There are two central goals of this course. The first is to introduce you to several core issues in contemporary Germany to familiarize you with important elements of German culture and society and the ways in which these topics are discussed in Germany. This aspect of the course is meant to prepare you to engage in conversations with Germans on a variety of current and controversial topics. To this end we will read and/or listen to a wide range of material (film, music, poetry, news reports, and print media) that relate to post-wall German society, politics, and culture. These materials are organized according to four broad thematic units. The second goal of the course is to improve your written and spoken command of German. This means that you will expand your active vocabulary, aim for a consistently high level of grammatical accuracy with basic structures, continually add more advanced grammatical structures to your active repertoire, and increase the linguistic register at which you can produce German. You will be expected to use grammatical structures appropriately and thoughtfully and to add increasingly sophisticated and complex elements first to your written essays and then to your spoken German. We will practice these elements in interaction (dialogues, conversations, question-and-answer settings, and debates) before you use them in formal group and individual presentations. The course will be conducted in German.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this semester you should be able to:
• compose short written essays in German with a high degree of grammatical accuracy, a varied vocabulary, and in a formal register;
• participate in verbal interactions in German with ease and advanced fluency using both colloquial phrasing in conversation as well as formal elements in debates and presentations;
• understand and comment on primary German sources about contemporary Germany; and demonstrate a solid understanding of core issues central to German society and culture.

Texts/Readings:
All of the required material is available online or via Blackboard. It is expected that you print out each text and worksheet in advance of the respective class, make notes on it as you read it, and bring it to class. Each video should be watched multiple times and you should bring questions pertaining to the material read and/or viewed. There are supplementary documents in the file “TEXTE” and stylistic rubrics in the “Materialien” folder. Consult these folders each week.

Grading:
Preparation and participation    15%
Weekly writing assignments    15%
Quizzes                10%
Three two-page papers        40%
Group presentation            20%
Plus/minus grades will be assigned for the final course grade.

Already in 1955 Konrad Adenauer called for an "End of Nationalism," but as history has shown, old habits die hard. This course will examine the so-called "Age of Nationalism," roughly the period from 1800 to the present, taking the German case as our main example. The primary documents for this case study will be cultural expressions of national discourses read against the backdrop of their relevant historical period. It will include the conceptualization and promotion of national identity and belonging (represented by terms such as Nation, Heimat, Volk) as well as alternatives to nationalism (such as cosmopolitanism, migration, integration, and internationalism).

The course will begin with an overview of seminal sociological, historical, cultural, economic, and anthropological theories of nationalism, national movements, national identity, and ethnicity that began in the earnest in the 1930s and 1940s (in the wake of the rise of totalitarian regimes) and that developed and expanded significantly beginning in the 1980s. The fundamental questions for consideration are: What role has the problem of national identity played in German culture in the last 200 years? What different understandings of the terms Volk and nation have existed at various points in German history?  What is the relationship between nationalist movements and the configurations and political orientation of the state?  How are cultural and political traditions appropriated within an ideology of nationalism? What are the motivations for and repercussions of notions of exceptionalism and normalcy in discussions of national culture?

Readings

Theoretical readings will include essays by Ernst Renan, Hans Kohn, Carleton Hayes, Louis Snyder, Karl Deutsch, Eugen Weber, Benedict Anderson, Ernest Gellner, Eric Hobsbawm, Anthony Smith, Hans-Ulrich Wehler, George Mosse, Homi Bhabha, David Blackbourn, Geoff Eley, Helmut Smith, Suzanne Zantop, and Mary Fulbrook.

Primary readings will include works by Herder, Lessing, Mendelsssohn, Goethe, Schiller, Fichte, Chamisso, Körner, Jahn, Arndt, Schneckenburger, Hoffmann von Fallersleben, Heine, Marx/Engels, Wagner, Treitschke, Nietzsche, Remarque, Tucholsky, Hitler, Goebbels, Riefenstahl, Brecht, Th. Mann, Mitscherlich, Sichrovsky, Schneider, Sternberger, Bohrer, de Bruyn, Habermas, Friedrich, Handke, Merz, Grass, and others.

Grading

25%     Preparation and participation

15%     3-page essay on theoretical concepts

10%     Abstract, outline, and bibliography for research paper

10%     Oral presentation of research paper and peer review of other presentations

40%     15- to 20-page research paper

DESCRIPTION:
A survey of German literature and culture from the mid-eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. This course will cover the intellectual and literary movements of the Enlightenment, Classicism, Romanticism, the Pre-March era, Realism, and Naturalism. We will read and discuss texts from the main literary genres (prose, poetry, and drama) as well as some essays and look at artworks from each of the periods in question. We will also learn about some of the most important historical events of the time, including the French Revolution, Industrialization, the German Revolution of 1848, and the German Empire. Our discussions of the texts and artworks will follow the topics of Love and Nature and the ways each individual text and each time period have similar or different understandings of these concepts. Questions we will ask include: What do love and nature mean for each time period? Which person/group of persons is imagined as most ‘natural’ and most ‘lovable’? How do love and nature relate to political order or disorder? What happens when culture and love, or mankind and nature, clash? What can German literary history tell us about our contemporary understandings of love and nature?

