GER 101 – Beginning German I

Pass/Fail Option Available to Qualified Students

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 Available to Qualified Students

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 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 160D1 – Eroticism and Love in the Middle Ages

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160

Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

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

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160

Gen Ed: Building Connections

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 Available to Qualified Students

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 273 – Wicked Tales and Strange Encounters: German Romanticism and Beyond

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities

Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

The 19th century introduces us to the strange figures with which we have become fascinated: We only need to turn on the TV to find these same fairy tales and magical events, mythical creatures and hybrid monsters, ghosts and other undead. These motifs, their contexts, and their development in the past and present will guide us in our exploration of 19th-century literature, art, and music of the German-speaking countries from romanticism to the cusp of modernism. 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 – German Cinema

Cross Listed

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities

Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

This course provides a historical overview from the 1920s to the present, with a focus on genres and movements such as expressionism, film noir, propaganda, New German Cinema, the Berlin School, by filmmakers such as Lang, Murnau, Riefenstahl, Ade and Akin. Films will be analyzed and discussed as aesthetic works and historical cultural products, and social issues such as gender, class, race, ethnicity and national identity will be explored. This course may be applied toward the major or minor.

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

Gen Ed: 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 399 – Independent Study

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

GER 420 – Topics in German Culture

This course highlights a particular topic in German culture of the present and/or past, featuring works from literature, visual culture, and other cultural artifacts. Taught in German.

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

Introduce students to at least three of the most important European/German heroic epics and to challenge them in their thinking about war and death, and the role of the hero.

GER 101 – Beginning German I

Pass/Fail Option Available to Qualified Students

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 Available to Qualified Students

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

Gen Ed: Diversity Emphasis

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160

Gen Ed: Building Connections

What is life? This course invites you to probe the definitions of one of the most central terms of human existence from A like animation (or animals, AI, aliens) to Z like zombies. In order to understand and critically examine what constitutes life in diverse cultural contexts and at different historical moments, and how these definitions have been shaping the way various life forms have been treated, we will engage with interdisciplinary perspectives from the sciences, arts, and humanities that will help us explore the ethical, (bio)political, and aesthetic consequences of defining life and its limits.

GER 201 – Intermediate German I

Pass/Fail Option Available to Qualified Students

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

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities

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

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Individuals and Societies

Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Social Scientist

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 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 301 – German Cultural and Literary History

Pass/Fail Option Available to Qualified Students

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 302 – German Conversations

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

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 327 – Recycling Culture: Environmentalism Made in Germany

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Individuals and Societies

Honors Course

Germany is often hailed as a world leader in environmentalism in the American news. Germany's sustained environmentalist practices rely not only on laws and business incentives, they have also been shaped by and continue to create a culture of environmentalism. This course will unpack environmentalist culture in Germany by examining its current expressions, its sources in the past, and its stake in the future, while comparing these findings to US attitudes toward the environment.

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 376 – German-Jewish Writers

Cross Listed

Gen Ed: Diversity Emphasis

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities

Focuses on the contributions of Jewish writers to German culture. Taught in English.

GER 379 – Religion in German Culture

Cross Listed

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities

Gen Ed: Building Connections

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 393 – Internship

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

GER 399 – Independent Study

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

GER 411 – Dealing with the Past

Examines how German writers, artists, or filmmakers have sought to come to terms with the past. 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.