GER 101 – Beginning German I

Pass/Fail Option

Introduction to German language and culture, developing basic communication skills for learners with no prior knowledge of German (not including GER courses offered in English for General Education).

GER 102 – Beginning German II

Pass/Fail Option

Introduction to German language and culture, extending basic communication skills (second semester).

GER 150A1 – Becoming Multilingual: Learning Two or More Languages

Tier 1 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This course explores the human ability to acquire and maintain two, three, or more languages over a lifetime (i.e., the ability to become multilingual). It examines the factors that contribute to successful language learning and maintenance and that counteract language forgetting and loss. It discusses ways (methods, approaches, and strategies) through which languages can be taught in child- and adulthood, in family and school settings, and demonstrates the importance of multilingual and multicultural skills in a variety of professions. At the end of the course, participants will have gained insights that will help them make informed decisions with respect to their own language learning and use while in college, in their professional careers, and in their (future) families.

GER 160A1 – From Animation to Zombies: The Ethics, (Bio)Politics and Aesthetics of Defining Life

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

This course invites you to probe the diverse definitions of one of the most central terms of human existence: "life." In order to understand and critically examine what constituted life in diverse contexts and times, and how these definitions have been shaping the way life is treated, we will engage with different schools of thought and a variety of materials and media that help us determine the ethical, (bio)political, and aesthetic consequences of defining life and its limits. The course is divided into three overarching topics: I) Life and Art: Problems of Representation and Animation; II) Life and the Politicized Body: Biopolitical Considerations; and III) Life and Ethics: The Value of Life and Its Future. Each of the topics consists of several two-week modules that are guided by central questions, such as Does life imitate art? or How do we regulate human life?

GER 201 – Intermediate German I

Introduction to German language and culture, refining communication skills (third semester).

GER 202 – Intermediate German II

Topic-based practice of communication skills in German (listening, reading, speaking, writing), systematic review of German grammar (fourth semester).

GER 233 – Fascism and Resistance: Propaganda and Ideology in German Literature and Culture

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

In this course, students will critically examine the language of fascist propaganda in literature, film, speeches, and pamphlets, with a particular focus on German history and culture. Drawing on examples of active resistance to the logic of fascist ideology, students will analyze performances of propaganda and interrogate the power of language from the past to the present. Taught in English.

GER 244 – Language and Power

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

Introduction to the analysis of language-in-use and its relationship to broader topics in the humanities, literary studies, cultural studies, and applied linguistics. Draws on intercultural texts and perspectives originating in the German-language context. Classes will focus on theories of language in social context, and on a particular literary text emanating from the German-speaking tradition. Taught in English.

GER 278 – Medieval Answers to Modern Problems

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Discussion of essential texts from the Middle Ages which offer fundamental answers, 1) such as gender, class conflicts, death, happiness, and God. 2) gender is treated as an analytical topic. Taught in English.

GER 302 – German Conversations

Honors Contract

Development of conversational competence including speaking and listening skills and pragmatic awareness, with a focus on topics related to contemporary German-speaking societies.

GER 303 – German through Contemporary Media

German 303 is an intermediate/advanced course designed to foster students' language abilities through contemporary cultural works, e.g. short stories, podcasts, music, and digital texts. The course emphasizes the development of literacy and intercultural awareness. This course is not open to native or near-native speakers of German. Taught in German.

GER 315 – German for Professional Purposes

German 315 is an intermediate/advanced course for students who want to develop linguistic and cultural proficiency in skills related to professional life in German-speaking countries. The emphasis is on practical, career-oriented competencies, e.g., interviews, job search and application materials, workplace communication and presentation, etc. Taught in German.

GER 371 – Contemporary German Culture

Tier 2 Humanities

This course introduces students topics that shape contemporary Germany. We will examine a broad range of topics addressed in films, literature, public debates and consider Germany's role in a global setting.

GER 379 – Religion in German Culture

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

Introduction to major cultural figures of German speaking countries who have seen, imagined, or experienced what role religion may or can play in human life. Taught in English.

GER 399 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

GER 496C – Senior Seminar: Culture

The development and exchange of scholarly information, usually in a small group setting. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of the results of such research through discussion, reports, and/or papers.

