Fall 2023

This course will introduce students to the language and culture of German-speaking countries, using both prepared and authentic materials with theme-related vocabulary and grammatical structures. Students will have the opportunity to practice listening, reading, writing, and speaking in German through in-class activities and homework assignments. The program of the course corresponds to the Level A1 (Beginner) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), a widely accepted European standard for language proficiency.

By the end of the semester students will be able to:

• understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type
• introduce themselves and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people they know and things they have
• interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.More specifically, students will be able to:
• talk about themselves, their families, and their origins
• talk about weather and clothing
• order food and drinks in a restaurant or a café, discuss food and cooking, use cooking recipes
• discuss different living situations, talk about houses, rooms, etc.
• talk about their time and make appointments
• orient themselves in a German-speaking urban setting and ask for directions
• talk about things that happened in the past;
• talk about professions, job, study, recreation, and daily life
• talk about some major landmarks and places of interest of the German-speaking countries
• talk about health and health issues
• express their intentions, obligations and necessities.

No prerequisites. This course is taught in German with some explanation of grammar points in English. Not open for credit to students who have had two or more years of secondary school German. Students of 101 are strongly encouraged to enroll in Elementary German Lab 103.

Not open for credit to students who have had two or more years of high-school German. Such students should enroll in German 121, unless they have placed into a higher-level German course.

This course will continue introducing students to the language and culture of German-speaking countries, using both prepared and authentic materials with theme-related vocabulary and grammatical structures. Students will have the opportunity to practice listening, reading, writing, and speaking in German through in-class activities and homework assignments. The program of the course corresponds to the Level A2 (Elementary) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), a widely accepted European standard for language proficiency. By the end of the semester students will be able to:

• understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).
• communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.
• describe in simple terms aspects of their background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.More specifically, students will be able to:
• understand non-fiction texts on some topics, including classified ads
• talk about migration, backgrounds, and languages, compare cities and countries
• talk about families and everyday life, about city and country life
• describe people
• talk about travel
• talk about leisure, hobbies and interests, as well as holidays and traditions
• talk about media
• talk about inventions, products and goods
• organize a trip to a theater, etc.
• talk about professional life
• leave a message on the phone
• express emotions and react to them using language

The course is taught in German with some explanation of grammar points in English. 

This course will introduce students to the language and culture of German-speaking countries focusing on the language competencies particularly relevant in travel situations.

By the end of the semester students will be able to speak about themselves in general and as travelers, ask basic questions about travel, discuss their travel interests and express likes and dislikes, speak about German-speaking countries and their inhabitants, orient themselves in means of transportation and accommodations used in Europe, purchase tickets and book hotel rooms on German-language websites.

The course is taught in German with some explanation of grammar points and cultural references in English. Not open to students who have completed 01:470:102, 01:470:121, or the equivalent.

This course will introduce students to the language and culture of German-speaking countries focusing on the language competencies particularly relevant for oral communication in everyday situations. By the end of the semester students will be able to:

• speak about themselves;
• ask basic questions;
• share basic information about their families and relatives;
• speak about their studies;
• speak about objects relevant to everyday situations;
• speak about the weather;
• express likes and dislikes. The course is taught in German with some explanation of grammar points and cultural references in English.

The course is taught in German with some explanation of grammar points and cultural references in English. Not open to students who have completed 01:470:102, 01:470:121, or the equivalent.

Professor Alexander Pichugin

This course, taught in English and German, is intended for undergraduate students without previous knowledge of the German language. The course develops basic reading competencies in German. The texts read in the course are chosen from the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.

By the end of the semester students will be able to:

• apply specific reading strategies to reading a text in German;
• read a text in German with correct pronunciation;
• recognize some grammar phenomena and apply this knowledge to understanding;
• apply some basic passive vocabulary to reading German texts;
• efficiently use online and paper-based dictionaries.

(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. This course meets with 470:102.

Prerequisite: 01:470:102, 01:470:108, 01:470:121, or placement.

The first semester of Intermediate German further develops students' German language skills with an emphasis on conversation and composition based on everyday situations, aspects of culture, contemporary German short stories, and review of major grammatical points. Students will strengthen their listening, reading, and writing skills, as well as cultural competency by discussing a variety of cultural topics and themes in the German-speaking world, including personal and community life, media, travel, and art. 

Fulfills SAS core goal AH q.

Professor Nicola Behrmann

Vampires and zombies, doppelgänger and artificial humans continue to haunt our cultural imagination throughout the centuries. This course explores the return of the repressed in some of the most spellbinding creatures and fantasies. We will consider the psychological underpinnings of each tale and the ways in which a text or a film establishes, fears, safeguards or releases its horrific kernel. We will investigate why moving images relate particularly well to horror and the uncanny. And we will play close attention to the historical and political context of each tale of horror and to the ways in which these narratives speak of violence, racism, homophobia, and misogyny.

Readings include fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Ludwig Tieck’s “Eckbert, the Blonde,” E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “The Sandman,” Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Black Cat,” Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw,” and Franz Kafka’s “A Country Doctor”. Filmic contributions are coming from F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu), Alfred Hitchcock (The Birds), Michael Powell (Peeping Tom), and Jordan Peele (Get Out), theoretical inflections from Sigmund Freud, Barbara Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, and Slavoj Zizek.

Taught in English. No prerequisites. Fulfills SAS core goals AHo and AHp.

Prerequisites: German 132 or placement test.

In German.

