| source Indiana University Bloomington (X) |
level |
department Germanic Languages (X) |
The Âwoods of this world are full of fascinating figures  men and women  who take risks and throw themselves into adventures with an uncertain outcome. Medieval novels reveal their upbringing, their values and motivations and picture them as bright, dark or ambivalent figures. In this course, we will read some of the most famous novels of the Middle Ages. Hence, students will get to know Tristan, Isolde, Siegfried, and other famous knights and ladies. These texts provide fertile ground for the development of Western concepts of risk and adventure, a field in which ideologies of adventure, fulfillment, self-realization and risk-management are staked out. This will also be the field covered by our discussions. In this course, students will learn to read and interpret a medieval tale through texts and films. In learning about the function of medieval media (such as story-telling), we will also cultivate the love of a good tale, at the same time identifying artistic, intellectual and religious themes that are closely linked to modern attempts to pursue happiness and present-day visions of individual and collective life. The course will meet twice a week for lectures and once for discussion. Every second week, students will hand in a one-page written response to a given question. Your responses will form the framework for the following discussion in which you once will act as discussion leader. You will also write three 3 page papers on topics from a list and participate in a project on a topic. The final grade will be determined by these weighted factors (this is an approximation): Attendance and active participation in class (lecture and discussions) 25%; project on a topic (25%), essays, 50%. List of Books 1.Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan. With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristan of Thomas'. With an introduction by A. T. Hatto (New York: Penguin Books, 2004). ISBN 0-14-044098-4 2.The Nibelungenlied: Prose Translation by A. T. Hatto (New York: Penguin Books, 1965). ISBN 0-14-044137-9 3.Hartmann von Aue: Arthurian romances, tales, and lyric poetry: the complete works of Hartmann von Aue. Translated with commentary by Frank Tobin, Kim Vivian, Richard H. Lawson (University Park, Pa., 2001). ISBN 0-271-02112-8
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: The Promise of the German Self This course will offer an introduction and overview of the development of German and European attitudes about selfhood and identity by considering works of literature from the Middle Ages to the present. We have highlights from Goethe, Nietzsche, and contemporary bestseller Kehlmann on our syllabus. It turns out that German works of literature have shaped the Western attitude of individuality in general, hence this course will allow us to ask about the need of a self today. Two sets of question will guide our examination: 1) Why do we need a self? Do we? Or is the self a mere cultural invention that may be dispensable? If so, where does it come from? Why do all people have to have a self and be different from each other? 2) What are the costs to sustaining such a thing as the self? To the degree that the self is not a given, it must be found, established, proven. How does one Âproof a self? Is this an individual task or a collective challenge? If individual self-control is part of this self, what are the techniques to acquire a sense of self-same-ness, identity, and control of affects? And: To which degree is the rise of psychology since the eighteenth century a by-product of Western selfhood? We will read some wonderful pieces of the German canon of literature (all in English). Your task will be threefold: 1) do all the readings (typically 30-50 pages per week); 2) write a series of short 2-3 page papers in response to these readings; and 3) aim to construct a theory of WHY the self became such a central concept for the modern world. In addition to the three ordered books, there will be a course reader with all readings.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic - Inside/Outside: Being German after 1989 Fall 2009 (2nd 8 Weeks) In this course, we will look at some of the challenges to defining German identity after 1989. Taking films as a point of departure for thinking about spatial and temporal anxieties, we will consider the ways in which both German unification and the European Union have changed the discourse on self/Other, transnationalism, multiculturalism, Eastern vs. Western Europe, Ostalgia vs. Westalgia, citizenship, Berlin, and historical geography. In addition, we will ask how cinema and audiovisual media generally construct or disrupt the contemporary experience of national belonging. Students will write a number of position papers (500 words) responding to the problems raised by competing representations of ÂGermanness and will, at the end of the semester, develop these ideas further in an innovative take-home exam. No prior study of film or German is required. Required Texts: Germany in Transit [ISBN-13: 978-0520248946] Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Rev. Ed. [ISBN-13: 978-1844670864] Cross-list with: WEST European Studies Communication and Culture
