Winter 2014

Please click here to see the Winter Schedule as a PDF.
 

German 2. Elementary German (5 Units)

Section      Instructor    Day/Time Room CRN
01 Konrad Mathesius    M-F 8:00-8:50A           101 Wellman      66243
02 Katja Herges M-F 9:00-9:50A 101 Wellman 66244
03 Amila Becirbegovic     M-F 10:00-10:50A   101 Wellman 66245

Course Description: This is a continuation of German 1 in areas of grammar and the basic language skills.

Prerequisite: German 1.

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

GE credit (Old): None.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and World Cultures.

Texts:

Option 1: 
- Textbook: Vorsprung 3rd edition (loose-leaf or bound) by Thomas Lovik, Douglas Guy and Monika Chavez (Heinle Cengage Learning, 2013)
- a Quia Access Code for all of the homework and lab assignments (course code provided by instructor)

Option 2:
- eBook version of Vorsprung 3rd edition (order ISBN10:1-133-60735-7 at http://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/isbn/9781133607359; it should cost about $117). If you are considering the eBook, you must be sure that you can bring your ipad/laptop to class every day.
- a Quia Access Code for all of the homework and lab assignments (course code provided by instructor).


German 3. Elementary German (5 Units)

Kirsten Harjes
M-F 9:00-9:50A, 207 Wellman
CRN 66246

Course Description: This is a continuation of German 2 in areas of grammar and the basic language skills and the last course in the elementary language sequence.

Prerequisite: German 2.

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

GE credit (Old): None.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and World Cultures.

Texts:

Option 1: "Bundle” textbook, which includes the required Instant Access Code for all of your homework and lab assignments, from the UCD bookstore: Vorsprung: A Communicative Introduction to German Language and Culture, 2nd Edition by Thomas Lovik, J. Douglas Guy and Monika Chavez (Boston: Houghton Mifflin). 

Option 2: Used textbook (make sure you get the 2nd edition), and, separately, a new Instant Access Code. The UCD bookstore sells these Access Codes separately for those who have obtained a used textbook. If they are out of Access Codes, have them order you one. If you want to order the Access Code directly from the publisher (a bit more expensive than the bookstore), order this from Cengage Learning (www.cengage.com): Quia Instant Access Code for Lovik/Guy/Chavez Vorsprung: A Communicative Introduction to German Language and Culture, 2nd Edition

Option 3: Buy the Instant Access Code from the bookstore or online, just like you would for option 2, and then, instead of getting the regular, hard-cover textbook, buy the eBook version of Vorsprung, 2nd Edition. If you are considering the eBook, you need to be sure that you will be able to bring your laptop/ipad/tablet, etc. to class every day.


German 10. Off With their Heads: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm to Walt Disney (4 Units)

Elisabeth Krimmer
TR 12:10-1:30P, 26 Wellman (New Room)
CRN 83405

Course Description: The course introduces students to the genre of fairy tale with a particular focus on the life and works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. All works will be situated in their respective cultural and political contexts. In addition, we will discuss different adaptations of these classic tales, for example, in U.S. popular culture, in particular Disney adaptations, but also fairy tales films produced in the former East Germany and adapted to a Cold War context, French adaptations, as well as Hollywood feature films such as Pretty Woman and Enchanted. Throughout we will pay particular attention to the construction of race, gender, sexuality, and power in these tales. Students will also get to know different theories of and approaches to folk tales and fairy tales, including historical and psychoanalytic analysis. The fairy tales to be discussed include Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Little Mermaid. NO KNOWLEDGE OF GERMAN REQUIRED.

Prerequisite: None.

Course Format: Lecture/Discussion - 3 hours; Term Paper.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities, Diversity and Writing Experience.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, Visual Literacy and Writing Experience.

Texts:

  • Ed. Maria Tatar, The Classic Fairy Tales (W.W. Norton & Company, 1999)
     

German 21. Intermediate German (4 units)

Cameron Mortimer
MWF 9:00-9:50A, 141 Olson
CRN 66247

Course Description: This is the continuation of German 20. This course is a 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; Extensive Writing.