In this course, you will learn to 1) read carefully and thoughtfully, 2) identify the significance of literary works and their relation to historical developments, 3) account for the variations in German writing over the century and a half, 4) compare notions of love and nature in different moments in time.

TEXTBOOKS:
Lessing: Emilia Galotti

Hoffmann: Der Sandmann

Hauptmann: Bahnwärter Thiel

Additional readings available in a course packet and/or on Blackboard.

GRADING:  
2 Exams    25% (10%/15%)
3 Essays     30% (5%/10%/15%)

1 Oral presentation    10%

3 short (15 minute) one-on-one conversations with the instructor    15%
Discussion/Preparation/Participation    20%

PREREQUISITE:
Three semester hours of upper-division coursework in German with a grade of at least C.

Description:

To comprehend and participate in conversations about contemporary Germany it is essential to understand the main outlines of German history and culture in the twentieth century. This course will follow the radical changes in German politics, society, culture, and literature during that century. We begin by discussing the pre-war era and the impact of World War I. We then turn to the Revolution of 1918 and political developments of the Weimar Republic. Next we consider the society and ideology of National Socialism and the origins and course of World War II. This is followed by an examination of the post-war occupation of Germany and the development of two German states, the FRG and the GDR ending with the process of German unification. Throughout the semester, we will discuss the important literary and cultural shifts that took place during this century including: the modernism of fin-de-siècle literature and expressionism; dada, cabaret and Neue Sachlichkeit of the 1920s; the emergence of German film; restrictions placed on culture under the Nazis and artists and authors who went into political exile. Finally, we examine the impact of a divided nation on the cultural and literary output in the post-war era.

Student work for this class is based on a combination of readings and films, writing assignments, and participation in class discussions (including organized debates). It presumes a fifth-semester language ability (i.e. successful completion of GER 328 and 331L) and is structured to build on the skills acquired in those classes in a systematic way to prepare students for more advanced work in German seminars. We will read texts that were written for native speakers of German and are not glossed or simplified. As a result we will frequently encounter more complicated grammatical structures, such as indirect discourse (subjunctive I), passive voice, and extended modifiers. Students will be expected to expand on their previous use of German in writing and speaking (for example by using more complex clauses and an expanded vocabulary).

Required texts:

Geschichtsbuch 4: Die Menschen und ihre Geschichte in Darstellungen und Dokumenten (Berlin: Cornelsen, 1996); ISBN 3-464-64204-6.

Bertolt Brecht, Leben des Galilei (Berlin: Suhrkamp, 1962 or later); ISBN 978-3-518-10001-1

A course packet available at Jenn’s Copy Shop, 2518 Guadalupe St.

Assignments:

1)    Reading assignments are due in class on the day indicated on the syllabus. Unless otherwise noted, the pages cited are from the Geschichtsbuch 4. All required readings marked “Text” are posted on Blackboard. That includes literary readings besides Leben des Galilei. All films must be screened prior to class (they are all available at UT in the Fine Arts Library; you may also rent them from Netflix, local video stores, etc.).

2)      Homework and quizzes. To help you to focus your reading, questions (Fragen) to many of them have been posted on Blackboard and are marked on the syllabus [F]. Answers to Fragen marked by a bold F should be submitted in class on the dates listed (the others are to help with class discussion and test preparation). A detailed vocabulary list for the Geschichtsbuch and descriptions of all assignments are posted on Blackboard. And there may be occasional (unannounced) content quizzes about the day’s reading. Be prepared! Daily participation is expected of all students and is graded. This includes contributing to discussions each day in class. Unexcused absences will dramatically affect your grade (-1% for each absence).

3)     In addition, there are three (3) in-class debates (Debatten) scheduled on the syllabus [D]. For each debate there is a worksheet on the course website to help you structure your arguments. One purpose of this course is to challenge you to develop and express your ideas in German. Every student is required to participate in each debate. Note that if you miss a debate you miss 5% of the semester grade.

4)    Written work for this class will consist of three (3) essays on the literary readings. Assignments for these schriftliche Arbeiten are on Blackboard; these essays are due in class on the dates specified on the syllabus [S]. They should be approximately 500 words (2 pages) and should be typed, double-spaced, and proofread. As with the answers to the Fragen, these schriftliche Arbeiten should integrate the new vocabulary from the readings and from class lectures and discussion. They should also incorporate the rhetorical and stylistic elements that we will be reviewing such as subjunctive I, passive voice, and extended modifiers. Be sure to review the “Essay Guidelines” document on Blackboard.