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: What is Cinema? Theories of Film in the European Tradition Fall 2009 (2nd 8 Weeks) This course will introduce students to some of the major concerns of European film theory in the first half of the 20th century. Throughout the semester we will be thinking about theory in relation both to technological and artistic advances in filmmaking and to todayÂs concerns with new media. While learning Âwhat cinema was, students will also be developing their own theories of newer image-making and image-viewing technologies: ipods, cellphones, video games, webcams, etc. Throughout the course students will engage critically both with the texts and with various audiovisual models. Each week a different student or small group will be responsible for a short video project and presentation. Using digital video and editing software, each group will construct a short film sequence (no more than 2-3 minutes) illustrating the weekÂs approach to cinema. In class the groups will have a chance to screen their work and give a short presentation on their methods and assumptions. In addition, students will develop their own theories of new media in a short paper (5pp.) to be turned in at the end of the semester. Readings will include the works of Rudolf Arnheim, Walter Benjamin, André Bazin, Germaine Dulac, Jean Epstein, Sergei Eisenstein, Siegfried Kracauer, Hugo Münsterberg, and others. In addition, there will be weekly screenings of relevant films. Required Texts: Rudolf Arnheim, Film as Art [ISBN-13: 978-0520248373] André Bazin, What is Cinema? Vol. 1 [ISBN-13: 978-0520242272] Siegfried Kracauer, Theory of Film [ISBN-13: 978-0691037042] Hugo Münsterberg, The Photoplay: A Psychological Study [ISBN-13: 978-0415937078] Online Course Reader Cross-list with: Communication and Culture Telecommunications Comparative Literature Fine Arts/Art History
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
* 2nd 8 weeks course Topic: Murder in Amsterdam, the end of tolerance? Taught in English; no prerequisites. Course open to graduates and undergraduates. In November 2004 the murder of Theo van Gogh horrified the Netherlands, a country that prides itself on being a multicultural bastion of tolerance, and sent shock waves across Europe and around the world. An young Muslim man, Mohammed Bouyeri, the son of Moroccan immigrants, shot and killed the celebrated and controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, and iconic European provocateur for making a movie with the vocally anti-Islam Somali-born Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali that blasphemed Islam. In this course, we will look at The Netherlands in general, the Dutch and their mentality and culture in particular. How does this country end up with its reputation of Âanything goes in the USA and many other countries in the world? Is it true and how did the murder of Van Gogh change this? All literature will be read in English and the course will be conducted in English. Requirements are summaries of the books and videos, a final exam, regular class attendance, and participation in class discussions. Required texts: 1.) Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam, ISBN13: 9781594201080 2.) W. Shetter, The Netherlands in Perspective, ISBN: 9789055172030 3.) eInstruction clicker (ISBN 1881483717) and 4.) activation code (ISBN 1881483045) 5.) reader
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
ÂVikings and Sagas is a course designed as an introduction to Old Norse history, culture, and literature, focusing on the Viking Age (c. 793-1066). In the course of the semester we shall explore the nature and expansion of Viking activities during that period (e.g., on the Continent, in the Mediterranean, in the British Isles, Ireland, Greenland, North America, as well as within Scandinavia itself). We shall examine the validity of the source-material (archaeological evidence, written records [annals, medieval histories, sagas]) and the different theories formulated to explain the onset of the Viking Age. The discussion of the cultural aspects will deal with such issues as social customs, law and legal systems, pagan religion, the conversion to Christianity, etc. We shall also focus on the image of the Vikings in contemporary society, and explore why the Viking-Age has continued to fascinate generations from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. During the course we shall read sagas that not only will serve as an introduction to Old Norse literature (prose and poetry), but also bring first-hand information about the socioÂhistorical aspects of the Viking Age. These sagas will provide the background for a broader discussion of Old Norse-Icelandic literature, of the problems involved in using literature as historical sources, and of the sagas as literature from a modern point of view. Books: 1.The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection. New York: Viking, 2000. ISBN: 0670889903-9780670889907 2.Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Pálsson, trans. King HaraldÂs Saga. Penguin Classics. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1966. No ISBN given. 