GER 498H – Honors Thesis

Honors Course

An honors thesis is required of all the students graduating with honors. Students ordinarily sign up for this course as a two-semester sequence. The first semester the student performs research under the supervision of a faculty member; the second semester the student writes an honors thesis.

GER 101 – Beginning German I

Pass/Fail Option

Introduction to German language and culture, developing basic communication skills for learners with no prior knowledge of German (not including GER courses offered in English for General Education).

GER 102 – Beginning German II

Pass/Fail Option

Introduction to German language and culture, extending basic communication skills (second semester).

GER 150A1 – Becoming Multilingual: Learning Two or More Languages

Tier 1 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This course explores the human ability to acquire and maintain two, three, or more languages over a lifetime (i.e., the ability to become multilingual). It examines the factors that contribute to successful language learning and maintenance and that counteract language forgetting and loss. It discusses ways (methods, approaches, and strategies) through which languages can be taught in child- and adulthood, in family and school settings, and demonstrates the importance of multilingual and multicultural skills in a variety of professions. At the end of the course, participants will have gained insights that will help them make informed decisions with respect to their own language learning and use while in college, in their professional careers, and in their (future) families.

GER 150B1 – Becoming Transcultural: Maximizing Study Abroad

Tier 1 Individuals & Societies

Through case studies on a wide variety of cross-cultural encounters, the complexities and potency of study abroad are analyzed using theories from applied linguistics, intercultural communication, and sociology. Students will learn how to apply these theories to their own international experiences/goals.

GER 201 – Intermediate German I

Pass/Fail Option

Introduction to German language and culture, refining communication skills (third semester).

GER 202 – Intermediate German II

Topic-based practice of communication skills in German (listening, reading, speaking, writing), systematic review of German grammar (fourth semester).

GER 273 – Wicked Tales and Strange Encounters

Tier 2 Humanities

An introduction to major 19th century artists, writers, and composers of German speaking countries. Focuses on their works and our responses to them. Taught in English.

GER 371 – Contemporary German Culture

Tier 2 Humanities

This course introduces students topics that shape contemporary Germany. We will examine a broad range of topics addressed in films, literature, public debates and consider Germany's role in a global setting.

GER 380 – The Middle Ages: The Enigmatic Precursor to Modern Europe

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

Writing Emphasis Course

Introduction to the culture and literature of the Middle Ages, seen through a large variety of poems, treatises, epics, art works, sculptures, and also music. The course will combine historical with literary and art-historical perspectives.

GER 399 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

GER 399H – Honors Independent Study

Honors Course

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

GER 101 – Beginning German I

Pass/Fail Option

Introduction to German language and culture, developing basic communication skills for learners with no prior knowledge of German (not including GER courses offered in English for General Education).

GER 102 – Beginning German II

Pass/Fail Option

Introduction to German language and culture, extending basic communication skills (second semester).

GER 150B1 – Becoming Transcultural: Maximizing Study Abroad

Tier 1 Individuals & Societies

Through case studies on a wide variety of cross-cultural encounters, the complexities and potency of study abroad are analyzed using theories from applied linguistics, intercultural communication, and sociology. Students will learn how to apply these theories to their own international experiences/goals.

GER 160C1 – German Speaking World

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

This course will introduce the history and culture of the German-speaking world from the Middle Ages to the present. There will be reading about the historical events and developments that have shaped this part of Europe, and some literary and other cultural texts that reflect those developments. No knowledge of German is required, and all readings, lectures, and discussions will be in English.

GER 160D1 – Eroticism and Love in the Middle Ages

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Courtly love was a discovery of the High Middle Ages and became the dominant theme in literature, the arts, philosophy, and even in religion. This course will examine the concept of love as discussed by medieval poets from the 11th through the 15th centuries and cover the wide spectrum of European history culture seen through the lenses of the theme of "love."

GER 160D2 – Gesundheit!: Health and Well-Being in German-Speaking Cultures

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Honors Contract

In this course, students critically examine representations of health and well-being (e.g., bodies, (dis-)ability and care) in literature, film, drawings, photography, and other popular media with a particular focus on German language choices, history, and culture. Whether drawing on examples of bodies as sites of pain in the Middle Ages or the logic of homeopathy as "like can cure like", students will analyze performances of "healthy" bodies in the German-speaking world and interrogate how language is used in these contexts from the past to the present. Taught in English.

