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Division of Humanities
Karin Ciholas (chair),
Ken Keffer, Ian Wilson; students: Brenna Bulach, Shannon Mockler, Alex
Plamp
The major program in German studies is designed to meet the needs of four types of students: those who intend to continue the study of German in graduate school and want to enter the teaching profession; those who want to be proficient in a second language for work in international relations or commerce; those who major in another field and use language study to support their research in that field; and those for whom German serves as the basis of a broad liberal education, in much the same way a major in English serves this purpose for many students.
The program offers an integrated curriculum of German culture from the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Images of daily life and German civilization as portrayed in films, music, art, literature, and drama focus language acquisition and create the basis for seven courses on major themes and questions about German culture. Students will encounter the towering figures of Luther, Goethe, Nietzsche, or Mozart in many of the courses, but all courses will promote an understanding of literary values, critical analysis, and appreciation of cultural traditions.
A unique feature of the program is the immersion stay of a minimum of six weeks in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland required of all majors. A true beginner can become sufficiently proficient in the language to major in German and to take up residence in one of these countries where some recent majors are currently employed or studying.
While the major in German studies prepares students for the study of language and literature in graduate school and the teaching profession, it is also intended for those with cultural, social, political, or economic interests. German serves as a solid basis for a broad liberal education and proficiency in the language can provide research opportunities in many scientific fields and further careers in government, international relations, music, drama, the fine arts, or commerce.
Recommended Freshman-Sophomore Preparation
Students considering a major in German studies are encouraged to plan their academic program to include as wide a distribution of courses as possible regardless of their professional or vocational objectives. Prospective majors should consider taking courses in literature, history, philosophy, and the fine arts.
Requirements for the Major
GER 110, 120, 210, 220, or equivalent;l
Six German courses numbered 300 or higher and GER 500;
Certification of study abroad.
Note: An immersion stay of a minimum of six weeks in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland is required for the German studies major. This stay is to be completed by the time of graduation (through participation in Centre’s program in Strasbourg, by a family stay in Frankfurt, Göttingen, or elsewhere.) The German faculty assists students in finding an appropriate program. Equivalent prior experience may be counted at the discretion of the German Studies Program Committee.
Requirements for the Minor
GER 110, 120, 210, 220, or equivalent;
Three additional German courses numbered 300 or higher.
German Studies Courses
GER 110, 120 German Culture
and Language (four credit hours each)
A study of the characteristic features of German idiom and usage through
texts chronicling the development of German culture from the age of Mozart
to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Prerequisite: 110 for 120 or placement.
GER 190 German Masterworks in Translation
An introductory study of German literature in translation. The focus
of the course varies from year to year. Possible topics include the German
"Novelle"; plays by Grillparzer, Schiller, Goethe; or novels
by Fontane, Mann, Grass and Wolf. (Also listed as LIT 190.)
GER 210 Images of Daily Life and Geography
German language and culture through the medium or current films, television,
slides, and paintings. Readings in "Landeskunde," the geography
and contemporary political and social institutions of the Federal Republic,
Austria, and Switzerland. Emphasis on speaking, reading, and writing in
German. Prerequisite: GER 120 or placement.
GER 220 Images of History and Civilization
German language and culture through the medium of current films, television,
slides, and paintings. Readings in "Kulturgeschichte," the historical
and cultural development of Germanic lands since the time of the Holy
Roman Empire of the German Nation. Emphasis on speaking, reading, and
writing in German. Prerequisite: GER 120 or placement.
Note: GER 210 or 220 or placement is prerequisite for all German
courses numbered 300 or higher.
GER 310 Heresy and Convention: Land of Luther
An examination of the blend of heretical and conventional thought
during the first flowering of German culture from the Black Plague to
the Thirty Years War. Readings from the Protestant German tradition include
Martin Luther, Sebastian Brant, Grimmelshausen, Gryphius, and others.
GER 320 Nature, Volk, and Lore
A study of German identity drawn from the rich storehouse of sagas,
legends, fairy tales, and other folk sources welding historical events
with interpretations of the mysterious natural world. Selections from
the Nibelungenlied, Herder, the Brothers Grimm, Eichendorff, Heine, Wagner,
and others are included.
GER 330 Faustian Ways: the Encyclopedia of Experience
An exploration of the simultaneous maturing of Enlightenment, Classical,
and Romantic thought in the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the
Germanic drive toward the integration of all knowledge. Readings from
works that set the stage (Lessing); from works by Goethe’s illustrious
friend Schiller; and from more recent works in the Faustian tradition.
GER 340 Vaterland und Muttersprache
An exploration of the cultural and political competition between the
public realm of fatherland and the private sphere of family and of the
evolving process of breaking down gender barriers in Germanic culture.
Readings include plays, novels, diaries, letters, and polemical writings
by Gottfried Lessing, Sophie von LaRoche, Friedrich Schiller, Theodor
Fontane, Christa Wolf, and Christine Bruckner.
GER 350 German Cultural Geography
An examination of the unique effects of geography on Germanic arts
and letters from the early Roman walls criss-crossing the landscape; to
terrifying border invasions; to the Berlin Wall, the most recent Kafkaesque
monument to political division. Readings include Gottfried von Strassburg,
Heinrich Kleist, Franz Kafka, Günther Grass, Christa Wolf, and others.
GER 360 Advanced German Grammar
A systematic study of German grammar, vocabulary, and style with attention
to linguistic developments from the time of the Reformation to the present.
GER 500 Senior Colloquium
(one credit hour)
A colloquium based on the German studies reading list, a group of
10 important works and anthologies deemed essential to the major. (Offered
on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis only.)
Special Topics Offered 2002-2003:
LIT 250 World War II and
German Literature
A study of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, the coming to terms with the
past, in the writings of Ernst Jünger, Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht,
Christa Wolf, Arnim Müller, Günter Grass and other writers representing
differing political spectra. Readings in English. Additional, shorter
readings in German by Anne Frank, Wolfgang Borchert, Heinrich Böll,
Rolf Hochhuth and others. Prerequisite: GER 220.