3.Roesdahl, Else: The Vikings. Trans. Susan M. Margeson and Kirsten Williams. Second revised edn. New York: Penguin Books.1998. No ISBN given.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: Language Evolution, Change, and Diversity in Central Europe This course makes use of examples from the languages and populations of Central Europe from prehistoric times to the present to examine the causes and implications of languages change and diversity and to approach the question of the origins of language in the human species. No textbook. The course will be taught on the basis of notes and readings available to students on Oncourse. The language of instruction will be English. Most of the examples will be drawn from Germanic languages (and their hypothesized precursors), but no specific linguistic background in German, Dutch, or Scandinavian will be assumed. Regular class attendance, preparation, and participation are required. There will be three 5- to 7-page written assignments, a midterm, and a final examination. Week 1 A case study: The Rhenish Fan Week 2 Introduction to the phonetics of consonants Week 3 The Rhenish Fan and the Second Sound Shift Week 4 GrimmÂs Law Week 5 Introduction to the phonetics of vowels Week 6 Germanic languages and umlaut Week 7 Strong and weak verbs Week 8 Strong and weak adjectives; Midterm exam Week 9 Case studies: (1) German and Yiddish (2) Icelandic and Norwegian/Swedish (3) Dutch and Afrikaans Week 10 Apparent Âsimplification and the Âdirection of language change Week 11 Change and diversity in modern times Week 12 The spread of Indo-European languages into Central Europe, linguistic archeology, and population genetics: How far back can we see? Part I Week 13 The Nostratic Hypothesis: How far back can we see? Part II Week 14 The origins of language in the human species: How far back can we see? Part III Week 15 Summation and synthesis Final examination
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Prerequisite: This course presupposes no prior knowledge of German. In four class meetings per week students will develop skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) for communicating in German within a cultural context. Language laboratory work and written homework are an intrinsic part of the course, as is the accumulation of portfolio items. Regular mandatory tests are designed to give feedback to students and teaching staff. Active class participation is a requirement for successful completion of the course, as is a passing grade on the final examination. To proceed to G150, students need to earn a grade of C- or better in G100. Required Texts: Dollenmayer/Hansen, Neue Horizonte 7th Edition. Shrink-wrapped with workbook. ISBN 1-428-28392-7.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Prerequisites: Advanced coursework in another foreign language, departmental authorization or placement through examination. The course sequence G105-106 is designed for beginning German students who already know another foreign language well and all others who can progress at an accelerated pace. It is also suitable for students with several years of high school German who did not place directly into G150. Students are challenged to complete four semesters of German in two semesters and thus fulfill the COAS foreign language requirement. Required Texts: Dollenmayer/Hansen, Neue Horizonte 7th Edition. Shrink-wrapped with workbook. ISBN 1-428-28392-7.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Prerequisite: G100 with a minimum grade of C-. G150 continues the two semester introduction to the German language as presented in the textbook, Neue Horizonte. Tests will be given as we complete each chapter of the book, and there will be an oral exam as well as a one hour final examination. To proceed to G200, students need to earn a grade of C- or better in G150. Required Texts: Dollenmayer/Hansen, Neue Horizonte 7th Edition. Shrink-wrapped with workbook. ISBN 1-428-28392-7 Spaethling/Weber, Literatur Eins, ISBN 0393950417
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Prerequisite: G150 or G105 with a minimum grade of C-. Continuation of language acquisition within a cultural context, as begun in the first year (G100 & G150). Students will work on raising their level of proficiency in the German language through reading, writing, listening, and intensive oral work in class as well as homework assignments. Tests will be given as we complete each chapter of the book, and there will be a one hour final examination. To proceed to G250, students need to earn a grade of C- or better in G200. Required Texts: Motyl-Mudretzkyi / Späinghaus: Anders gedacht. Houghton Mifflin 2005 + Workbook (shrink-wrapped, ISBN: 9-780-618-643-004)
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Prerequisite: G200 with a minimum grade of C-. Continuation of language acquisition within a cultural context. Students will expand their vocabulary and work towards higher levels of proficiency in the German language in oral and written self-expression as well as reading and listening comprehension. To proceed to G300, students need to earn a grade of C- or better in G 250. Texts: Motyl-Mudretzkyi / Spainghaus: Anders gedacht. Houghton Mifflin 2005 + Workbook (shrink-wrapped, ISBN: 9-780-618-643-004)
