GERM1091: Reading German Culture

• Grade A in German at A level or an equivalent qualification

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: German Langauge 1A (post-A level) (GERM1011); Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

• German Langauge 1B (ab initio) (GERM1112)

• The impact of German culture extends far beyond Germanys shifting borders. Key figures in German cultural and intellectual history such as Goethe, Nietzsche, Kafka, Freud profoundly shaped our understanding of the modern world. They did so primarily through the medium of writing.
• This module aims to introduce students to some of the central concepts that have shaped writing and thinking in German from the age of Enlightenment to the present day.
• Studying landmark texts in their cultural context, we explore relationships between fiction and truth; imagination and history; reading and morality. As we read these writings, we ask: What does reading do to us? What can we learn from novels? Why do we derive pleasure from theatre, cinema, spectacle? How does the significance of a text change over time?
• The course stresses the fact that culture, literature, and thought are inseparably entwined.

• This module, taught in English, is open to students taking German Language 1A and offers an introduction to the impact of German and Austrian culture beyond these countries shifting borders. Key figures in German cultural and intellectual history such as Hannah Arendt, Sigmund Freud, Franz Kafka, Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, have offered provocative critiques and interpretations of core challenges that confront us in the modern world. This module aims to introduce students to some of the central concepts that have shaped writing and thinking in German from the Age of the Enlightenment to the present day. Studying landmark texts in their cultural context, we explore relationships between fiction and truth; imagination and history; genre and expression; writing and power. The course stresses the fact that culture, literature, and thought are inseparably entwined. Students will be introduced to relevant analytical methods and interpretative frameworks which will help them to engage critically with the texts and genres under consideration. This module has been designed to reflect a commitment to diversity in its resources and delivery, and will create opportunities for students to engage in critical analysis of different perspectives relevant to the study area.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students will develop:
• An understanding of key literary and intellectual developments in German culture, from 1750 to the present
• Specific and critical knowledge of landmark texts
• An understanding of how literature contributes and responds to wider cultural and intellectual trends
• An understanding of key concepts and debates (such as those around authorship and creativity, language and discourse, literature and morality) within literary and cultural studies.

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of this module, students should have improved:
• Critical analysis and close readings of literary texts
• Ability to draw meaningful links between different periods in German cultural history
• Ability to situate textual studies in relation to broader cultural issues

Key Skills:

• By the end of this module, students should have improved:
• Critical and analytical thinking
• Ability to read and interpret complex texts written in German
• Essay-writing, commentary and oral communication skills
• Structuring of arguments
• Independent learning and research
• Ability to discuss topical or general issues with fluency

• Teaching will take the form of weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars.
• Lectures will familiarise students with the relevant socio-historical context and introduce the key theoretical and critical issues raised by the texts under consideration.
• By preparing for the fortnightly seminar, which will alternate guided discussions with formative group presentations, students will develop skills in independent learning, rapid critical reading, synthesis, analytical thinking, and the presentation of coherent argument.
• Through reading and preparation of key texts in German, students will thus also increase their proficiency in the target language.

Regular programme of reading, alternating close reading/ textual analysis of key texts in German with wider contextual / background reading in both English and German; one class presentation per student per term; active participation in class discussion, based on weekly set tasks.

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