Spring 2025

 Taught by Eva Scheicher in person (470:101:01) and Alexander Pichugin online (470:101:90)

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 contact the German undergraduate director for more information.

 Taught by Nadja von Bossel in person (470:102:01) and Alexander Pichugin online (470:102:90)

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. 

 Taught by Siavash Talaeizadeh

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.

  Taught by Siavash Talaeizadeh

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, continues to develop the basic reading competencies in the German language. 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 German texts with correct pronunciation and intonation;
• recognize most grammar phenomena and apply this knowledge to understanding;
• apply some basic passive vocabulary to reading German texts;
• efficiently use online and paper-based dictionaries.

This course is delivered in a hybrid format, which is different from either a traditional classroom-based course or a fully online course. Students spend approximately half the time online and half in the classroom. Instead of meeting in-class twice per week for 80 minutes each class, students will meet once per week, and the rest of the week is held virtually in the Canvas learning management system.

This course also follows a “flipped classroom” approach to learning. This means that students are expected to prepare for each class through readings, learning vocabulary and completing the assignments prior to attending class. This allows class time to be used for more active and engaging activities for a more enriching learning experience for students.

The course is taught in English.

Prerequisite: 01:470:131 or placement.

 Taught by Kevin Wiesehahn

In this course students will further develop their competencies in German language and culture of the German-speaking countries on the intermediate level, 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 various in-class activities and homework assignments. Using a variety of media, such as written texts, video, and audio clips, students will explore the course’s five major themes: Climate and Environment; Social Behaviors; Generations; Migration; Europe.

The program of the course corresponds to the Level B1.2, which is the first half of Level B1 (Intermediate) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), a widely accepted European standard for language proficiency. By the end of the course sequence, students will be able to understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.; deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken; produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest; describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

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

Fulfills SAS core goal AHq

Taught in German

Taught by Claire Cai

In this course students will further develop their competencies in the German language and culture of the German-speaking countries towards the upper intermediate level, 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 various in-class activities and homework assignments.

Using a variety of media, such as written texts, video, and audio clips, students will explore the course’s eight major themes: Extreme Things; Nature and Technology, Lifestyles; Sites and Events; Volunteering; Architecture; Germans; Streets and Stories.

The program of the course corresponds to Level B2 (Upper Intermediate) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), a widely accepted European standard for language proficiency.

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

Early German Horror Films!

Instructor: Claire Cai

Spring 2025 (second seven weeks, March 12 - May 5): 01:470:246:01
Meeting time: Mondays and Wednesdays 2:00-3:20pm
Course location: Scott Hall Room 219, College Avenue Campus

Although spanning only twelve years, Weimar Germany (1918-1933) underwent immense social and political transformations. So too did the aesthetic realm change; once derided as an art form, film began to be taken seriously as a new mode of creative expression. Interestingly, these early films often included representations of the monstrous, of ghosts, vampires, and “the mad”.

This course will explore who, what, why, and how something is horrific, employing different approaches such as a gender studies lens, post-colonial lens, and historical lens. In addition to analyzing canonical works by Wiene, Lang, Murnau, and others, we will also consider historical commentary and contemporary film criticism. Finally, we will examine the legacy of Weimar Cinema by tracing its impact on modern films.

Taught in English. No knowledge of German is required. There are no prerequisites for this course. Although students will watch selected excerpts in class, they are expected to watch the assigned films in full on their own time via the links provided in this syllabus.

Send questions to Claire Cai This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Professor Nicola Behrmann

This cross-disciplinary course introduces you to the European avant-garde movements of the early 20th century. We will consider innovations in art, music, film, and literature, beginning with German Expressionism, followed by Italian Futurism, French Surrealism, and the international Dada movement. We will examine the various ways in which these movements reveal the irrational, the pathological, the unconscious, the precarious, the hypervisible, and the abandoned as revolutionary and subversive gestures with the potential to change the world. We will explore what binds and what separates these movements from each other. And we will trace their dependency on non-European cultures and how these influences have been appropriated and repressed. You will contribute to a DEEP MAP of early 20th-century artistic communities and the lives of artists across Europe and the globe.

No prerequisites. Readings and discussions will be in English with the option to read and research in other languages as well. Students should plan to spend 4-6 hours per week on the course. Fulfills AHo and AHp.

DELIVERY FORMAT

This course will be taught online and in asynchronous mode, wherein students work on mostly their own time but with scheduled due dates and with seven online discussion meeting in smaller teams. Each week includes a formal lecture by the instructor as well as reading assignments, and multi-media assignments. There will be one guest lecture—either by an established scholar in the field or an advanced graduate student who is working in the field of avant-garde studies. Students will actively contribute to a research platform that allows for an annotated “deep map” of early 20th-century artistic communities and lives of artists all over Europe while also tracing their ties to other regions of the world. They will present their final project, individual assignments, and deep maps at an online conference at the end of the semester. The aim is to create a group of independent learners who become experts in a particular movement, artist, or a specific vanguard practice (i.e. montage, chance, anti-art). Through reading, discussion, locating and exploring, and online presentation of essential prose texts, poems, manifestos, films, paintings, installation, music and songs, students will gain insight into various vanguard productions and their ongoing impact on art, literature, and sub-culture today. At the end of the semester, the they will have configured their very own individual approach and a unique canon of early 20th century radical modernisms.

01:470:299 Contemporary German Media & Society

Taught by Siavash Talaeizadeh

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

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

The word Vergangenheitsbewältigung refers to the social, political, and cultural processes through which an individual and a society confront and interpret the past. In German-speaking countries, the term primarily refers to the reckoning with National Socialism, the Holocaust, and World War II, but it also encompasses efforts to engage critically with the legacies of the GDR and Germany’s colonial history. What does it mean for an individual or a society to work through the past? What are the similarities and differences between Germany and the United States with regard to memory politics and culture? In this course, students develop active language skills through the study of the role of various media (including print, internet, film, and other arts) in informing contemporary German politics and society.

Questions? Contact the instructor: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Professor Dominik Zechner

Crosslisted with 01:730:316:01 and 16:470:672:01

Martin Heidegger counts among the most influential but also the most problematic thinkers of the 20th century. His 1927 magnum opus Being and Time revolutionized the history of philosophy and became a foundational text for existentialism, phenomenology, deconstruction, object-oriented ontology, and other philosophical movements. Heidegger’s innovative ideas and terminology, the way in which his thinking attunes itself to language, and his critique of modern technology have been widely influential. At the same time, the philosopher from the Black Forest pledged allegiance to Hitler’s regime as early as 1933 and remained a member of the Nazi party until 1945. In his private notebooks from that period, we can find anti-Semitic remarks and suppositions. Heidegger’s case thus forces us to confront how we should approach the archive of a politically discredited author. The course will introduce students to Heidegger’s ideas and their aftermath, relevant moments in his biography, and the ethical and political discussions surrounding them.

Taught as a 3-hour block period.

In English. No prerequisites. Fulfills core requirements AHo, WCd.