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Prerequisite: G250 with a minimum grade of C-. This course is designed to prepare students for subsequent 300-level work in German language, literature, and culture, and a variety of texts from these areas will be read. In their oral and written responses to the readings, it is expected that students will demonstrate a growing awareness ofÂand sensitivity toÂGerman culture and express their ideas in a manner consistent with advanced language work. Each student should own a good German-English / English-German dictionary as well as a standard reference grammar. Texts: Kafka, Franz: Die Verwandlung, ISBN 3150099005, Sept. 2005, Reclam Bahlmann/Breindl/Draxler/Ende/Storch, Unterwegs: Materialienbuch, ISBN 346847640X Rankin/Wells: Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik, 4th edition. Houghton Mifflin 2004. ISBN 0618338128
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Description: This course will introduce students to the study of literary types--drama, narrative, and lyric--with examples of each selected from two or more historical periods. It will enable students to improve their reading proficiency in German through their careful examination of two longer, and two or more shorter, unedited literary texts as well as of several short poems. Class work will include systematic vocabulary building designed to give students the tools they need to discuss literary types in German. Attention will be paid to points of advanced grammar and usage. Course readings and regular class discussions will focus on the formal and literary means by which authors from different times treat related motifs, themes, and ideas. All texts will be in German. German will also be used as the first language of discussion, but English will be available as needed. Prerequisites: Any student may enroll in G305 who has either completed G300 at IUB with a grade of C- or higher or achieved an official qualifying score on the IUB German Placement Test (administered by the IUB Bureau of Evaluation Services and Testing), or on another standardized proficiency test. Completion of G330, however, is strongly recommended. Students with a native or near native command of German should consult with the Undergraduate Advisor about substituting an appropriate 400-level course for G305. Texts and materials: We will read (and hear and see not necessarily in this order): 1) Die Entdeckung der Currywurst, the 1993 novel by Uwe Timm. DTV, ISBN: 3423083948 2) Maria Magdalene, a play by 19th century German dramatist Friedrich Hebbel. Reclam, ISBN 3150031737 3) a set of poems selected from widely different times. Available from the instructor 4) a selection of short works representing other narrative and dramatic genres, such as short stories, Hörspiele, which will be either provided by the instructor or available online. 5) A film -- TBD 6) RECOMMENDEDÂVolker Meid, Sachwörterbuch der Literatur, ISBN 3150181291 Students should own or have access to a good German dictionary as well as to a reference grammar
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Prerequisite: G300 with a minimum grade of C-, an equivalent course at another institution, or placement. This course continues to expand and develop the student's command of German beyond previous, intermediate-level work and prepare them for upper level courses for a major or minor in German. Students will work with a variety of contemporary texts, with the expectation that they have a basic familiarity with German culture. Language practice will focus both on helping students to express their ideas in a manner consistent with increasingly advanced language work and on developing reading strategies for a range of text types. Texts: Capus, Alex; Fast ein bisschen Frühling, ISBN 3701713480, Residenz Verlag, 2002 Rankin, Wells; Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik, ISBN 0618338128, Houghton Mifflin, 2004 Bahlmann, Breindl, Draxler; Unterwegs, ISBN 346847640X, Langenscheidt, 1998
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: Introduction to Contemporary Germany Course Description: This course is an introduction to contemporary German culture. In order to wrap our thoughts around what is contemporary, we begin with the aftermath of the First World War in GermanyÂs Weimar Republic. We end by anticipating 21st century developments toward a post-national Germany in the framework of the European Union. In the first part of the course, we consider important epochs of German history from the WWI through Nazism and the post-WWII division and reunification of Germany. In the second part of the course we focus on cultural milestones in architecture, literature, film, and mass media, in order to understand how the relationship between culture and society shapes national and non-national identities. In the last part of the course, we use our knowledge of major epochs and major cultural developments to engage with the contemporary theoretical debates over issues such as what a European Union constitution should look like and what place religious, ethnic and gender identities have in a changing German national framework. Course goals include: 1) developing analytical tools (and theoretical vocabulary) for the criticism of modern culture; 2) developing your sense of the major divisions in various media of 20th-21st century German (such as architecture and film); 3) developing your ability to relate cultural milestones to social and political history; 4) learning to closely analyze individual works with respect to their general cultural significance; 5) improving your spoken and written German. Your grade is based on participation (20%), forum posting (20%), wiki-site (20%), midterm (15%) and final (25%). Textbook: Fritz Stern, Five Germanys I Have Known (Paperback) Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition ISBN-10: 0374530866 ISBN-13: 978-0374530860
