German 111: Beginning German I
Students begin to learn German through listening, speaking, reading, and writing about situations familiar to us including our personal biographies, families, daily life, studies, travels, and hobbies. Regular writing assignments help students to learn vocabulary, check spelling, and form thoughts with German sentence structure. Regular speaking activities aid in acquiring accurate pronunciation and listening skills. By the end of the semester, students will feel comfortable conversing in German about a wide range of topics relating to everyday life, including yourself and your family, your studies, clothing, weather, and living.
German 112: Beginning German II
Students continue to develop basic language skills with emphasis on expanding vocabulary and on writing assignments that aid in the practical application of grammatical concepts. Communicating in German about familiar personal topics, students acquire vocabulary about sports, food, holidays, school, the environment, and everyday life in German-speaking societies. By the end of the semester, students will have gained increased comfort conversing in German about everyday topics; new knowledge of historical and contemporary German-speaking cultures in Europe; and experience reading, discussing, and producing short German texts in the present and past tenses.
Prerequisite: GERM 111 or by placement test
Counts for majors: Performance
German 231: Intermediate German I
Students explore and expand their notions of identity in general, and of German identities in particular, by “reading” and interpreting written texts, films and images that deal with questions of individual and group identity, and by examining how their individual experiences, perspectives and interests influence their understanding of, and reactions to the texts. By the end of the semester, students will have deepened their vocabulary and writing skills through targeted, collaborative, and iterative writing tasks, and feel comfortable expressing their opinions orally through interactive speaking tasks, short presentations, and reflective speaking activities outside of the classroom.
Prerequisite: GERM 112 or by placement test
Counts for majors: German, Performance
German 232: Intermediate German II
Students continue to explore life in German-speaking countries, using cultural readings, films, and other authentic materials to develop vocabulary and composition skills. Drafting short reports enables students to practice writing skills for paragraph-length discourse. Selected grammar topics are reviewed as needed. Open to first-year students. Taught in German. Offered annually in the spring semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 231 or by placement test.
German 251: History and Memory
Students examine the National Socialist period (1933-1945), its embeddedness in German cultural memory, and its implications for contemporary society. Students read, discuss, analyze, and write about a series of literary texts (including films) emerging from or reflecting on what historian Friedrich Meinecke called “the German catastrophe.” The course is writing intensive and includes short weekly assignments as well as several longer, multi-step writing projects. Advanced grammar review supports analytical tasks.
Prerequisite: GERM 232 or by placement test.
Ole Core: WAC, WLC / GE: ALS-L, FOL-G, WRI.
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science.
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations
German 252: German-Speaking Societies in Global Context
Students examine contemporary issues in German-speaking Europe such as national and regional politics, environmental sustainability, diversity and migration. They compare multiple perspectives on, and intersections between the issues by reading, discussing, and analyzing diverse expository texts including (auto)biographical writings, journalistic articles, and critical essays. Coursework includes writing assignments and oral presentations that emphasize textual analysis with a focus on texts’ strategic organization, argumentative structure, style, content, and layers of critical voices. Advanced grammar review supports analytical tasks.
Prerequisite: GERM 232 or by placement test
Ole Core: WLC / GE: FOL-G, ORC
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations, Management Studies
German 272: Turning Points in German History (Topics course)
Students examine a historical period or theme and its impact on the institutional, intellectual, and artistic heritage of German-speaking societies. The course requires close reading and critical analysis of primary sources, with a focus on history as an interpretive reconstruction of the past. Recent topics: the German Democratic Republic, German colonialism and decolonization, and migration. The course emphasizes strategies for academic writing in German. Taught in German. May be repeated if topic is different. Offered periodically in fall semester.
Ole Core: WIM (½)
GERM 273: German Media History and Media Literacy
Students develop their media literacy through German-language sources with emphasis on ideological, aesthetic, and ethical perspectives on how media make meaning and shape culture. Students examine issues treated in print and electronic formats across the history of mass communication, from early printing to the internet. To hone their critical media literacy, students compare and contrast how issues are represented in different German- and English-speaking media. The course emphasizes strategies for academic writing in German. Taught in German. Offered periodically in fall semester. Also counts toward business and management studies concentration.
Prerequisite: GERM 251 or GERM 252
Ole Core: WIM (½)
GERM 276: Green Germany
Students examine Germany’s successful sustainability initiatives and their roots in a long history of cultural values and scientific innovation. They study primary and secondary sources including interviews, journalistic articles, literary works, and films; these texts form the basis of students’ written and oral analyses. Drawing on diverse disciplinary perspectives, students gain transferable knowledge and skills for addressing complex international environmental concerns. The course emphasizes strategies for academic writing in German. Taught in German. Offered periodically in fall semester. Also counts toward environmental studies major and environmental studies and business and management studies concentrations. Prerequisite: GERM 251, GERM 252, or permission of the instructor
Ole Core: WIM (½)
GERM 298: Independent Study
May be counted toward German major or German studies concentration.
Prerequisite: GERM 251 or GERM 252
GERM 371: Topics in German Literature
Students hone their skills of analyzing the forms and contexts of production and reception of German-language literary works of various genres. Coursework includes close reading, discussion, and interpretation of visual and written texts. Recent topics include the author as public intellectual, die Fantasie, Frauenliteratur, and Wissen, Wissenschaft/en und Wissenschaftler:innen. The course emphasizes strategies for academic writing in German. Taught in German. May be repeated if the topic is different. Offered in alternate years in spring semester.
Prerequisite: at least one 270-level course or permission of the instructor
Ole Core: WIM (½)
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations
German 372: Transdisciplinary Topics in German Studies (Topics Course)
Students explore an interdisciplinary topic in language, literature, history, or culture through close reading, discussion, analysis, and interpretation of selected works, including theoretical texts. Recent topics include identities and boundaries of the German-speaking world and Arbeitskulturen. The course emphasizes strategies for academic writing in German. Taught in German. May be repeated if the topic is different. Offered in alternate years in spring semester.
Prerequisite: at least one 270-level course or permission of the instructor
Ole Core: WIM (½)
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations
GERM 394: Academic Internship (Study Abroad)
Students spend four weeks during January Term or summer in the German or Austrian workplace. Opportunities include working in health care, communications, and manufacturing as well as non-profit organizations, libraries, businesses, laboratories, offices, and churches. Assignment of position varies with availability of host institutions.
Prerequisite: at least one 270-level course
GERM 396: Directed Undergraduate Research
This course provides a comprehensive research opportunity, including an introduction to relevant background material, technical instruction, identification of a meaningful project, and data collection. The topic is determined by the faculty member in charge of the course and may relate to their research interests. Offered based on department decision. May be offered as a 1.00 credit course or .50 credit course. Prerequisite: determined by individual instructor
GERM 398: Independent Research
May be counted toward German major or German studies concentration.
Prerequisite: at least one 270-level course