GE credit (Old): None.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and World Cultures.

Texts: 

  • Tobias Barske, et al., Denk Mal! with SuperSite Access (Vista Higher Learning, 2012)
     

German 22. Intermediate German (4 units)

Lauren Nossett
MWF 11:00 - 11:50A, 141 Olson
CRN 66248

Course Description: This course will complete the Intermediate German sequence with an exploration of the German short story. We will review grammatical principles by means of written exercises and expand vocabulary through readings of nineteenth- and twentieth-century German literature, including texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811), and Franz Kafka (1883-1924).

Prerequisite: German 21.

Course Format: Lecture/Discussion - 3 hours; Extensive Writing.

GE credit (Old): None.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and World Cultures.

Text: 

  • A Course Reader
     

Upper Division Courses:
 

German 103. Writing Skills in German (4 Units)

Frieder Günther
MWF 10:00-10:50A, 141 Olson
CRN 83369

Course Description: This course focuses on different media and genres common in German academia as well as everyday life: emails, letters, résumés, job applications, lecture notes, abstracts, and term papers. This course helps students expand vocabulary, improve grammar skills, and raise their awareness of styles and cultural issues related to writing for various audiences and purposes. At the end of the quarter, participants should be able to write a variety of texts in German. This course is useful especially for students who plan to study or work in Germany in the near future.

Prerequisite: German 22.

Course Format: Lecture - 3 hours; Extensive Writing.

GE credit (Old): None.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Texts: 

  • Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim and Jennifer Redmann, Schreiben Lernen: A Writing Guide for Learners of German (Yale University Press, 2011)
     

German 109A. Business German (4 Units)

Kirsten Harjes
TR 10:30-11:50A, 115 Wellman
CRN 83370

Course Description: This course focuses on German business practices and current economic, political and cultural issues relevant to conducting business in the German-speaking world. Exercises in cultural comparison aim to promote intercultural awareness and to set the stage for exploring business practices and language use in their cultural context. Assignments include role-play, reports, compositions and translations.
Topics will include, but are not limited to:

  • Economic Geography: Germany, European Union
  • Germans at Work: Job Listings, Applications, Interviews; Management and Labor as Social Partners, Unions, Collective Bargaining, Strikes, Contracts; Buying and Selling; Business Structure; Business Correspondence; Banking and Finance; Marketing, Advertising
  • German Business Publications

Prerequisite: German 22 or consent of instructor.

Course Format: Lecture/Discussion - 3 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

GE credit (Old): None.
GE credit (New): None.

Texts: 

  • A Course Reader
     

German 127. Major Writers in German (4 units)

Sven-Erik Rose
MWF 1:10-2:00P, 293 Kerr
CRN 83402

Description of course: In this course we will explore one of the 20th century’s most brilliant and enigmatic prose writers, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), in the literary and historical context of early 20th-century Central Europe. Kafka wrote most of his works between 1912 and 1924 (though few were published during his lifetime), and we will be able to read most of them: his three novels, and his most important short fiction and parables. In order to gain perspective on Kafka’s originality, we will also read texts by two of Kafka's modernist contemporaries, Thomas Mann (1875-1955) and Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931).

Our exploration of Kafka will be organized by major themes, such as Kafka's treatment of family relations; the nature of art and the role of the artist; the cultural and socio-political situation of European Jews; and the individual in modern bureaucratic society. Throughout, we will pay special attention to Kafka’s fascinating treatment—and derangement—of place and space, of which examples include: a mysterious court that has no official addresss but can appear seemingly anywhere; an unapproachable castle; and an America in which the Brooklyn Bridge stretches from New York City to Boston. 

All readings will be in English, and no previous background in literary studies or German is expected.

Prerequisite: German 22.