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Prerequisite: G330 This course is an advanced language course whose goal is to improve your reading and writing skills, enhance your mastery of grammatical and idiomatic structures,broaden your vocabulary and at the same time introduce you to various aspects of German literature, culture and Business German. We begin with a six-week Business German component focusing on a variety of practical aspects of working in Germany (e.g. writing CVs, insurance and social security system, phone communication, industry sectors). Then we will begin studying 20th century literature and from there move into earlier periods of German literature.We will study short texts and paintings, observe changes in style and ideas in order to gain an overview as well as deeper insights into German culture while improving our language skills along the way. We will review grammar and introduce basic tools for the analysis of texts while exploring the cultural landscape of German-speaking countries. This course is beneficial for students contemplating internships in Germany as well as for those interested in delving deeper into German literature and culture. Required Texts: Maierhofer/Klocke: Literatur im Kontext.Focus Publishing 2009. ISBN: 1-58510-263-6 Braunert/Schlenker: Unternehmen Deutsch. Aufbaukurs Lehrbuch. Klett 2008. ISBN: 978-3-12-675745-4 Rankin/Wells: Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik, 4th edition. Houghton Mifflin 2004. ISBN: 0618338128.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
This course is an advanced language course whose goal is to improve your reading and writing skills, enhance your mastery of grammatical and idiomatic structures, and at the same time introduce you to German literature and culture. We will study short texts, films, and paintings in chronological order, observe changes in style and ideas in order to gain an overview as well as deeper insights into German culture while improving our language skills along the way. The course is thus the ideal preparation for more advanced levels of learning in the field of German. It hopes to instill you with enthusiasm for a language that has immense expressive power. At the end of the course, you should be able to read German literary texts fluently and express critical views and ideas eloquently in oral and written German. We will review Grammar and introduce basic tools for the analysis of texts while exploring the cultural landscape of German-speaking countries. Required Texts: Peter Heller & Edith Ehrlich, Dichter, Denker und Erzähler: A German Reader Rankin/Wells: Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik, 4th edition. Houghton Mifflin 2004. ISBN: 0618338128.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: ÂHeinrich Heine: Lyrik und Gesellschaft Geht man davon aus, dass Kunstwerke dazu dienen, uns einen Einblick in die gesellschaftlichen Umstände ihrer Entstehungszeit zu vermitteln, so lieÃe sich keine besseren finden, Auskunft über das Deutschland des 19. Jahrhunderts zu geben, als die Lyrik Heinrich Heines (1797-1865), dessen künstlerische Produktionen eine weite Bandbreite von kulturellen, historischen, religiösen und politischen Themen umfassen. Geht man andererseits von der Prämisse aus, dass die Auseinandersetzung mit Kunstwerken keiner äuÃeren Anlässe bedarf, sondern selbst um ihrer ästhetischen Qualitäten willen unternommen wird, so bieten sich keine gelungeneren Kunstwerke zum ästhetischen Genuss und zur Anerkennung ihrer technischen Merkmale an, als die Lyrik Heines, der sowohl unterschiedliche künstlerische Traditionen in seine Werke aufgenommen hat, als auch innovative Veränderungen und Weiterentwicklungen lyrischer Formen aufzuweisen vermochte. Für viele gilt Heine als einer der bedeutendsten, wenn nicht sogar als der gröÃte deutsche Lyriker des 19. Jahrunderts schlechthin. Der Kurs hat also mehrere Ziele: 1) sich mit einer repräsentativen Bandbreite von HeineÂs Lyrik vertraut zu machen; 2) die Auseinandersetzung mit Lyrik anhand von HeineÂs Werken zu erproben, und dabei unterschiedliche Vorgehensweisen kennenzulernen; 3) eine Vorstellung zu gewinnen von den oben genannten sozialen, kulturellen, religiösen und politischen Bewegungen, die HeineÂs Zeitalter ausmachten; und 4) die unterschiedlichen Heine-Rezeptionen sowohl im 19., als auch im 20. Jahrhundert durch die Besprechung gängiger EssaysÂunter anderen von Wolfgang Menzel, Karl Kraus und Theodor W. Adorno--zu