GER 201 – Intermediate German I

Pass/Fail Option

Introduction to German language and culture, refining communication skills (third semester).

GER 202 – Intermediate German II

Topic-based practice of communication skills in German (listening, reading, speaking, writing), systematic review of German grammar (fourth semester).

GER 242 – Thinkers and Dreamers: Challenges of the Imagination in German History

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

Grand global challenges require broad thinking. For centuries, philosophers, theologians, playwrights, and poets writing in German have been grappling with the deeper questions of the human condition. From theologian Martin Luther to the political theorist Hannah Arendt, from the philologist Friedrich Nietzsche to the dancer Pina Bausch, German thinkers and dreamers have been exploring the possibilities and limitations of the human intellect in action. This course takes a wide-angle look at what German-speaking intellectual history can tell us about the world in 2013, and about the complex cultural and social history leading up to today.

GER 246 – German Culture, Science and Technology

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

This course explores shifting attitudes towards science, technology, nature, and the environment in the German-speaking world, through a range of cultural works (e.g., media documents, literary texts, films). In addition to examining the ways in which technological and ecological ethics have changed over history, the course will also consider what roles cultural works have played in public debates around scientific discoveries and technological advances.

GER 272 – Changing the World: Ideas, Experiences and Stories in the German-speaking Tradition

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

How did the world become the way we know it today? Who or what challenged existing ideas and ways of thinking? Which watershed moments forever altered the future? This course features ideas that changed the world, experiences that left nobody the same, and stories that made a difference through the lens of the German-speaking world. It explores key moments in German culture, history, literature, and art and their relevance for today's world. Taught in English.

GER 273 – Wicked Tales and Strange Encounters

Tier 2 Humanities

An introduction to major 19th century artists, writers, and composers of German speaking countries. Focuses on their works and our responses to them. Taught in English.

GER 276 – Crisis and Rebellion: Germany and Beyond

Tier 2 Humanities

What innovations can a moment of extreme crisis bring to a society? From the radicals and reactionaries of Weimar Berlin to the student movements of the 1960s and the fall of the Berlin Wall, German society has born witness to unprecedented traumatic and regenerative moments of social crisis and creative rebellion. Focusing on the economic, aesthetic, moral, and political transformations of one particular moment of crisis, this course explores how deep collective uncertainty can lead to booms of creativity across boundaries in music, literature, fine arts, pop culture, architecture, and film. Taught in English

GER 303 – German through Contemporary Media

German 303 is an intermediate/advanced course designed to foster students' language abilities through contemporary cultural works, e.g. short stories, podcasts, music, and digital texts. The course emphasizes the development of literacy and intercultural awareness. This course is not open to native or near-native speakers of German. Taught in German.

GER 310 – Present Day German: Its Structure and Uses

Overview of current topics in the analysis of German, including phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, the lexicon, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. Taught in German.

GER 325 – History of German Cinema

Cross Listed

Tier 2 Humanities

The important films in the development of German cinema of the pre-1945 period and the cinema of the Federal Republic of Germany after 1945 to the present. Taught in English.

GER 371 – Contemporary German Culture

Tier 2 Humanities

This course introduces students topics that shape contemporary Germany. We will examine a broad range of topics addressed in films, literature, public debates and consider Germany's role in a global setting.

GER 375 – The Birth of the Modern: Culture and Politics in turn-of-the-century Vienna

Tier 2 Humanities

Explores the themes of love, madness, decay and death as they appear in the works of major writers, artists, composers and thinkers associated with Vienna at the turn of the century, 1880-1920. Taught in English.

GER 450 – Construction of Identity

Explores constructions of personal, cultural, religious, social, gender, and national identity in German culture by looking at a variety of texts. Taught in German.

GER 461 – The Task of the Translator

Honors Contract

This course will combine insights from Translation Studies, applied linguistics, and German cultural / literary studies to help students develop skills, knowledge, and experience in translating a number of literary and non-literary genres, including song texts, short essays, advertising texts, everyday speech, and historical artifacts. We will learn about how to negotiate literal and connotative meaning across codes, idioms, cultures, communities, and symbolic systems. We will explore the idea of "being a translator" as an everyday social and cultural practice.