Taught by Nadja von Bossel
Taught in English. NO Prerequisites or knowledge of German necessary. Credits may be applied toward the German major or minor.
With the rise of the metropolis, a new figure has emerged on the streets of modernity: The flaneur, or strolling man-about-town. The art of taking a walk first emerges as a uniquely gendered practice exclusively associated with male authors and protagonists. In the urban myths about and from the flaneur, the modern city is simultaneously the site of great promise and failure, while constantly being transformed by new technologies, wars, or capital. New York, Paris, Berlin – they all appear as places that are fluid, fragmented, and contradictory. Just like the ever-changing city of modernity, another figure of modernity is eternally caught in the state of becoming: the girl. By the 1920s, she is the one who is walking the streets of Berlin, Paris, or New York side by side with the male flaneur. Depictions of cities and girls appear to be full of contradictions and, more importantly,
always influenced by external attributions. In this constantly changing dynamic, girls—whether as flappers, consumers, or prostitutes —inscribe themselves into the urban landscapes as resistant yet vulnerable subjects. This course will investigate the relationship between urban spaces, modernity, and femininity by looking into literature and films depicting the modern girl in the city. Why do cities seem to offer the perfect backdrop to girlhood narratives? What is the relationship between girls and cities in the context of modernity and capitalism? And how do girls use the practices available to them to reclaim, negotiate, and transform social spaces?
This course is a 1.5-credit mini-course starting on Thursday, March 12, 2026 and running for seven weeks. The meetings of the course are conducted face-to-face.