verfolgen. Statt einer Zwischenprüfung (Midterm Exam) und/oder einer Abschlussprüfung (Final Exam), wird jeder Student/jede Studentin ein Referat (oral presentation & discussion) vorbereiten oder an einem Gruppenreferat teilnehmen (je nach Anzahl der Studenten), das in den letzten Wochen des Semesters gehalten wird. Wir (jede/r Vortragende und ich) müssen uns über den Gegenstand des Referats bis nicht später als drei Wochen vor der Präsentation geeinigt haben. Der Kurs kann die obengenannten Ziele nur erreichen, wenn alle Studenten aktiv an den Diskussionen teilnehmen. Deswegen wird die Teilnahmenote (participation grade) nicht nur von Ihrer Anwesenheit abhängen, sondern von Ihrer Teilnahme. Abschlussnoten (Course Grades) werden daher folgendermassen berechnet: Teilnahme (participation): 66% Referat: 34%   Required Texts Burdorf, Dieter. Einführung in die Gedichtanalyse. 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1997. ISBN: 978-3-15-018394-6 Heine, Heinrich. Die Harzreise. Ed. Manfred Windfuhr. Stuttgart: Reclam. ISBN: 978-3-15-002221-4 -----. Sämtliche Gedichte: Kommentierte Ausgabe. Ed. Bernd Kortländer. Stuttgart: Reclam. ISBN: 978-3-15-018394-6
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Counts toward COAS Distribution Requirement in NMMC/Mathematical Sciences and Cognition or Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The language of instruction will be German. The two primary goals of the course are: 1. to introduce you to the area of linguistics known as phonetics with particular reference to the articulation of the sounds of (modern standard) German; 2. to introduce you to the area of linguistics known as phonology with particular emphasis on the phonology of (modern standard) German. This course consists of two parts: Part I (first third of course): The phonetics of German (how the sounds are produced); and Part II (the remainder of the course): The phonology of German (the rules governing which sounds are permitted in which positions of German words). The course material will be in the form of extensive handouts. Attendance and class participation are crucial to your success in this course. There will be a midterm (at the end of Part I), regular homework assignments and a final examination. Note: This is an introduction to a particular branch of linguistics. Students with no previous knowledge of linguistics are welcome to attend. This course is NOT a pronunciation class, although your pronunciation of German will improve significantly as a result of your participation. Required text: Mangold, Max; et al. (2000) Duden Aussprachewörterbuch: Wörterbuch der deutschen Standardaussprache. (Duden, Band 6.) 4. Auflage.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: Socialism! Sixty years ago this fall the first workers and peasants state on German soil was established; twenty years ago this fall East Germany collapsed. Now, as much of capitalism lies in tatters of its own, it is especially intriguing to consider some outstanding works of GermanyÂs socialist culture. We begin with Anna SegherÂs Kleist Prize-winning story about a fishermenÂs rebellion, then consider FalladaÂs great depression chronicle of the struggling little man. BrechtÂs elusive Mr. Keuner condenses the wisdom of an everyman surviving dictatorship, exile, activism and conformity. Christa WolfÂs melancholy reflections on what it means to be an individual in a society that finds itself in a collective existential crisis raise questions about the relationship of Âreally existing socialism to the historical struggles against capitalism. And Heiner MüllerÂs radical revolutionary dramas intensify the paradoxes of East GermanyÂs practical ideology. As we read these startling texts, we ask ourselves what makes them socialist, what makes them modern, and what makes them realistic or, alternatively, what makes them ideological. To broaden our understanding of other media and contexts we also view some classic films of socialism, as well as reading theoretical statements on what a socialist aesthetics might be. General course goals include 1) familiarizing ourselves with some wonderful literary texts; 2) learning how to read a literary artwork closely; 3) learning how to apply theoretical questions to texts; 4) understanding how a text might relate to its time and place. Textbook Orders: Anna Seghers, Der Aufstand der Fischer von St. Barbara Verlag: Aufbau Tb ISBN-10: 3746651506 ISBN-13: 978-3746651507 Hans Fallada, Kleiner Mann - was nun? Verlag: Rowohlt ISBN-10: 3499100010 ISBN-13: 978-3499100017 Bertolt Brecht, Geschichten vom Herrn Keuner. Text und Kommentar. Suhrkamp Verlag ISBN-10: 3518188461 ISBN-13: 978-3518188460 Christa Wolf, Nachdenken über Christa T Verlag: Suhrkamp Sprache: Deutsch ISBN-10: 3518459139 ISBN-13: 978-3518459133 Heiner Müller, Der Auftrag und andere Revolutionsstücke Verlag: Reclam, Ditzingen ISBN-10: 3150084709 ISBN-13: 978-3150084700
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
