Germanic Languages & Literatures

Washington University

314.935.5106; Fax: 314.935.7255; german@artsci.wustl.edu

One Brookings Drive, CB 1104, St. Louis, MO 63130

W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz

Announcements

Please contact, Empress Sanders if you have further questions regarding course schedules.

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Twin Gabriel, Deutscher 1 (Goethe), 1992, Berlin

Twin Gabriel, Deutscher 1 (Goethe), 1992, Berlin

Courses

Undergraduate Courses - Fall 2009

For more information regarding our undergraduate courses, please contact Empress Sanders, Undergraduate Coordinator, or Matthew Erlin, Director of Undergraduate Studies.

The course listings below are also available as a download.

Note: Room assignments are subject to change.

  • GER 100D CONTINUING GERMAN FOR STUDENTS WITH HIGH SCHOOL GERMAN Builds on students' previous knowledge of German language and culture, reviewing and reinforcing the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in cultural contexts with special emphasis on communicative competence. In addition to the regular class meetings, students sign up after the semester begins for a once-weekly subsection (time to be arranged). Prerequisite, placement by examination and at least two years of high school German, or permission of instructor. Students who complete this course successfully may enter Ger 102D. Credit 3 units. 1 MWF 10:00-11:00 Staff Subsections: A Tu 10:00-11:00 B TBA Course Website
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  • GER 101D BASIC GERMAN: CORE COURSE I Introductory program; no previous German required. Develops the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in cultural contexts. Emphasis on communicative competence. In addition to the regular class meetings, students should sign up for a twice-weekly subsection. Students who complete this course successfully should enter German 102D. Credit 5 units. 1 MthruTh 10:00-11:00 Staff 2 MthruTh 12:00-1:00 Russo Subsections: A M/W 11:00-12:00 B T/TH 9:00-10:00 C TBA Course Website
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  • GER 102D BASIC GERMAN: CORE COURSE II Continuation of Ger 100D or 101D. In addition to the regular class meetings, students sign up after the semester begins for a twice-weekly subsection (times to be arranged). Prerequisite, Ger 100D, 101D, the equivalent, or placement by examination. Credit 5 units. 1 MthruTh 10:00-11:00 Staff 2 MthruTh 12:00-1:00 Staff Subsections: A T/TH 9:00-10:00 B TBA Course Website
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  • GER 210D INTERMEDIATE GERMAN: CORE COURSE III Continuation of Ger 102D. Reading and discussion in German of short literary and non-literary texts combined with an intensive grammar review. Further development of writing skills. In addition to the regular class meetings, students sign up for a subsection after the semester begins (time to be arranged). Prerequisite, Ger 102D, the equivalent, or placement by examination. Students who complete this course successfully should enter Ger 301D or 313. Credit 4 units. 1 MWF 10:00-11:00 Staff 2 MWF 12:00-1:00 Kapczynski Subsections: A TuTh 10:00-11:00 B TuTh 12:00-1:00
