This course, part of a yearlong sequence, introduces students to the German language and its cultural contexts. By emphasizing communicative skills, students learn to speak, build vocabulary, and develop their listening comprehension, reading, and writing skills. GER 101 is only offered in the fall semester. GER 101 is not open to students who have had two or more years of German in secondary school. Conducted in German.

This course, a continuation of GER 101, introduces students to the German language and its cultural contexts. By emphasizing communicative skills, students further develop their speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing skills. GER 102 is only offered in the winter semester. GER 102 is not open to students who have had two or more years of German in secondary school. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 101.

In this course, students explore the historical and cultural relations between Germany, the most prominent political and economic power in Central Europe, and the countries of East-Central Europe. The coursework focuses on "New Europe," a group of post-communist countries after 1989, investigating how they are viewed in Germany and how they positioned themselves in relation to Germany. By analyzing a wide range of fictional and nonfiction texts, students integrate insights from historical, political, and artistic discourses in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries to develop an understanding of the region's past, the current dynamics, the narratives that shape mutual perceptions and attitudes, and the ongoing processes of European integration. Conducted in English.

Offered in the fall, this course is a continuation of GER 101-102. Students further expand their skills through sustained interactive practice in reading, writing, listening and speaking, as well as their cultural knowledge about the German-speaking countries through wide-ranging, authentic material. Open to first-year students who enter with at least two years of German. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 102.

This course, offered in the winter semester, is a continuation of GER 201. Students further expand their skills through sustained interactive practice in reading, writing, listening and speaking, as well as their cultural knowledge about the German-speaking countries through wide-ranging, authentic material. Open to first-year students who enter with at least two years of German. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 201.

The course focuses on how the experience of the First World War (1914-1918) changed established narratives of violence and armed conflict in central Europe. It investigates how these new narratives became sites of memory, mourning, and remembrance in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, drawing on examples from the literature and art of Central and Eastern European countries. Conducted in English.

A topical course offered in the fall semester and designed to develop linguistic and cultural competency at the advanced level, as well as to introduce students to some of the analytical and interpretative strategies necessary to engage and decode cultural productions originating in the German-speaking world. The course focuses on analysis and critical thinking applied to a variety of written and audiovisual media. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 202.

Why do some stories get told and retold across time? What gives them their staying power, but, also, how do they reflect the interests, values, and desires of new audiences? The course considers both the features that change with adaptation and the conditions under which adaptations occur, paying attention to the dimensions of power and privilege in who gets to tell (sell?) the story, how, and to whom. A creative component enables own adaptations of an existing German-language text. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233.

This project-based course engages students in current issues in the German-speaking countries. Issues may range from diversity, racism, and the legacies of imperialism and authoritarianism to today’s popular and youth cultures and entertainment. Students work in groups to define current trends and place them in a historical context. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233.

This course examines the dynamic relationship between German cinema and social transformation from the early 20th century to the present. Focusing on key movements and filmmakers who have explored the intersecting spheres of art, politics, and social life, the course investigates how German films have both reflected and driven societal transformation. Students will study the radical innovations of Expressionist filmmakers in the Weimar era (1919-1933), the works of independent filmmakers of the New German Cinema in the 1960s and 1970s, the often-overlooked films of East-German cinema produced under the DEFA studio system, and the diverse voices of post-reunification Germany. The course highlights how cinema has responded to and influenced political shifts and social reforms. Conducted in English.

This course examines the construction of space in various historical and contemporary German media, answering questions such as: What landscapes and cityscapes contribute to a German identity and how? How do geographical location, cultural particularity, and historical context contribute to (sometimes contested) discourses on these spaces? How is the construction of these spaces impacted by the historical diversity of cultures in Central Europe, as well as by modern migration to the area? And how have German speakers conceptualized and colonized "other" spaces in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas? Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233 and one other 200-level course in German.

What is German literature? The course examines this question through the lens of writers who are difficult to incorporate into a national narrative. The first part of the course focuses on literatures produced on the margins of the German and Austrian empires in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, while the second part studies the effects of postwar labor migrations and globalization on contemporary German, Austrian, and Swiss literatures. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233 and one other 200-level course in German.

This course explores the ways in which literature and film reflect and refract the social and political experiments of the GDR. Topics may include coming to terms with the past, the emergence and problematization of new gender models, youth culture and generational tensions, the role of the individual in socialist society, censorship and artistic experimentation, conformity and resistance, popular culture and the artistic underground, international solidarity and notions of race, and industrialization and environmental concerns. Attention is given to the sociohistorical contexts of the examined works and the means and ends of literary and cinematic creations of (alternate) realities. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233 and one other 200-level course in German.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester.

A capstone project, which may take the form of a written research paper, community-engaged project, translation project, or digital portfolio, designed in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students register for German 457 in the fall semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both German 457 and 458.

A capstone project, which may take the form of a written research paper, community-engaged project, translation project, or digital portfolio, designed in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students register for German 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both German 457 and 458.

This course investigates selected films from West and East Germany produced after 1945. Students discuss a broad range of topics and issues that define the popular view of Germany and its cultures today. They explore the cinematic images of Germany's Nazi past, the postwar division of the country and its reunification in 1990, the legacies of the 1968 generation, and diversity in contemporary Germany. The course also provides students with basic tools of film analysis, which are used in the discussion of cinematic art and in the analysis of the specific aesthetic qualities of a film. Conducted in English.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term.