The intention of the course is to familiarize associate instructors with theoretical and practical considerations of language teaching and learning. We will look at several approaches and methods of language teaching: from early 20th century trends to current communicative approaches, as well as a broad range of alternative methods. The course investigates ways in which different approaches and methods can be utilized in the foreign language lesson in order to afford a rich learning environment. Participants are required to give practical presentations of different teaching methods through short teaching sequences. We will also take a critical look at traditional dichotomies: explicit versus implicit language instruction, grammar versus communication, foreign language versus mother tongue. The concepts of language awareness, language learning reflection, and learner autonomy will be examined as indicators of a shift in language teaching towards learner-centered approaches. Required readings Richards, Jack / Rodgers, Theodore: Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001 (2nd edition) Selected articles and excerpts.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: Excuses, Accusations, and the Novella Does the core function of narrative consists in its ability to offer alternatives? If this is the case, then the event is always a multitude of events. And this also means that narrative is the medium of bending, beautification, self-serving bias, and of excuse. The most celebrated genre of the nineteenth century in Germany was the novella. While the study of novellas was once a corner stone of ÂGermanistik it has fallen out of fashion since the 1970s. This course wants to reclaim the novella by focussing less on the aspect of Ânovelty but on Âexcuse. A large part of the nineteenth-century novellas provide some form of excuse, sometimes as an element of dialogue and plot (as in many texts by Kleist, in HoffmannÂs Mademoiselle Scuderi, in GotthelfÂs Black Spider, or as a borderline case in MelvilleÂs Bartleby) and sometimes as a more structural principle to which the novella as a whole seems to respond. The course will offer an overview of novellas (beginning with some Early Modern texts) and place the German novella of the nineteenth century in context of some other American-European developments. Among the theorists that we will consider are J. L. Austin, Stanley Cavell, Paul de Man and some narratologists. As usually in my courses, the class will vote about the syllabus in the first session (s) and will consider various suggestions from all participants. It is likley that we will consider texts by: Boccaccio Cervantes Kleist Goethe (Die Novelle, Mann von 50 Jahren) Eichendorff Hoffmann Keller Gotthelf (Die schwarze Spinne) Stifter (Abdias) Sacher-Masoch Storm (Der Schimmelreiter) Ebner-Eschenbach Raabe Andreas-Salomé Stefan Zweig (Angst) Schnitzer (Fräulein Else) Students will be expected to write a total of 20 pages, broken down in as many papers as desired. Class language (reading and discussion) will be decided by participants. Books to be ordered: Heinrich von Kleist, Sämtliche Erzählungen, Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, ISBN 3-618-68005-8 Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe, 3150076218 Jerimias Gotthelf, Die schwarze Spinne, Reclam, ISBN 3150064899 Adalbert Stifter, Abdias, Reclam, ISBN3-15-003913-4 Theodor Storm, Der Schimmelreiter, Reclam, ISBN 315006015X Arthur Schnitzler, Fräulein Else, Reclam, ISBN 3150181550
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: ÂPeter Sloterdijk Peter Sloterdijk (1947-) is widely considered one of the preeminent German philosophers of our time, having essentially established his reputation in 1983 as an eclectic iconoclast with his first major work, Kritik der zynischen Vernunft, which soon assumed nearly cult status as the most widely disseminated German philosophical tract since Adorno/HorkheimerÂs Dialektik der Aufklärung. For over a quarter century, Sloterdijk has been omnipresent in the landscape of German media through his numerous publications, lectures, interviews, and more recently, his television series Das philosophische Quartett, which, together with Rüdiger Safranski, he has moderated since 2002. He has also emerged as a provocateur, intentionally fomenting particularly trenchant, heated, and highly visible polemics through his dispassionate discussion of some of the most sensitive subjects in the modern German psycheÂas seen most notably perhaps in the furor that surrounded his 2000 lecture, ÂRegeln für den Menschenpark, in which he pondered the shaping and improvement of the human body through emerging gene technology, thereby inciting a debate in the popular press over the continued relevance of the Frankfurt School in the current age. His work draws upon an eclectic span of fields and objects of inquiry: European and Eastern philosophy, cultural studies, anthropology, comparative religion, mysticism, Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, media studies, the history of science, European cultural and political history, terrorism, world literature, contemporary politics, and others still. (For an overview, see: http://www.petersloterdijk.net) He is also particularly well known for the aesthetic quality of his writings, has authored a favorably- received novel of 1985, Der Zauberbaum: Die Entstehung der Psychoanalyse im Jahr 1785. Ein epischer Versuch zur Philosophie der Psychologie, and in 