Fall 2012

Lower Division Courses

German 1. Elementary German (5 units)

Konrad Mathesius (sec. 1, M-F 08:00 - 08:50, 105 Olson) CRN 25848
Cameron Mortimer (sec. 2, M-F 0900 - 0950, 101 Wellman) CRN 25849
Lauren Nossett (sec. 3, M-F 10:00 - 10:50, 101 Wellman) CRN 25850

Course Format: Discussion - 5 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

Introduction to German grammar and development of all language skills in a cultral context with special emphasis on communication.

Texts:

  • Thomas A. Lovik, Vorsprung, 2nd edition (Textbook)
  • Thomas A. Lovik, Student Activities Manual - Used with Vorsprung (Workbook)

German 2. Elementary German (5 units)

Karina Defiel (sec. 1, M-F 09:00 - 09:50, 105 Olson) CRN 25851

This is the continuation of German 1 in areas of grammar and the basic language skills.

Prerequisite: German 1.

Course Format: Discussion - 5 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

Texts:

  • Thomas A. Lovik, Vorsprung, 2nd edition (Textbook)
  • Thomas A. Lovik, Student Activities Manual - Used with Vorsprung (Workbook)

German 20. Intermediate German (4 units)

Jesse Goplan (MWF 09:00 - 09:50, 293 Kerr) CRN 25852

Review of grammatical principles by means of written exercises, expanding of vocabulary through readings of modern texts.

Prerequisite: German 3.  May be taken concurrently with German 6.

Course Format:  Lecture/discussion - 3 hours.

Texts: Denk Mal! - W/Supersite Access

GE Credits:  ArtHum, World Cultures.

German 21. Intermediate German (4 units)

Brandon Winter (MWF 11:00 - 11:50, 80 Soc. Sci.) CRN 25854

Review of grammatical principles by means of written exercises, expanding of vocabulary through readings of modern texts.

Prerequisite: German 20

Course Format:  Lecture/discussion - 3 hours.

Texts: Denk Mal! - W/Supersite Access

GE Credits: ArtHum, World Cultures.

 

Upper Division Courses

German 101A. Survey of German Literature, 800-1800 (4 Units)

Kirsten Harjes  (MWF 12:10 - 1:00, 90 Soc. Sci.) CRN 25877

The course will cover German literature from the Middle Ages to the Classicism with an overview of major movements and authors.

Prerequisite: German 22.

Text:

  • Clay, 1000 Jahre Deutsche Literatur

G.E. credit: ArtHum, World Cultures, and Writing Experience.

German 123. Literature of the Classical Age (4 Units)

Dieter Borchmeyer (W 4:10 - 7:00, 70 Soc. Sci)  CRN 43106

A critial assessment of principal works of Goethe and Schiller within the historical and philosophical context of their times.

Prerequisite: German 22.

Text:

  • Goethe, Iphigenie auf Tauris
  • Goethe, Tasso
  • Schiller, Maria Stuart
  • Schiller, Wilhelm Tell

GE Credit:  ArtHum, World cultures, Writing.

German 144. Marx, Nietzache, Freud (4 Units)

Kirsten Harjes, Lecturer, (TR 10:30 - 11:50, 205 Olson) CRN 43680.

Study of major texts of Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, selected with an eye to their impact on 20th-century economics, ethics, and attitudes toward eras.  Particular focus on conceptions of the self and the indiviual's relation to society.

Prerequisite: None.

Text:

  •  Nietzsche, Basic Writings of Nietzsche
  • Gay, Freud Reader
  • Tucker, Marx-Engles Reader

Graduate Courses

German 244. Gender and Comedy (4 Units)

Gail Finney, Professor (W 2:10-05:00, 412B Sproul) CRN 43104

 Note: This is a two-track seminar, open to students with and without a command of German.
Readings are available in both German and English; class discussions will be held in English.

 Aims:

 The seminar uses feminist, psychoanalytic, and other work on comedy by British, American, French, and German thinkers to study German comedy from the eighteenth century to the present with a focus on gender dynamics. We will consider questions such as the following:

 1.      The significance of gender patterns for comic structure, language, and theme

 2.      The relationship between comedy and aesthetic, sexual, and political emancipation

 3.      The phenomenon of gender-typed humor

 4.      The transformation of the comic genre by contemporary women writers

  Plays studied:

 G.E. Lessing, Minna von Barnhelm, 1767

 Heinrich von Kleist, Der zerbrochene Krug [The Broken Jug], 1808

 Georg Büchner, Leonce und Lena, 1842

 Gerhart Hauptmann, Der Biberpelz [The Beaver Coat], 1893

 Arthur Schnitzler, Anatol, 1893

 Carl Sternheim, Die Hose [The Underpants], 1911

 Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Der Schwierige [The Difficult Man], 1921

 Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Der Besuch der alten Dame [The Visit], 1955

 Elfriede Jelinek, Was geschah, nachdem Nora ihren Mann verlassen hatte oder Stützen der  Gesellschaften [What Happened after Nora Left Her Husband, or Pillars of Society], 1979

  Criticism and Theory:

  These plays will be illuminated through critical and theoretical writings by Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, George Meredith, Jacques Lacan, Hélène Cixous, Judith Butler, Susan Carlson, Regina Barreca, Jerry Flieger, Bernhard Greiner, Mark Roche, Sue-Ellen Case, and others.

 

German 297. Richard Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen. Text und Inszenierung (4 Units)

Dieter Borchmeyer  (M 04:10-07:00, 412B Sproul) CRN 43105

Richard Wagners "Ring des Nibelungen" ist das aufwendigste Werk der ganzen Operngeschichte. Die "Ring"- Tetralogie bildet nicht nur den Gipfel des Musiktheaters im 19. Jahrhundert, sondern ist auch ein einzigartiges Sprach- und Literaturexperiment. Als solches soll es in dem Kurs vorgestellt und interpretiert werden. Dabei wird neben dem Originaltext auch die deutsch-englische Parallelausgabe von Andrew Porter berücksichtigt. Tonaufnahmen und die Verfilmung der "Ring"- Inszenierung von Patrice Chéreau werden ständig die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Text und seiner Musik begleiten.

 Text:

  •  Wagner/Voss:  Der Ring des Nibelungen

 

Other Courses Taught by German Faculty

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