This course explores 20th century German culture, literature, and politics through an examination of the city of Berlin. Drawing on film, literature, and audio features we will focus on the following topics: Expressionism and Dada, Cabaret in the Golden Twenties, resistance against the Nazis, 1968 movement & left wing terrorism, the Berlin Wall & GDR protest culture, and contemporary Berlin scene. An emphasis will be placed on written exercises, listening and reading skills developing the ability to discuss and argue opinions, as well as a thorough review of grammar. All readings, discussions, and written works are in German.

Professor Alexander Pichugin

In English. No prerequisites.

This course is an interdisciplinary inquiry into seminal literary, artistic, social, political, and intellectual developments in the history of German-language cultures and thought from around 1750 to 1900. The course is open to first-year
students and to all who might not necessarily wish to become a German major or minor but who seek, as part of a well-rounded liberal arts education, basic familiarity with the rich and often vexed history of things German and their impact
on Europe and the world.

Topics include: Tolerance and the age of Enlightenment; Romantic music, painting and poetry; Romantic science; the Faust legend; industrialization and social change in the 19th Century; and others. Short readings of texts by Lessing,
Kant, Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, Marx, Nietzsche, and others. Music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, etc.

By studying different genres of film and other forms of cultural production (literature, music, art) in relation to the general intellectual development of the period, students will gain insights into ideas, trends and discourses that have shaped
contemporary German culture. As a learning outcome of the course, students will develop their ability to approach texts and works of art both analytically and synthetically, exploring the connections between the historical period and its
cultural representation in critical and creative ways. The course is conducted in English. All course materials, discussions, and readings are in English. Some optional supplemental materials are in German. Students will have an
option to complete written assignments in German.

Course fulfills the Core requirements AHp, WCD.  

Prof. Stephanie Galasso

Meet devils and doppelgänger, sandmen and spider-women, elf kings and alchemists, magicians, and marble statues that come to life! This course explores how fantasy, the fantastic, and the supernatural function as a site of cultural and aesthetic critique in German literature and thought from the Enlightenment to the early twentieth century. Readings include immensely creative and influential masterpieces of world literature. Emphasis placed on developing critical reading and writing skills.

No prerequisites. All readings and discussions in English. This course satisfies SAS Core Curriculum Learning Goals AHp, WCd.

Prerequisite: 01:470:102 or 01:470:121, or higher. 

In German. If taken twice, 470:299 may be counted for three credits towards the major or minor. 

The main goal of this course is to increase the students' cultural awareness through the study of the various media and their role in contemporary German society, while furthering the students' German language skills through consistent speaking, listening, reading, and writing. In this course, students will explore the traditional, modernized, and news media and the role they play in different realms of contemporary German society. Chosen topics of the course are crucial to understanding the modern German-speaking world and include themes such as social structure, politics, culture, and everyday life. Special attention is paid to cultural comparisons between Germany and the United States.

Prof. Stephanie Galasso

The concept “race” may call to mind nefarious pseudo-sciences aimed at justifying dehumanization and exploitation. Racist hierarchies and theories of civilization certainly owe much to scientists and ethnographers of the past. But what role has literature played in the development of ideas around race? On the one hand, literature can at times reproduce racial stereotypes and perpetuate forms of exclusion. On the other, literary writing has helped expose and protest the racial ordering of the modern world.

This course introduces students to founding texts in the thinking of race and literature. Topics and themes to be covered include German colonialism; race, antisemitism, and National Socialism; intersectional and Black feminist organizing in Berlin and beyond; and the roles of literature and cultural production in the struggle against resurgent right-wing movements in Germany today. Connections to broader conversations around curricular decolonization in German Studies and racial justice at Rutgers will also be highlighted.

Although the course devotes special attention to literature, students will have the chance to respond to a variety of media and genres, including philosophical texts and journalistic material.

No prerequisites. All readings and discussions in English. This course satisfies SAS Core Curriculum Learning Goals AHp, WCd.

Distinguished Visiting Craig Professor Elisabeth Weber

Taught in English. No prerequisites.
Crosslisted with Comparative Literature 01:195:314:01

Trauma in Literature and Film

How do individuals, communities, cultures, nations remember and/or forget, preserve and/or erase traumatic events? This course will explore literary and filmic representations of massive collective trauma. Media will include Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (1928 novel and 2022 Oscar-winning film by Edward Berger), Marguerite Duras, Hiroshima mon amour (1959 screenplay and 1959 film by Alain Renais), Claude Lanzman, Shoah (1985 documentary, excerpts), Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz (If this is a Man, 1947 memoir),  Ariel Dorfman, Death and the Maiden (1990 play and 1994 film by Roman Polanski), Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987 novel), Wolfgang Fischer, Styx (film, 2018). Theoretical texts will include essays on war, persecution and trauma by Sigmund Freud, Walter Benjamin, Jacques Lacan, Emmanuel Levinas, Jacques Derrida, Cathy Caruth, Shoshana Felman, Dori Laub, Zakiyyah Iman Jackson.

Fulfills SAS Core Goals AHo, AHp, WCd

Professor Nicholas Rennie

Exploration of the work of three German writers who revolutionized modern philosophy, theology, psychology, aesthetics, social and political science, gender studies, historiography, literature and the arts. We will be reading and discussing a selection of key writings by Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud. Along with these we’ll examine a sampling of texts that were important for their work, and writings that later both reflected their influence and drew their ideas in new directions. In English. No prerequisites. Fulfills SAS core goals HST-1, AHo. 

(Students who have completed Introductory German 101 or the equivalent, or who have Prof. Rennie’s permission, are encouraged to enroll in the 1-credit companion module “The Language of Marx, Nietzsche and Freud” (01:991:121:E1), which will focus on the original German-language concepts and formulations in select passages relevant to the principal themes of the main course “Marx, Nietzsche, Freud." Contact Prof. Rennie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information and/or to register.