Students who have completed the equivalent of 101-102 begin with 131; those who have completed the equivalent of 131-132 (2nd-year German) begin with 231; those who have completed the equivalent of 231-232 (3rd-year German) are eligible to take any 300- or 400-level undergraduate course taught in German. Students who are performing well may also enroll simultaneously in 231-232 and 301-302.
Advanced undergraduates in their third or fourth year of study may, with the permission of the Undergraduate Director, Professor Rennie and the Graduate School, enroll in a graduate seminar as a route toward earning departmental honors.
Questions? Contact Undergraduate Director Professor Nicholas Rennie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For an explanation of the School of Arts & Sciences learning codes indicated on syllabi, please see the Summary of New Core Curriculum Learning Goals.
Need to take a placement test? Click here.
Language Courses
Literature and Culture Courses
Language Courses
Elementary German
01:470:101:01
Carlos Gasperi
MWTh 11:30-12:50pm, Scott Hall 115
pdf
Syllabus
01:470:101:02
Dr. Alexander Pichugin
M 4:30-5:50pm, Murray Hall 204
W 4:30-7:30pm, GSE Building 025B
pdf
Syllabus
01:470:101:03
Tanja Rommelfanger
MW 2:15-3:35pm, Hickman Hall 115
Th 2:15-3:34pm, Health Sciences Building 204
pdf
Syllabus
Not open for credit to students who have had two or more years of high school German.
This course is designed for beginners (students without previous knowledge of German), and offers a fast-paced, thorough introduction to the basics of the German language, with an emphasis on conversation. The course covers the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing; study of grammar; vocabulary building; supplementary work in the language laboratory. We will also examine German culture past and present. Assignments will vary, encompassing speech and written practice. Students of 101 are strongly encouraged to enroll in Elementary German Lab 103.
Elementary German Laboratory
01:470:103:01
Susan Doose
T 1:10-2:30pm, Language Lab 119
pdf
Syllabus
Corequisite: 01:470:101 Elementary German or 01:470:121 German Intensive Review
This lab course is an instructor-guided laboratory practicum based on intensive use of media. Designed for the improvement of aural/oral skills. Practice involves use of text related audiotapes and videotapes, individual and group work, and recordings of student speech for evaluation of pronunciation and fluency.
Elementary German Laboratory
01:470:104:01
Sascha Hosters
W 2:50-4:10pm, Language Lab 119
pdf
Syllabus
Corequisite: 01:470:102 Elementary German or 01:470:121 German Intensive Review
This is an instructor-guided laboratory practicum based on intensive use of media. Designed for the improvement of aural/oral skills. Practice involves use of text related audiotapes and videotapes, individual and group work, and recordings of student speech for evaluation of pronunciation and fluency.
German for Reading Knowledge
01:470:105:01
Doris Glowacki
TTh 6:10-7:30pm, Scott Hall 114
pdf
Syllabus
Does not satisfy prerequisite for 01:470:131 or 132.
Not open for credit to students who have had two or more years of high school German.
Development of reading-skills course for students of German, and others who want to use the language primarily for reading and research purposes. Emphasis is on grammatical forms, sentence and paragraph structures. Regular practice with expository texts of increasing length and difficulty. Texts chosen from the humanities, the natural and social sciences.
German Intensive Review
01:470:121:01
Stefanie Populorum
MWTh 9:50-11:10am, Scott Hall 116
pdf
Syllabus
(121 is for students with two or more years of high-school German who do not place into German 131.)
Not open to students who have taken 01:470:101-102.
An intermediate reinforcement course. Practice in speaking, reading, and writing German; extensive grammar review; cultural topics. Prepares students to take German 131.
Intermediate German
01:470:131:01
Susan Doose
MW 2:50-4:10pm, Hardenbergh Hall B3
pdf
Syllabus
01:470:131:02
Christina Mandt
TTh 6:10-7:30pm, Scott Hall 204
pdf
Syllabus
Prerequisite: 470:102, 121 or placement test.
Emphasis on conversation and composition, based on everyday situations, aspects of culture, and contemporary German short stories, review of major grammatical points.
Intermediate German
01:470:132:01
Sascha Hosters
TTh 4:30-5:50pm, Murray Hall 113
pdf
Syllabus
Prerequisite: 470:131 or placement test.
Themes and subjects for discussion and essays include the world of work, multicultural society, young and old, stereotypes and the environment. A variety of grammar topics include all aspects of accusative, dative and genitive cases, adjectives and their endings, subjunctive II, relative clauses, reflexive pronouns/clauses and the passive voice. A variety of short stories will be included for discussion and reading comprehension.