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  • GER 301D ADVANCED GERMAN: CORE COURSE IV Discussion of literary and non-literary texts combined with an intensive grammar review. Systematic introduction to the expressive functions of German with an emphasis on spoken and written communication. In addition to the regular class meetings, students should sign up for a twice-weekly subsection. Prerequisite: German 210D, the equivalent, or placement by examination. Students who complete this course successfully should enter German 302D. 1 MWF 10:00-11:00 Staff 2 MWF 12:00-1:00 Layher Subsections: A TuTh 11:00-12:00 B TuTh 12:00-1:00 C TBA
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  • GER 302D ADVANCED GERMAN: CORE COURSE V Continuation of Ger 301D. Refinement and expansion of German communication skills (speaking, listening, writing, reading), deepening understanding of German grammatical structures, acquisition of more sophisticated and varied vocabulary, introduction to stylistics through discussion and analysis of literary and non-literary texts. In addition to the regular class meetings, students should sign up for a twice-weekly subsection. Prerequisite, Ger 301D, the equivalent, or placement by examination. Students completing this course successfully may enter the 400 level. Credit 4 units. 1 MWF 12:00-1:00 McGlothlin Subsections: A TuTh 12:00-1:00 B TBA
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  • GER 313 CONVERSATIONAL GERMAN Practice in speaking and vocabulary development in cultural contexts. Prerequisite, Ger 210D, the equivalent, or placement by examination. May be repeated for credit. Credit 1 unit. 1 T/TH 7:00-8:00 pm Staff
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  • GER 314A (L93 313A Home) THE LEGENDY OF KING ARTHUR IN THE MIDDLE AGES This course will examine the medieval tradition of King Arthur that arose in northern Europe from the "dark ages" to the invention of printing. The objective of this course is to achieve a thematic, historical, and structural insight into some of the best examples of medieval storytelling and understand why they continue to cast a spell over readers today. You may want to try your own hand at Arthurian storytelling after you have learned the building blocks. The course also lays a foundation for the study of pre-modern literature, the medieval and early modern world, and the national cultures of France, Germany, and Britain. 1 T/TH 10:00-11:30 Westphal-Wihl
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  • GER 340C GERMAN LITERATURE AND THE MODERN ERA Introduction in English to German writers from 1750 to the present. Discussion will focus on questions like the role of outsiders in society, the human psyche, technology, war, gender, the individual and mass culture, modern and postmodern sensibilities as they are posed in predominantly literary texts and in relation to the changing political and cultural faces of Germany over the past 250 years. Readings will include works in translation by some of the most influential figures of the German tradition, such as Goethe, Nietzsche, Freud, Kafka, Thomas Mann, Brecht, and Christa Wolf. Open to freshmen, non-majors, and majors. Required for admission to 400-level courses (except German 404 and 408D). Qualifies for major or minor credit when taken in conjunction with one-hour discussion section in German. The discussion section provides an introduction to critical German vocabulary and is open to students with prior knowledge of German (210D or equivalent, or placement by examination). Credit 3 or 4 units. Same as L79 EuSt 3400, L97 3402. 1 T/TH 1:00-2:30 Layher
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The following classes will be conducted in German unless otherwise indicated. Prerequisites for all courses conducted on the 400 level (except GER 404 and 408D):

