{"id":55,"date":"2013-06-13T08:49:09","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T13:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/german\/?page_id=55"},"modified":"2026-01-28T09:23:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:23:53","slug":"the-german-major","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/german\/the-german-major\/","title":{"rendered":"The German Major"},"content":{"rendered":"

The German major curriculum joins advanced language learning with analytical perspectives from literary studies, history, sociology, anthropology, and film and media studies that bring students to a sophisticated and critical understanding of the German-speaking world, present and past.<\/p>\n

Intended Learning Outcomes<\/h2>\n

Students will demonstrate:<\/em><\/p>\n

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  1. linguistic competence<\/strong>, entailing:\n
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    1. language proficiency in listening, reading, writing and speaking German at the ACTFL Intermediate-High level; and<\/li>\n
    2. metalinguistic awareness of language as a system and of the ways in which language organizes thought processes and reflects culture.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    3. cultural knowledge<\/strong>, entailing the ability to critically interpret specific trends in contemporary German-speaking societies within their broader cultural contexts, considering factors such as national histories, international relations and constructions of power, privilege, and inequality.<\/li>\n
    4. textual competence<\/strong>, entailing the ability to comprehend and analyze a wide range of texts, taking account of factors such as genre, audience, purpose, organization, discourse conventions, rhetorical elements, and linguistic features, as well as historical, geographical, cultural, multilingual and intellectual contexts.<\/li>\n
    5. disciplinary knowledge<\/strong>, entailing the ability to comprehend and apply one or more of the major theoretical and methodological approaches to studying German-speaking societies, such as critical historiography, cultural studies, literary analysis, and sociolinguistics.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Requirements for the German Major<\/h2>\n

      A student must complete\u00a0eight\u00a0<\/strong>courses above German 112:<\/p>\n