Advanced Conversation and Composition
01:470:231:01
Professor Nicola Behrmann
MTh 11:30-12:50pm, Murray Hall 115
pdf
Syllabus
Prerequisite: 470:132 or placement test.
Counts for general upper-level credits toward the major and minor.
Reading and discussion of advanced text material based on contemporary German culture. Intensive practice in word formation, sentence structure, and expository writing.
Advanced Conversation and Composition
01:470:232:01
Dr. Charlotte Craig
MTh 9:50-11:10am, German House 2nd Floor Library
pdf
Syllabus
Prerequisite: 470:231
Counts for general upper-level credits toward the major and minor.
Reading and discussion of advanced text material based on contemporary German culture. Intensive practice in word formation, sentence structure, and expository writing
Literature and Culture Courses
Introduction to German Literature: Animal Spirits
01:470:242:01
Cross-listed with Comparative Literature 01:195:398:01
Professor Nicola Behrmann
MW 2:50-4:10pm, German House Seminar Room
pdf
Syllabus
pdf
In English. Counts for literature/civilization/film credits toward the major and minor.
This course serves as an introduction to pertinent works of the German literary and visual tradition by investigating the depiction of animals in relation to the human: How do writers and artists explore the demarcation between the human and the animal, how do they challenge the denigration of the animal in Western philosophy? What defines an animal? Can the animal speak, can it suffer, can it be understood? What does it mean to be looked at by an animal? What happens when we love a pet? In what way does the animal challenge our thinking of ethics, gender, and identity? We will trace the paths of wolves, horses, cats, dogs, mice, rats, and snakes who destabilize and reconfigure literary texts, theories of knowledge, Western anthropocentrism and biopolitics.
Contemporary German Media and Society
01:470:299:01
Christina Mandt
M 7:40-9:10pm, Murray Hall 112
pdf
Syllabus
Prerequisite: 470:102.
In German. If taken twice, 470:299 may be counted for three literature/civilization/film credits toward the major and minor.
Development of active language skills and cultural awareness through study of the role of various media (including print, Internet, film, and the other arts) in informing contemporary German politics and society. Special attention to cultural differences between Germany and the United States. Texts and presentations chosen to accommodate language level of students enrolled. In cooperation with the Rutgers College Housing German Special Interest Section, it is an ample opportunity to take advantage of their numerous events and activities, which enable students to learn even more about German culture today. Successful completion of at least German 102 or comparable linguistic ability is highly recommended. Class will be held in German. May be repeated. Three credits from 470:299 may be counted toward the major and minor.
The Cutting Edge: Introduction to Literary and Cultural Analysis
01:470:301:01
Professor Fatima Naqvi
TTh 1:10-2:30pm, German House Seminar Room
pdf
Syllabus
Prerequisite: 470:232 (Students who are performing well may also enroll simultaneously in 231-232 and 301-302.)
In German. Counts for general upper-level credits toward the major and minor.
Introduction to the basic German terminology of literary and cultural analysis, and preparation for courses in German at the 300-level. Study of literary works and films, as well as newspaper articles, film reviews, and literary analyses.
Business German I: Language and Corporate Culture of the German-speaking World
01:470:313:01
Dr. Alexander Pichugin
TTh 1:10-2:30pm, Scott Hall 202
pdf
Syllabus
Prerequisite: 470:232
In German. Counts for general upper-level credits toward the major and minor.
German, Austrian, and Swiss companies traditionally enjoy worldwide an excellent reputation representing innovation, quality and cutting-edge technology. The German economy ranks number one in Europe and number four worldwide. Both global-scale companies and smaller enterprises from German-speaking Europe attract business partners from all over the world. Germany and the United States invest $40 billion per year in each other’s businesses. German companies account for 700,000 jobs in the United States, and US companies have created approximately the same number of jobs in Germany. A great number of German corporations and banks have branches in New Jersey and the New York City area. Many companies name German as the language they would most like their employees to know.
This course presents an introduction to the language typically used in business settings in German-speaking countries. It prepares students to the use of the language in specific business-related contexts and helps them develop a better understanding of the German corporate culture. Throughout the semester the students will practice reading, writing, listening, and speaking on topics relevant to the German-language business environment, expanding specific vocabulary and reviewing some grammar points to further accuracy and fluency. During the semester the students will work with such topics as:
• Meeting business partners;
• Business trips, company visits, professional fairs;
• Offers, purchasing, and leasing;
• Job search and job interviews;
• Day-to-day office life;
• Office organization and equipment;
• Social meetings with business partners and small talk.
The Short Narrative
01:470:325:01
Professor Marlene Ciklamini
MTh 9:50-11:10am, German House Seminar Room
pdf
Syllabus
In German. Counts for literature/civilization/film credits toward the major and minor.
