Course Schedule

GER 101 – Beginning German I

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

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

GER 114 – How to Learn a Foreign Language

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Building Connections

The goal of the course is to provide students with important tools to help them become successful foreign language learners. Students will become familiar with basic elements of language such as parts of speech and the pronunciation of new sounds as a means of enabling them to anticipate and effectively deal with problems in pronunciation, vocabulary building, and sentence formation that often come up in foreign language study. They will also learn about the intertwining of culture and language, such as how expressions of politeness and body language differ across cultures. They will also be exposed to different language teaching and learning styles, typical mistakes language learners make, and strategies for making language learning more effective. This information will be presented in the context of the wide variety of languages taught at the University of Arizona

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

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Individuals & Societies/150 · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Social Scientist

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

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160 · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

This course brings together perspectives on health and well-being from the humanities, medicine, social sciences, and education to investigate representations of pain and healing in German-speaking texts (e.g., literature, film, art, other media). Throughout the course, students will reflect on systemic questions of power, identity, and language/talk, and how these have influenced values and practices around health and well-being in German-speaking texts and US-American cultural contexts. Taught in English.

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 246 – German Culture, Science and Technology

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

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 276 – Crisis, Rebellion and Activism: Germany and Beyond

Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

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, 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, and how rebellion and activism influenced and shaped the society and culture.

GER 278 – Modern Problems - Medieval Answers

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Diversity Emphasis · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

This is a literature, history, and philosophy course dealing with a range of fundamental aspects of human culture in an interdisciplinary fashion, developing critical thinking and interpretive approaches to timeless issues in human life. These issues address, e.g., human happiness, honor, friendship, women's rights, spirituality, and rationality. It lays the foundation for many other courses highlighting essential concerns in human life seen through a historical perspective.

GER 301 – German Cultural and Literary History

German 301 is an intermediate/advanced course for students to expand their knowledge of the cultural history of the German-speaking countries. The course advances students' ability to discuss and write critically about literature, film, and other cultural artifacts related to key moments in German history. Taught in German.

GER 311 – German Through Performance

German 311 is an intermediate/advanced course, in which students explore the range of German expression through performative works, e.g. theater, television, and film. The focus is on spoken language use, social interaction, and the performance of speech. Taught in German.

GER 371 – Contemporary German Culture

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

This course introduces students to 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. Taught in English.

GER 393 – Internship

Engagement Activity To Be Determined · Engagement Competency To Be Determined

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.

GER 430 – Crossing Borders/Crossing Cultures

Focuses on the topic of cultural boundaries: investigates such themes as travel writing, unification, postmodernism, and cross-cultural dialogue. Taught in German.

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 150A1 – Becoming Multilingual: Learning and Maintaining Two or More Languages

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Individuals & Societies/150 · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Social Scientist

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

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Individuals & Societies/150 · Gen Ed: Building Connections

This course helps students prepare for challenges of intercultural communication during study, work, and travel abroad and in their home country. Using perspectives and methods from various disciplines, we analyze differences in verbal and nonverbal behavior, communication style preferences, intercultural relationships, conflict resolution styles, and adaption to life in culturally different environments(including in education, tourism, business, and healthcare contexts).

GER 312 – War, Death, and the Hero: Medieval Epics: Beowulf, Nibelungenlied, and Rolandslied

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

The course addresses pan-European heroic epics, including examples from Old English, Old and Middle High German, Old French, Old Spanish, and Old Icelandic. The questions we will address concern the issue of heroism, war, death, and how the individual protagonist handles questions regarding honor, God, mutual respect, happiness, and death. This course will introduce students to a humanist perspective, through the example of the European/German genre of the heroic epic and the ways in which these stories deal with war and death. By reading, interpreting, analyzing, and discussing some of the most important epics from the Middle Ages to modern day responses to these texts, students will explore how different cultures have made sense of these core human experiences in different historical moments.