Course Format: Lecture/Discussion - 3 hours; Extensive Writing.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Texts: 

  • Franz Kafka, The Castle, trans. Mark Harman (Schocken, 1998)
  • Franz Kafka, The Trial, trans. Breon Mitchell (Schocken, 1999)
  • Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis, trans. Stanley Corngold (Bantam Classics, 1972)
  • Franz Kafka, Kafka's Selected Stories, trans. Stanley Corngold (W.W. Norton & Company, 2006)
  • Franz Kafka, Amerika, trans. Mark Harman (Schocken, 2011)
     

Graduate Courses:
 

German 291. Foreign Language Learning in the Classroom (4 Units)

Kirsten Harjes
T 1:10-3:00P, 263 Olson
CRN 83403

Course Description: This seminar will be taught primarily as a hands-on workshop on foreign language instructional practices, on- and offline classroom materials, and undergraduate student motivation. Readings and lectures will provide an overview of the theoretical notions underlying current trends in classroom practices across commonly taught foreign languages, and introduce participants to current debates about foreign language instruction in globalized, multilingual environments increasingly reliant on English as a lingua franca.  (Same as French 291 and Spanish 291.)

Course Format: Seminar - 3 hours; Project.

Texts: 

  • Klaus Brandl, Communicative Language Teaching in Action: Putting Principles to Work (Prentice Hall, 2007)
     

German 297. German Prose Holocaust Literature (4 Units)

Sven-Erik Rose
W 2:10-5:00P, 412B Sproul
CRN 66328

Course Description: This seminar will explore (mostly) German (mostly) prose Holocaust literature, with an emphasis on works that remained peripheral to the dominant postwar West German discourse of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming to terms with the past). Our chief aim will be to appreciate the complex and of course very different ways the various works depict traumatic events and experiences through different genres and discursive modalities. By analyzing the fraught loci these works take up at the edges of German culture, we will also become better able to critique the logic and limits of prevalent paradigms of Holocaust memory and representation in Germany.

We will read works as generically diverse as diaries, memoirs, essays, journalism, short stories and novels by authors such as H. G. Adler, Edgar Hilsenrath, Hans Keilson, Yakov Lind, and Oskar Rosenfeld. We will also give substantial attention to works by more widely read authors such as Hannah Arendt and Ruth Klüger, and will examine shorter texts or excerpts by Jean Améry, Victor Klemperer, and Peter Weiss.

Knowledge of German is not required: All texts can be read in English translation, and class discussion will be conducted in English.

Course Format: Seminar - 3 hours; Term Paper.

Texts:

  • Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Penguin Classics, 2006)
  • David Roskies, The Literature of Destruction: Jewish Responses to Catastrophe (The Jewish Publication Society, 1989)

[Choose either German or English version of following texts]

  • Jakov Lind, The Soul of Wood, translated by Ralph Manheim (NYRB Classics, 2010)
  • Jakov Lind, Eine Seele aus Holz (Carl Hanser, 1984)
  • Ruth Klüger, Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered (The Feminist Press, 2003)
  • Ruth Klüger, Weiter Leben (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2005)
  • Hans Keilson, The Death of the Adversary: A Novel, translated by Ivo Jarosy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010)
  • Hans Keilson, Sämtliche Romane und Erzählungen (Fischer Taschenbuch Vlg., 2009)
  • H.G. Adler, The Journey: A Novel, translated by Peter Filkins (Modern Library, 2009)
  • H.G. Adler, Eine Reise (P. Zsolnay, 1999)
  • Edgar Hilsenrath, The Nazi and the Barber, translated by Andrew White (Barber Press, 2013)
  • Edgar Hilsenrath, Der Nazi und der Friseur (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co., 2006)
  • Oskar Rosenfeld, In the Beginning was the Ghetto: Notebooks from Lodz, translated by Brigitte Goldstein (Northwestern University Press, 2012)
  • Oskar Rosenfeld, Wozu noch Welt: Aufzeichnungen aus dem Getto Lodz (Neue Kritik, 1994)
     

German 390B. Teaching of German (2 Units) 

Carlee Arnett
Day/Time TBA, Room TBA
CRN @

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of instructor.

Course Format: Lecture - 2 hours.

(S/U grading only)


 

Other Courses Taught by German Faculty

Carlee Arnett, HUM 015, Language and Identity (CRN 83389)