Studies in short genres of German prose such as the anecdote, farce, fable, novella, and short story.
Ever since we can remember, people told stories to amuse themselves and to instruct. Fables told how animals and men act, or should act, in difficult or ambiguous situations: “It is better to have a bird in one’s hand than ten in the bush.” The Bible contains stories of hope, of little David killing the giant Goliath and of Jonah who, after the whale had swallowed him, sees once more the light of day. But stories also tell of those who prey on others, as did the student, who duped a poor woman of all her wealth by pretending that he had just returned from paradise.
The popularity of single stories led to collections that center on folk figures. Every German child knows Eulenspiegel, the fool or scoundrel, who pokes fun at serious and pompous adults and exults in his freedom. Faust, the university professor, sold his soul to the devil to acquire knowledge and the power it confers, a life’s story that excited dramatists ever since his biography was published.
This tradition has continued in modern times. There is the young man in Keller’s Kleider machen Leute, who fancies himself a count, acts like one, is accepted as one and ultimately, by dint of his imagination and sweetness of character, marries a lovely and rich young woman. Also Kafka loved short narrative to structure his nightmarish vision of the state of man. Modern man has lost his moorings. Gone is his ability to shape his life, knowledge and intellect are of no avail and unselfish love proves to be nothing but an illusion.
German Mythology
01:470:383:01
Professor Marlene Ciklamini
MTh 11:30-12:50pm, German House Seminar Room
pdf
Syllabus
In English. Counts for literary/civilization/film credits toward the major and minor.
Myths and religious practices of the migration period and the age of the Vikings. Sources: the Eddas, Christian and pre-Christian documents and texts, archaeological finds, place names, modern folkloristic beliefs.
Topics: German TV in its Context
01:470:389:01
Dr. Alexander Pichugin
TTh 4:30-5:50pm, Scott Hall 202
pdf
Syllabus
In German. May count for literature/civilization/film credits toward the major and minor.
This course invites students to examine the phenomenon of television in the German-speaking world, a medium that has grown from its modest origins in the 1930s to permeate private and public spaces with a never-ending flow of sounds and images. We will examine both the emergence and development of German TV as a distinct medium, as well as its role as both the product and the shaper of a changing German society.
In the first part of the semester we will look at the technological origins of television and the role Germany played there, as well as briefly trace the history of its development in Germany. Approaching television from a media studies and cultural studies perspective, we will analyze its cultural and political impact, as well as its ongoing evolution in the German-speaking world. We will see how the development of television intersects with numerous other media, including radio, cinema, the novel, and even video games. We will look at issues specifically related to the German-language context, such as the German dual system, media policies and their most recent changes, as well as some specifics of Austrian and Swiss television.
In the second part of the semester, we will carefully attend to some television genres most specific to modern German TV, such as newscasts, documentary television, game shows, reality shows, as well as television movies and series. We will study some forms of dramatic TV narrative—the stand-alone episode, the miniseries, a long serial narrative, and the web television series. We will pay special attention to the role these genres play in different realms of contemporary German society in connection to some topics crucial to understanding the modern German-speaking world, including social structure, politics, culture, and everyday life.
As a learning outcome of the course, students will develop the ability to approach the phenomenon of television both analytically and synthetically, exploring the connections between television and the social world in critical and creative ways. As a practical outcome, students will develop important skills in working with the media text by practicing oral and written interpretation, which will advance their ability to talk and write about media and culture in general.
Topics: Bargaining with the Devil
01:470:390:01
Cross-listed with Comparative Literature, 01:195:375:01
Professor Nicholas Rennie
TTh 2:50-4:10pm, Scott Hall 220
pdf
Syllabus
In English. May count for credit toward the interdisciplinary German Studies major or minor, depending on student’s area of concentration.
Writers, filmmakers, composers and painters have long been drawn to the idea of the individual who negotiates with the devil to gain knowledge or new experience. Three questions, especially, seem to drive this fascination: What would it be like to do, have or know anything I wanted? Could I dictate the terms of such a life? And what happens if I lose control of the knowledge and powers I have gained? We will examine a range of works that take up these themes, for instance as they are developed in various retellings of the story of Faust. Planned readings include (but are not limited to) excerpts from the Hebrew Bible, the late 16th-century Historie of Faust’s adventures, dramatic treatments by Marlowe and Goethe, excerpts from Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Klaus Mann’s Mephisto, Elie Wiesel’s The Trial of God, and Frayn’s Copenhagen. As time allows, we will also discuss representations in film (e.g. Murnau’s Faust), painting (Delacroix), and music (Berlioz).