5)    There will be three tests in this course. Review sheets for each test will be posted on the Blackboard course website. While the grammatical accuracy of your test answers will not be graded, all answers must be written in complete and coherent sentences (with proper word order and verb-subject agreement). You will also be expected to use the new vocabulary that you have been learning in your answers.

Grading:

Essays (10%, 10%, 10%) = 30%

Debates (5%, 5%, 5%) = 15%       

Exams (10%, 15%, 15%) = 40%

Participation, homework, quizzes = 15%

Description

In keeping with the revised graduate program, this course will provide both a general survey of German literature from the early eighteenth through the late nineteenth century and a critical introduction to literary history and scholarship as disciplines, and to the challenges of periodization and Begriffsbestimmung. We will examine ten conventionally defined literary periods of the German tradition: Aufklärung, Empfindsamkeit, Sturm und Drang, Klassik, Romantik, Biedermeier, Junges Deutschland, Vormärz, Realismus, Gründerzeit, but at the same time examine the genesis of such period labels and alternative categories and periodizations that have preoccupied authors, critics, and scholars.

The course will of course also introduce students to the main genres (prose, poetry, and drama) as well as cultural, social, or political essays from most of the periods in question. We will attend to the major thematic and formal shifts that occurred over the course of 160 years in the German literary tradition, but will also examine the concept of one author’s oeuvre as well as of literary schools and movements.

Thematically, we will also investigate core social concepts for the literature of this period such as: the public sphere (Öffentlichkeit), the middle classes (Bürgertum), family, gender, the subject, alienation, the state, revolution and restoration, rationalism and science, nationalism, modernization, and education. In addition, we will consider a variety of issues that comprise what many scholars call the institution of literature. These include such diverse subjects as publishing, the expansion of the reading public, and the emergence of literary criticism.

Students will be required to read widely in the primary sources, but also to present one short critical exposition of a primary text and one critical presentation of a scholarly article.

Texts

Lessing: Emilia Galotti

La Roche: Das Fräulein von Sternheim

Schiller: Don Carlos

Goethe: Faust, erster Teil

Tieck: Der blonde Eckbert

Kleist: Der zerbrochne Krug

Hoffmann: Der Sandmann

Droste-Hülshoff: Die Judenbuche

Büchner, Woyzeck

Hebbel: Maria Magdalene

Storm: Der Schimmelreiter

Fontane: Irrungen, Wirrungen

Assignments

1)    Reading: A major objective of this class is to familiarize students with seminal literary works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. To this end we will be reading ten dramas and prose works in their entirety as well as numerous lyric poems and several essays. Students are expected to come to class having completed all the required reading and prepared to discuss it. For one primary text, students should have identified a short passage (a page from a prose work, a stanza from a poem, etc) that could form the core of a textual interpretation and they should be prepared to discuss it informally in class.

2)    Textual interpretation and analysis: Each student will prepare one longer work in more detail and present a 10-minute introduction to the central issues, themes, and formal concerns of the work. Each presentation should advance a coherent interpretation of the work and identify the approach, methodology, and resources upon which that interpretation draws.

3)    Scholarly resources: There are four different assignments intended to introduce students to essential resources for literary scholarship. These resources are: 1) literary histories, 2) literary bibliographies, 3) examples of literary scholarship, and 4) summative reports on a field or sub-field of literary investigation (Forschungsbericht). The specific assignments and due dates are outlined in separate documents posted on Blackboard.

4)    There will be two exams (a midterm and a final) that cover the readings and lectures/discussions. These will contain general essay questions, short-answer identifications, and text interpretations. 

Grading

Preparation and participation = 20%

Literary interpretation (orally presented) = 10%            

Comparison of two literary histories = 5%

Bibliography = 5%

Analysis and presentation of scholarly article = 5%

Analysis and presentation of a Forschungsbericht = 5%

Midterm exam = 25%                                       

Final exam = 25%

DESCRIPTION:
A survey of German literature and culture from the mid-eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. This course will cover the intellectual and literary movements of the Enlightenment, Classicism, Romanticism, the Pre-March era, Realism, and Naturalism. We will read and discuss texts from the main literary genres (prose, poetry, and drama) as well as some essays and look at artworks from each of the periods in question. We will also learn about some of the most important historical events of the time, including the French Revolution, Industrialization, the German Revolution of 1848, and the German Empire. Our discussions of the texts and artworks will follow the topics of Love and Nature and the ways each individual text and each time period have similar or different understandings of these concepts. Questions we will ask include: What do love and nature mean for each time period? Which person/group of persons is imagined as most ‘natural’ and most ‘lovable’? How do love and nature relate to political order or disorder? What happens when culture and love, or mankind and nature, clash? What can German literary history tell us about our contemporary understandings of love and nature?

