{"id":2593,"date":"2023-09-14T12:04:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T17:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/german\/?page_id=2593"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:45:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:45:26","slug":"german","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/german\/german\/","title":{"rendered":"Courses taught in German"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

German 111: Beginning German I <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. Offered annually in fall semester.<\/p>\n\n\n

German 112: Beginning German II <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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. Offered annually in spring semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 111 or by placement test<\/em>
Counts for majors: Performance<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 231: Intermediate German I <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students explore notions of identity and belonging through the lens of German-speaking societies by \u201creading\u201d 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 gained confidence synthesizing information and expressing opinions orally through interactive speaking tasks, short presentations, and reflective speaking activities outside of the classroom. Offered annually in fall semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 112 or by placement test<\/em>
Ole Core: <\/em>WLC (only if began in GERM 111)
Counts for majors: German, Performance<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 232: Intermediate German II <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This course integrates language learning with understanding and analyzing effects of the past on the present with a focus on how individual agency shapes everyday life. Topics include protest and resistance in the GDR, environmental sustainability, and political engagement and exile in German-speaking Europe and in transnational relations. Through close reading of a graphic novel, short stories, essays, film, songs and other texts, students improve their ability to produce and comprehend German in speaking and writing, and develop their critical literacy skills in a highly communicative environment. By the end of the semester, students will have refined their German language skills through written reflections and essays, and interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational speaking tasks. Offered annually in spring semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 231 or by placement test<\/em>
Ole Core: <\/em>WLC (if began in GERM 112, 231, or 232), GHS
Counts for majors: German, Performance<\/em>
Counts for concentration: German Studies<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 251: History and Memory<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students examine the National Socialist period (1933-1945), its embedding in cultural memory, and its implications for contemporary society. Students read, discuss, analyze, and write about a series of literary texts, both written and visual, that emerged from or reflect upon diverse experiences of oppression, violence, destruction and resistance under Nazism. Through these texts, students are introduced to crucial cultural themes such as fascism, the Holocaust, Vergangenheitsbew\u00e4ltigung <\/em>(dealing with the past), victims and perpetrators, and Erinnerungskultur<\/em> (memory culture). 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. Offered annually in fall semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 232 or by placement test<\/em>
Ole Core: WAC, WLC<\/em>
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science<\/em>
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 252: German-Speaking Societies in Global Context<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students examine contemporary issues in German-speaking Europe such as national and regional politics, environmental sustainability, and 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 videos, popular cultural productions, and critical essays. Writing assignments and oral presentations emphasize textual analysis with a focus on texts\u2019 strategic organization, argumentative structure, style, content, and layers of voices. Advanced grammar review supports analytical tasks. Offered annually in spring semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 232 or by placement test<\/em>
Ole Core: WLC<\/em>
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science<\/em>
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations, Management Studies<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 272: Turning Points in German History<\/strong> (topics vary)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 histories of migration. The course emphasizes strategies for academic writing through practice of different genre writing in German as well as targeted grammar review. May be repeated if topic is different. Offered periodically in fall semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 251, GERM 252, or permission of the instructor<\/em>
Ole Core: WIM (\u00bd)<\/em>, WAC, GHS
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science<\/em>
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations, Applied Linguistics<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERM 273: German Media History and Media Literacy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. Offered periodically in fall semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 251, GERM 252, or permission of the instructor<\/em>
Ole Core: WIM (\u00bd)<\/em>
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations, Management Studies, Media Studies<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERM 275: Topics in Literary Analysis – Meaning and Form<\/strong> (topics vary)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students advance their understanding of themes and methods in German literary analysis, with particular focus on formal analysis. Topics may include genre studies, translation, text-immanent critique, and other advanced practices of close reading, as well as periodization, theorization (e.g., feminist, postcolonial), and contextual and comparative analysis. Course texts may include novels, novellas, short stories, and poetry, as well as film, musical and visual art adaptations of literary texts. The course emphasizes strategies for academic writing in German. May be repeated if the topic is different. Offered periodically in fall semester.
Prerequisite:\u00a0GERM\u00a0251,\u00a0GERM\u00a0252, or permission of the instructor<\/em>
Ole Core: WIM (\u00bd)<\/em>
Counts for majors: German
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relation<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERM 276: Green Germany<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. Offered periodically in fall semester.
Prerequisite: GERM 251, GERM 252, or permission of the instructor<\/em>
Ole Core: WIM (\u00bd)<\/em>
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science, Environmental Studies
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations, Environmental Studies, Management Studies<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERM 298: Independent Study<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May be counted toward German major or German studies concentration.
Prerequisite: GERM 251 or GERM 252<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERM 371: Topics in German Literature<\/strong> (topics vary)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. 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<\/em>
Ole Core: WIM (\u00bd), CRE<\/em>
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science<\/em>
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

German 372: Transdisciplinary Topics in German Studies <\/strong>(topics vary)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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; Arbeitskulturen; and die Rote Armee Fraktion. The course emphasizes strategies for academic writing 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<\/em>
Ole Core: WIM (\u00bd)<\/em>
Counts for majors: German, Performance, Political Science<\/em>
Counts for concentrations: German Studies, International Relations<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERM 394: Academic Internship<\/strong> (Study Abroad)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERM 396: Directed Undergraduate Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERM 398: Independent Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May be counted toward German major or German studies concentration.
Prerequisite: at least one 270-level course<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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