2007 published a collection of essays devoted to aesthetic issues, Der ästhetische Imperativ: Schriften zur Kunst. His most expansive project to date is his Sphären trilogy, a study of over 2,500 pages that constitutes a reflection on the psycho-social dimensions of the visual imagination since the beginnings of human history. When not active as an internationally peripatetic lecturer and visiting professor, he serves as Rektor and Professor für Ãsthetik und Philosophie at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe and also teaches in the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna. The course will investigate seminal texts from the 1980s and diverse themes in his work in two later periods, from the 1990s and the 21st century, respectively. Ideally, it will provide a frame within which students may test and apply some of the topics, approaches, and concerns they have encountered over the semester to the exploration of their own interests as they formulate a research project. In the final sessions, students will distribute, discuss, and mutually critique drafts of their papers-in-progress, and will subsequently submit a revised, final version by the middle of finals week. Because this is a 600-, and not an 800-level course, the papers need not (though, of course, they may) be more than ca. 15pp. in length, plus bibliography. Course grades will be computed as follows: Participation: 66%; Paper: 34%. (Though not required, students may find it useful before taking the course to familiarize themselves with basic tenets of the Frankfurt School, especially with those pursued in Theodor W. Adorno and Max HorkheimerÂs aforementioned Dialektik der Aufklärung, as well as with the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, especially Also sprach Zarathustra and Zur Genealogie der Moral. Students might also wish to be familiar with Martin HeideggerÂs concept of Âspace. Literary authors of particular interest to Sloterdijk are Rainer Maria Rilke, Paul Celan, and Ernst Jünger.) Required Texts Sloterdijk, Peter. Falls Europa erwacht. Gedanken zum Programm einer Weltmacht am Ende des Zeitalters ihrer politischen Absence. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1994. ISBN 3-518-39902-0 -----. Kritik der zynischen Vernunft. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2003. ISBN 3-518-12427-7 -----. Regeln für den Menschenpark: Ein Antwortschreiben zu Heideggers Brief über den Humanismus. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1999. ISBN 3-518-06582-3 -----. Weltfremdheit. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1993. ISBN 3-518-11781-5 -----. Zur Welt kommenÂZur Sprache kommen. Frankfurter Vorlesungen. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1988. ISBN 3-518-11505-7 Sloterdijk, Peter and Hans-Jürgen Heinrichs. Die Sonne und der Tod: Dialogische Untersuchungen. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2001. 3-518-41225-6
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page
Topic: "Interpretations-Linien im deutschen Musiktheater seit 1945 In kaum einer Zeit haben sich die Bemühungen um Ursprung und Ziele von Theater-Interpretation so energisch in unterschiedliche Kraftfelder begeben wie während der sechs Jahrzehnte seit Ende des Krieges. War es zum einen die Befreiung von doktrinären Prinzipien, wie sie die herrschende Kulturpolitik zwischen 1933-1945 praktizierte, so war es auch die Bemühung, die Fäden des neuen Theaters der zwanziger Jahre weiter zu verfolgen und weiter zu entwickeln. In unmissverständlicher Weise ist das heute so umstrittene ÂRegie-Theater ein Geschöpf des deutschen Theaters und seiner Rezeption durch Wissenschaft, Feuilleton und Publikum. Im Bereich des Musiktheaters entstehen dabei besonders interessante Fragen. Neue Definitionen des Werk-Begriffes standen dabei über allen profilierten Stilrichtungen des Schauspiel- wie des Operntheaters, ob es das ÂRealistische Musiktheater Walter Felsensteins an der Komischen Oper in Ost-Berlin war, Wieland Wagners Vorstellung eines von psychologischen Symbolbegriffen C. G. Jungs beeinflussten Âmythischen Regie-Theaters oder spätere Formen des Regie-Theaters, die mit den beiden Stilrichtungen der 50er Jahre nichts mehr zu tun haben wollten. Fragen wie: ÂWas ist ein Werk? Ist es eine feststehende Einheit oder verwandelt es sich stets unter dem neuen Blick des Interpreten? Welche Konsequenzen hat dies für die Komposition und Interpretation durch die Dirigenten, Orchester, Chöre und Solisten? Während der acht Wochen von Mitte September bis Mitte November soll ein Weg verfolgt werden, der bis in die Gegenwart unserer Tage führen wird. Fragen, die von den Autoren gestellt werden, solche, die von ihren Interpreten aufgeworfen und beantwortet werden und Einwände wie Ablehnung des Opernpublikums werden zu reflektieren sein. Der Kurs wendet sich an Studentinnen und Studenten, die in diesen Fragen und Beispielen eine Spur erkennen, die in einen besonders wichtigen Bereich des deutschen Kulturverständnisses führt. Zum Abschluss werden sich die Teilnehmer für schriftliche Arbeiten entscheiden, in denen verschiedene Aspekte unseres Kolloquiums anhand von Einzelfragen weiterverfolgt werden.
Score: 12.372021 Details | Listing | Web page