1. Students must complete GER 301D and GER 302D or the equivalent, either by placement, examination, or permission of the instructor;

2. GER 340C is required for admission to all 400-level courses (except GER 404 and GER 408D)

NOTE: GER 404 (offered fall semester only) is recommended for students planning to participate in the Washington University Overseas Program in Tübingen, Germany. German majors are required upon their return to take at least one 400 level course for each semester spent in Tübingen, other than GER 497/498.

  • GER 408 GERMAN AS A LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS Designed to foster advanced proficiency in This course introduces students to concepts and issues relevant to German business and economics and helps them to develop the language skills necessary to succeed in the German business world. Readings and discussions focus such topics as Germany's economic geography, the legal structure of German firms, the goals of the social market economy, product development and marketing in national and international contexts, and the German banking and financial sectors. Students are also introduced to specific German business practices, including forms of communication, management styles, and general corporate culture. Students learn business vocabulary, writing skills for business correspondence, oral presentation techniques, and reading and comprehension strategies for German newspapers and news reports. All discussions, readings, and assignments are in German. 1 T/TH 10:00-11:30 Erlin
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  • GER 4102 (L79 4102; L97 4102 Idents) GERMAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE 1830-1914: BUDDENBROOKS: DECADENCE AND DECLINE AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY In 1929, the Nobel Prize Committee granted Thomas Mann the award in Literature in special recognition of his novel Buddenbrooks as a 'masterpiece', the first and as yet unsurpassed German realistic novel in the grand style which takes its undisputed and equal place in the European canon. Mann himself would go on to be recognized as one of the most important figures in German letters of the twentieth century. Published in 1901, Buddenbrooks is known for its subtle ironic portrayal of bourgeois society in an age of social and political upheaval. This seminar focuses on Mann's first novel and considers it in the context of key turn-of-the-century discourses, among them: the response of the psycheand will to modern life, the relationship of the artist to commerce, 'healthy art' versus decadence, and the perceived decline of European civilization. In addition to the full novel, we will read brief supplementary texts by writers such as Freud, Nietzsche, and Weber, in order to gain a broader understanding of the novel's turbulent historical moment. 1 MW 2:30-4:00 Kapczynski
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  • GER 4105 (L79 4105; L97 4105 IDENTS) TOPICS IN GERMAN STUDIES: ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN: MUSIC AND GERMAN LITERATURE FROM ROMANTICISM TO THE PRESENT Music has often been understood as "the most German of all arts," a cultural expression able to access the deepest layers of the individual's soul as much as to shape collective belonging. This course traces the intense relationship between German literature and music from the early nineteenth century to the post-unification period. Whereas nineteenth-century authors such as E.T.A. Hoffmann, Grillparzer, Kleist, and Schopenhauer often associated music with aesthetic genius, introversion, death, and redemption; and whereas the works of later writers such as Friedrich Nietzsche or Thomas Mann turned post-Romantic musical forms into sources of modernist experimentation; in very recent years pop-authors such as Thomas Meinecke and Benjamin Stuckrad-Barre reference different aspects of contemporary music culture-e.g., Techno, Rap, and the figure of the DJ-to infuse German literature with new sensibilities and to transcend traditional boundaries between high culture and the popular. Discussing a wide range of novels, short stories, plays, essayistic texts, philosophical treatises, operas, and musical films from the last two hundred years, this course is designed to explore the productive interaction between the literary and the musical, not only to understand how music has shaped and continues to shape cultural identities in Germany, but also to explore how literary expressions can borrow from highly diverse musical idioms in order to complicate their formal registers. All readings and discussions in German. 1 M/W 11:30 - 1:00 Koepnick
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  • GER 497 INDEPENDENT WORK FOR SENIOR HONORS Students investigate a topic chosen in conjunction with their advisor on which they will research an Honors thesis. Emphasis on independent study and writing. Open to students with previous course work in German at the 400 level, an overall 3.0 GPA and at least a B+ average in advanced work in German. Prerequisite, senior standing and permission of the undergraduate advisor. Credit 3 units.
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  • GER 498 INDEPENDENT WORK FOR SENIOR HONORS Continuation of GER 497. Completion of the thesis. The quality of the thesis will determine whether the student will receive credit only or Honors in German for this work. Prerequisite, GER 497. Credit 3 units.
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  • L93 HUM 205C Through a wide sampling of Western literary works, the course explores themes and tones characteristic of the rise of modern consciousness from the Renaissance forward: we trace debates on aesthetics, the transformation of autobiography, writers´ persistent distrust of books, and their relentless assaults on perversions of cultural idealism. Books by such authors as Cervantes, Diderot, Rousseau, Goethe, Balzac, Dostoevsky, Twain, Freud, Kafka, and Beckett. Preference given to Text and Tradition and IPH students. Erlin
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  • L97 IAS 422 Nation states and their cultures have been changed by globalization. Within this process, continentalisation has played an important role. The European Union is only half a century old, but continental unity has been discussed and demanded by European writers and thinkers for hundreds of years. We will read essays on Europe (its identity, its cultural diversity and its cultural roots, contemporary problems, and future goals) by writers like Coleridge, Madame de Staël, Novalis, Chateaubriand, Heine, Nerval, Hugo, Thomas Mann, Ernst Jünger, T.S. Eliot, Klaus Mann, de Madariaga, Kundera, Enzensberger, Frischmuth, and Drakulic; we will discuss studies re-inventing Europe by philosophers like the Abbé de Saint-Pierre, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Ortega y Gasset; we will deal with the mythological figure of Europa and her resurrections in the world of art; we will study the Nazarene painters of the early 19th century in Rome and will discuss portraits of Bonaparte by French painters of the time. CompLit students will meet with the instructor for an additional two hours per month. Tu 4:00 - 6:30 Lützeler
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Germanic Languages & Literatures

314.935.5106; Fax: 314.935.7255; german@artsci.wustl.edu

One Brookings Drive, CB 1104, St. Louis, MO 63130