FALL 2009
Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies
GERMAN - Upper Division Undergraduate Courses
All courses are taught in German unless stated otherwise
**Course offerings are subject to change**
GRMN 3010. Language: Culture and Society I ~ 3 hours
MWF 11:15-12:05 Dr. Inge DiBella
GRMN 3010:
This introductory cultural studies course acquaints you with central social, cultural and political issues of the last century pertinent to the development of modern Germany . We will use texts and films as a basis for exploring these foci of investigation:
1) Turn of the century, World War I and Weimar Republic (imperialism, urbanization, industrialization)
2) Post-War West Germany ( / Stunde Null / , economic miracle
3) East Germany (wall, Berlin , / Stasi / )
Some grammar review is integrated into this course. This class hones all your language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) while simultaneously teaching cultural and historical content. It is a gateway course structured to prepare you for the transition to higher-level German classes.
(Prereq: GRMN 2002)
GRMN 3020. Language: Culture and Society II ~ 3 hours
MWF 11:15-12:05 Dr. Katerina Wicka
Development of language skills, emphasizing compositions, oral reports, discussions. Organized around literature, film, websites, and nonfiction on topics pertaining to contemporary Germany . Topics include political movements and parties; issues of postunification, the GDR and the Nazi past; multiculturalism; environmentalism; the press and other media; and Germany in a united Europe .
(Prereq: GRMN 3010 or 3070)
GRMN 3110. Germania ~ 3 hours
MWF 12:20-1:10 Dr. Alex Sager
Explores the diverse histories and cultures of pre-national Germany from the Germanic barbarians through the Holy Roman Empire to the Thirty Years' War (1618-48). Emphasis on history, archaeology, art, and architecture, as well as their historical, religious, and political context.
Course will cover:
- Germanic mythology, such as it is preserved in early Roman and later Germanic sources
- The Roman-Germanic encounter between 100 bce and the end of the western Roman Empire
- The historical/literary traditions of the great Germanic tribes of late antiquity: the Goths, Lombards, Franks, and Saxons
- Germanic heroic ethos and epic
- The relationship between the Germanic peoples and their neighbors to the east and west, with special emphasis on the eastern steppe nomads, from the Scythians to the Magyars
- The evolution of the unifying concept deutsch from the diverse dialects of the Germanic tribes (dialects surviving to this day)
- The development of the idea and ideology of the German Empire ( Reich ) from its sources in the Roman world to its "translation" through a series of German imperial dynasties in the Middle Ages and beyond.
- 19th- and 20th-century uses and abuses of the Germanic legacy
Taught in German.
(Prereq: GRMN 3010 or 3070)
GRMN 3220. The Age of Reformation ~ 3hours
TR 11:00-12:15 Dr. Max Reinhart
Multi-media investigation of the period of massive intellectual and religious transition between 1350 and 1600 in the German-speaking lands. Emphasis on the Catholic conciliar movement; the Protestant Reformation and Sectarianism; and the rise and spread of Northern Humanism. Includes close-readings of German texts.
The course will focus on the parallel lives and writings of Martin Luther and Erasmus of Rotterdam, the leading figures of the Reformation and Humanism. While they shared the aspiration of religious and educational reform, their attitudes and strategies for achieving it created a profound enmity between the two camps (Evangelicals and Humanists) that has endured to the present day. In addition to rehearsing the stations of their lives, the course will examine the oppositional positions they took in their writings on crucial subjects such as the Church, education, free will, and human nature. Taught in German.
(Prereq: GRMN 3010 or 3070)
GRMN 4001/6001. Advanced German Conversation and Composition ~ 3 hours
MWF 1:25-2:15 Dr. Inge DiBella
This course will be refining your command of spoken and written German. The focus will be on developing a more sophisticated range of vocabulary and expressions, and obtaining more ease in dealing with the finer points of German grammar. A significant part of class time is spent on developing speaking skills.
(Prereq: GRMN 3020 or 3080)
GRMN 4510. Special Topics: The Theory and Practice of Theater ~ 3 hours
TR 9:30 - 10:45 Dr. Brechtje Beuker
This course will discuss German theater from Schiller to Brecht and Jelinek. The student will learn about the cultural and historical significance of different dramaturgical models, ranging from the classical Aristotelian drama to the happenings of the 1960s and the postmodern deconstruction of traditional forms. The student
will become familiar with various analytic approaches towards theater in order to discuss it not only as a text, but also as a social and material practice. Because theater is essentially a performative medium and the staging process provides important insights in the central themes of a play, the class will work on the production of a play. All students will be involved as actors and/or crew members and will demonstrate their work at the end of the semester. Please be advised that rehearsals outside of class time will be necessary.
Taught in German
( Prerequisite GRMN 3010)
GRMN 4640/6640. Special Topics: German Morphology and Phonology ~ 3 hours
MWF 2:30-3:20 Dr. Renate Born
Not open to students with credit in GRMN (LING) 6810. Theoretical and applied German phonology and word structure.
Taught in English
(This course was previously offered as a Special Topics, it has now been designated a new course number).
FALL 2009
Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies
RUSSIAN - Upper Division Undergraduate Courses
All courses are taught in Russian unless stated otherwise
**Course offerings may be subject to change**
RUSS 3001. Russian Conversation and Composition I ~ 3 hours
MWF 11:15-12:05 Staff
Development of students' abilities to express themselves accurately in spoken and written Russian and to comprehend normal Russian speech.
(Prereq: RUSS 2002)
RUSS 4001. Advanced Russian Conversation and Composition ~ 3 hours
MWF 12:20-1:10 Staff
Advanced language study, combining instruction in grammar, composition, and stylistics with practice in spoken Russian.
(Prereq: RUSS 3002)
RUSS 4090. Russia through the Eyes of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky ~ 3 hours
MWF 2:30-3:20 Dr. Charles Byrd
The cultural context, lives, and works of nineteenth-century Russia 's greatest novelists. Close reading of two panoramic masterpieces, "War and Peace" and "The Idiot," interspersed with selected autobiographical writings and short stories. All readings and discussion in English. Film adaptations with English subtitles.
RUSS 4260. Introduction to 19th-century Russian Literature ~ 3 hours
TR 12:30-1:45 Dr. Elena Krasnostchekova
This course provides an introduction to the major writers of the 19th century and their works, with close reading and analysis of selected texts (short stories and poetry). Authors considered include Karamzin, Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Chekhov. All works are read in the original versions, unadapted and unabridged.
(Prereq: RUSS 3001)
RUSS 4510. Special Topics: Contemporary Russian Prose ~ 3 hours
TR 2:00-3:15 Dr. Elena Krasnostchekova
Works by contemporary Russian authors. Taught in Russian.
(Prereq: RUSS 3001) |
