builds language proficiency through a topic-oriented syllabus focusing on contemporary German-speaking cultures and societies (family, leisure, work, education, environment, current events)t. Provides a thorough review of German grammar. Authentic texts from a variety of media will provide the basis for discussion and cultural awareness.

• Readings in German Literature

This course is directed toward intermediate language learners beginning to work with German literature. Development of written and oral proficiency in German, as well as the vocabulary and analysis tools needed for poetry and short prose.

• Advanced German in Berlin

Reading and discussion of advanced material centered largely on contemporary Berlin. Development of written and oral proficiency in German, as well as insight into the cultural and historical aspects of the capital.

• Berlin Inside Out: The City's Historic Neighborhoods

This course focuses on the the past and present of different Berlin neighborhoods: Mitte, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, Charlottenburg, Tiergarten, each of which has a unique history and social structure.  We will meet in different locations throughout the city, giving participants the chance to visit areas they would not normally discover on their own.  Course materials include: short newspaper articles, poetry and excerpts from tourist guides. Discussion topics include: protest culture, migration, unemployment, tourism, art, architecture, alternative life styles, multiculturalism, memory culture, and crime.  Geared to intermediate level students of German.

• Berlin Theater

Based on the Berlin theater schedule, students will attend an array of German classical and contemporary theater, including political cabaret. We will focus on the famous Berliner Ensemble made famous by Brecht, as well as the illustrious Deutsches Theater and the small, experimental venues (Gorki Theater, BE Bühne, etc.). We will read plays in advance so as to ensure comprehension; we will meet briefly after each production to answer basic questions and then proceed to place these works within the larger aesthetic and cultural tradition. Discussion, oral presentations, and short papers.

• Readings in German Literature

• Zero Hour to Post Unification Society and Culture

• Aspects of German Culture: Current Issues and Trends in Germany

Topics of social and cultural significance in contemporary Germany, with particular emphasis on media and society.

• Art & Architecture of Berlin: Fifteenth to the Twentieth Century

  The main goal of this course is to provide students with an introduction to the visual arts of Germany from the 15th to the 20th century through lectures conducted in Berlin’s museums and cultural institution. Classroom lectures will be kept to a minimum so that students may encounter actual works of art in the city’s magnificent collections. Some lectures will be conducted by guest speakers, such as curators from the Bauhaus Archiv or the Neue Nationalgalerie. Students will learn about the German Old Masters, such as Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach, as well German Romantic and Realist artists, including Caspar David Friedrich and Adolf Menzel. Germany’s powerful modernist art movements, such as Expressionism and New Objectivity, will be considered in relation to the many upheavals in modern German history. By the end of the course, students will not only have a broad understanding of the development of the visual arts in Germany but also of how art has served in the elusive search and articulation of German cultural identity. Includes architectural bus & walking tours, as well as an excursion to the castles of Potsdam.

• Berlin Since the War

This course seeks to understand how Berlin remembers its famous and infamous past since the Second World War—and in some cases reaching back even further. In order to assess the efficacy of public memorials, monuments, museums and manifestos, students are first given a survey of the history of Cold War and post-Wall Berlin. The real work of the course commences as students then set out to explore—with the instructor—how “official” history is constructed, celebrated, contested, re-written—and not infrequently, simply ignored. In addition to seminar discussion, this course consists of numerous excursions to historical sites. The final project requires participants to evaluate the significance of a public memorial (or museum exhibition) based on criteria that are worked out during the course.

• Political Architecture of Berlin

This course will teach students to “read” German culture and history from the buildings and public spaces that constitute the Berlin city center. Foci include the historic Reichstagsgebäude, the Nicolai Kirche, the Pestalozzi Street Synagogue, the Karl Marx Allee, as well as the postmodern architecture of the British and American embassy buildings. Excursions to Dresden and Potsdam extend the scope of the course. Study of history of architectural design and cultural iconography is integrated within a cultural history of Germany as told by Berlin’s extraordinary and exemplary buildings.

• Students should apply directly to Douglass College for funding by the early March deadline.
• All students living in the Douglass Global Village are eligible for study abroad support, regardless of where they want to go. A student living in the French house who wants to go to Germany can and should apply for support.