Graduate Courses

This course is a review of grammar, idioms, and vocabulary, providing practice in translating moderately difficult technical and non-technical German texts into correct English. Satisfies language requirement for graduate students. No prior German needed.  Does not apply to the major or minor in…

This course revolves around three major areas of investigation pertaining to German culture and society:

1) Does freedom of choice really exist?

Based on the movie Das Leben der Anderen we will discuss how personal relationships are influenced and possibly determined by societal…

Representative narrative texts from the classical period of Middle High German literature (c. 1150-1250). Focus on Arthurian romance as both the paradigmatic genre of medieval aristocratic self-representation and the prototype of the modern European novel.

At the center of this course are the two main courtly epics from the classical period of medieval German literature,
Wolfram von Eschenbach’s P arzival , an influential version of the Holy Grail legend, and Gottfried von Straßburg’s
Tristan und Isolde , one of the iconic stories of…

This course provides a comparative overview of the structural features of the Old Germanic Languages, including: Gothic, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Old English, Old High German, Old Low Franconian, and Old Frisian. The focus will be on both the linguistic differences resultant from language change;…

This course provides a comparative overview of the structural features of the Old Germanic Languages, including: Gothic, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Old English, Old High German, Old Low Franconian, and Old Frisian. The focus will be on both the linguistic differences resultant from language change;…

Significant works, authors, movements, genres, or topics in 18th-century literature and culture examined within their specific historical context.

Interpretation and analysis of works from the late 18th through early 19th centuries considered in their social, cultural, and historical contexts. Studies of individual authors, specific genres, significant topics, or literary constellations.

Identification and examination of the salient structural similarities and differences between German and English.

Significant works, authors, movements, genres, or topics in 19th-century literature and culture examined within their specific historical contexts.

What cultural, social, and political conditions gave rise to the fin-de-siecle spirit in the 19th and 20th centuries? Placing the phenomenon in a comparative context, this seminar explores the period's vibrant literature, its arts (Jugendstil), and the rise of crucial intellectual movements (…

Linguistic and sociolinguistic structure of modern German with relevant linguistic terminology. Emphasis on phonology, morphology, and syntax. Taught in English.

Broad overview of the development of Gothic horror literature in Germany from the 18th to the 20th century in its historical and cultural contexts. Study of 18th- and early 19th-century aesthetic theory, which inspired German authors of horror literature. 

Significant works, authors, topics, genres, or movements in 20th- and 21st-century literature examined within their specific historical contexts.

Study of the origins of modern standard German from the Indo-European parent language through proto-Germanic, Old and Middle High German, and the early modern period.

Individual study, reading, or projects in Russian literature under the supervision of a project director.

Repeatable for a maximum of 9 hours of credit.

Individual study, reading, or projects in Russian and Slavic linguistics under the supervision of a project director.

Methods for teaching foreign language and development of language skills in German. For teaching assistants in German and graduate students in German and Language Education. Taught in English.

Professional development in language pedagogy with a focus on enhancing teaching through technology. Assessment of how technologies can enrich student learning and be effectively integrated into syllabi and curricula.

Individual study, reading, or project under the direction of a project director.

History of German cinema; investigation of particular directors, periods, and styles; relationship between German and other national cinemas. The course includes a required weekly film screening.

Morphology, phonology, and history of the Gothic language based on extant texts. Emphasis on the development of earlier stages of the language and on its later language forms. Taught in English.

Phonology and grammar of the language, with extensive readings in the prose, epic and lyric poetry of the Middle High German era.

Intensive investigation of a subject or topic in German linguistics. Taught in English.

Intensive investigation of synchronic and diachronic variation in German. Taught in English.

Intensive investigation of a particular genre, theme, topic, or author.

Intensive investigation of a particular theme or topic.