Upper-level courses focus on literature, history, film, and other aspects of German culture. All of the following courses are taught in German.
German 308: German Cultural History I. Critical investigation of political, social and aesthetic topics in the context of German cultural history from 1871 through German unification in 1990. Prerequisite: German 305 or permission of the instructor. Every fall.
German 309: German Cultural History II. Prerequisite: German 305 or permission of the instructor. Every spring.
The prerequisite for the following courses is German 308 or 309 (may be taken concurrently), study abroad, or permission of the instructor.
German 360: Proseminar in German Studies. Topics vary and may be thematic (“Sex and the German City”), geographical (“Berlin: Imperial City, Metropolis, and Divided City”), and/or historical (“German Jewry”). Every fall.
German 363: Romanticism. Study of the Romantic Movement in literature and philosophy from Herder, Goethe, and Schiller to Tieck and Hoffmann. Fall of even-numbered years.
German 364: Politics, Class, Culture. This course explores depictions and concepts of “class” in literature, film, and political discourse since the French Revolution. Discussion topics include the invention of the bourgeois family; the Lumpenproletariat (prostitutes, rogues, vagabonds) in literature and art; revolutionary culture and politics in the inter-war period; depictions of class in contemporary mass culture. How does “class consciousness” emerge in German history? Is class an economic necessity or a consequence of culture and politics? Why is culture still fascinated by class? Taught in German. Offered fall term of odd-numbered years. Prerequisite: GERM 308, 309, or the equivalent.
German 365: Modernism and the Avant-Garde. Study of literature and film in the early 20th century. Spring of even-numbered years.
German 366: Post-War Germany. Study of cultural, political, and literary developments from the end of National Socialism through the fall of the Berlin wall and beyond. Spring of odd-numbered years.
German 488: Senior Seminar. A capstone experience in German Studies that focuses on various interdisciplinary areas of investigation. Recent topics have included: “Stardom and Charisma” or “Contemporary Immigrant Culture in Germany.” May be taken during the Junior year. Offered once an academic year in either spring or fall.