German at Eastman

This two-semester sequence offers an introduction to German language acquisition for students without prior knowledge in the language with emphasis on all four skills: reading, speaking, writing and listening comprehension. Students with prior study of German must contact the instructor for a placement test.

This two-semester sequence continues the study of the German language on a more complex level. Elementary grammatical structures will be briefly reviewed but the goal of this course is to move students from drills and textbook study to free expression in German. Students finish the course by reading a drama or novel in German.

This course focuses on skills for pronouncing German with the ultimate goal of expressive, communicative singing.

This course is designed to improve language skills of students with at least four semesters of college German. By focusing on the history and culture of Germany’s capital Berlin, students will read a variety of sources about Berlin’s architecture, history, literature, and the arts. Students will learn to analyze literary and non-literary sources, as well as films in German and are required to compose significant papers in German.

In this course students will read original but annotated literary texts by seminal German writers from the Romantic to Modernist periods. Readings include prose, poetry, drama, fairy tales, and essays. The course serves as an introduction to German literature while also focusing on language skills, vocabulary, and overall fluency. Students should have completed four semesters of college German. Course language is German.

This class introduces students to major works of German literature from the period between 1780 and 1830. In addition to reading poetry by Goethe, Schiller, Brentano, Eichendorff, Tieck, Hölderlin, Heine, Novalis, and Mörike, we will study prose and dramatic works by Kleist, Lessing, Schiller, Goethe, and Hoffmann as well as philosophical writings by Schlegel, and Kant. Students should have completed four semesters of college German. Course language is German.

Who or what is “German”? Does language define identity? Can one have more than one “mother-tongue” and how does this relate to the notion of “fatherland”? Contemporary writers of Turkish German, Black German, Japanese German, or Jewish German backgrounds, among others, have exposed the racist underpinnings of a nationalist monolingual identity concept. In playful, multilingual texts, these writers demonstrate the lived reality and creative potential of multilingualism. Students should possess at least four semesters of German for the German language track of this course. Non-German speakers may take this course in the English language track.

On November 9, 1989 the Berlin wall was opened after separating the city for 28 years. One month earlier, the head of East Germany had declared “This wall will stand another 100 years!”In this course, we will study the events leading up to this momentous day through historical, literary, musical, and filmic documents. We will examine what political, economic, and historical factors contributed to the end of German division. We will also learn about the role of artists in this process. Finally, we will ask, which demands of the activists of 1989 have led to sustained changes since then. This course will be taught two sections, one in English and one in German. Students wishing to take the German track should possess at least four semesters of German. No prerequisites for students taking the English track.

This course provides an overview of cinematic production in Germany from the 1920s to the present. We will study the golden age of expressionist cinema during the Weimar inter-war years, Nazi cinema, East and West German films as well as examples of post-unification cinema. We will study the films as artifacts as well as historical sources that reflect the rapid political and social changes of German society during the 20th century. Films are in German with English subtitles, all readings and discussion will be in English. No previous knowledge of German or German culture necessary. German speaking students may do assignments in German.

This course offers an overview of German film after WWII, i.e. the formation of two German national cinemas. In the East, the state run studio DEFA dominated all film production while the West established a complex system of state and privately sponsored film funding. Students will compare East and West German film and learn about their respective historical and cultural context. Students will also study how German unification was reflected in East and West German films, and how unified Germany reorganized its film production system. German speakers may complete assignments in German.

This course is an advanced German course that is designed to increase students’ ability to speak and write in German, as well as improve reading and listening comprehension. The course will offer an overview of German film history – or it may focus on a particular period and/ or genre. Course language is German.

This course will introduce students to the works of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956). As an influential playwright, prolific poet, philosopher and political thinker, Brecht has had a lasting impact on generations of writers and artists. His work was directly affected by and responded to the political events of his time: World Wars I & II, exile, and the building of socialist East Germany. We will consider his ideas on socialism, art and politics, art and pedagogy, high and low culture among others. The course will conclude with a few examples of more recent artists, who applied Brechtian concepts in their own works. This course is taught in English . German speakers may complete assignments in German.

Born in Prague of German-Jewish descent, Franz Kafka was one of the most daring and experimental storytellers of the modern period. Many regard him as the first existentialist writer. In this course we will read one of his novels—The Trial—as well as shorter works such as his parables, short stories, and excerpts from his letters and diaries. Although all of his novels remained unfinished and unpublished at the time of his death, he became one of the most influential figures in all of twentieth-century literature. His work shaped later authors such as Samuel Beckett, Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, Thomas Bernhard, and Paul Auster, whose works we will read this semester. All readings and discussions will be in English, although students who wish to read some or all of the works in German will be encouraged to do so.

Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated under different course titles for credit.