In this course, you will learn to 1) read carefully and thoughtfully, 2) identify the significance of literary works and their relation to historical developments, 3) account for the variations in German writing over the century and a half, 4) compare notions of love and nature in different moments in time.

TEXTBOOKS:
Lessing: Emilia Galotti

Hoffmann: Der Sandmann

Hauptmann: Bahnwärter Thiel

Additional readings available in a course packet and/or on Blackboard.

GRADING:  
2 Exams    25% (10%/15%)
3 Essays     30% (5%/10%/15%)

1 Oral presentation    10%

3 short (15 minute) one-on-one conversations with the instructor    15%
Discussion/Preparation/Participation    20%

PREREQUISITE:
Three semester hours of upper-division coursework in German with a grade of at least C.

Description:

This course will follow the radical changes in German politics, society, culture, and literature during the twentieth century. We begin by discussing the pre-war era and the impact of World War I. We then turn to the German Revolution of 1918 and political developments of the Weimar Republic. Next we consider the society and ideology of National Socialism and the origins and course of World War II. This is followed by an examination of the post-war occupation of Germany and the development of two German states, the FRG and the GDR ending with the process of German unification. Throughout the semester, we will discuss the remarkable literary and cultural shifts that took place during this century including: fin-de-siècle literature and high modernism of expressionism; cabaret and the Neue Sachlichkeit of the 20s; the emergence of German film; restrictions placed on culture under the Nazis and artists and authors who went into political exile. Finally, we examine the impact of a divided nation on the cultural and literary output in the post-war era.Student work for this class is based on a combination of readings and films, writing assignments, and participation in class discussions (including organized debates). It presumes a fifth-semester language ability (i.e. successful completion of GER 328 and 331L) and is structured to build on the skills acquired in those classes in a systematic way to prepare students for more advanced work in German seminars. We will read texts that were written for native speakers of German and are not glossed or simplified. As a result we will frequently encounter more complicated grammatical structures, such as indirect discourse (subjunctive I), passive voice, and extended modifiers. Students will be expected to expand on their previous use of German in writing and speaking (for example by using more complex clauses and an historically specific vocabulary).

Required texts:

Geschichtsbuch 4: Die Menschen und ihre Geschichte in Darstellungen und Dokumenten (Berlin: Cornelsen, 1996); ISBN 3-464-64204-6.Thomas Mann, Tod in VenedigBertolt Brecht, Leben des Galilei

Assignments:

1)      Reading assignments are due in class on the day indicated on the syllabus. Unless otherwise noted, the pages cited are from the Geschichtsbuch 4. Literary readings are from Tod in Venedig, Leben des Galilei, or other readings posted on the course Blackboard site. All films must be screened prior to class (they are all available at UT in the Fine Arts Library; you may also rent them from Netflix or local movie stores).2)      Homework and quizzes. To help you to focus your reading, questions (Fragen) to many of them have been posted on Blackboard and are marked on the syllabus [F]. Answers to Fragen marked by a bold F should be submitted in class on the dates listed (the others are to help with class discussion). A detailed vocabulary list for the Geschichtsbuch and descriptions of all assignments are posted on Blackboard. There may be occasional (unannounced) content quizzes about the day’s reading. Be prepared!3)     Written work for this class will consist of four (4) brief essays on the literary readings. Assignments for these schriftliche Arbeiten are on Blackboard; these essays are due in class on the dates specified on the syllabus [S]. They should not exceed 500 words (2 pages) and should be typed, double-spaced, and proofread. As with the answers to the Fragen, these schriftliche Arbeiten should integrate the new vocabulary from the readings. They should also incorporate the rhetorical and stylistic elements that we will be reviewing such as subjunctive I, passive voice, and extended modifiers.4)    Daily participation is expected of all students and is graded. This includes contributing to discussions each day in class. In addition, there are four (4) in-class Debatten scheduled on the syllabus [D]. For each debate there is a worksheet on the course website to help you structure your arguments. One purpose of this course is to challenge you to develop and express your ideas in German. Every student is required to participate in each debate. Unexcused absences will dramatically affect your grade (-2% for each absence). Note that if you miss a debate you miss 5% of the semester grade.5)    There will be three tests in this course. Review sheets for each test are posted on the Blackboard course website. While the grammatical accuracy of your test answers will not be graded, all answers must be written in complete and coherent sentences (with proper word order and verb-subject agreement). You will also be expected to use the new vocabulary that you have been learning in your answers.

Grading:    

Essays (5%, 5%, 5%, 5%) = 20%

Debates (5%, 5%, 5%, 5%) = 20%

Exams (15%; 15%; 15%) = 45%

Participation, homework, quizzes = 15%

GER 373: German Travel Literature

Fall 2009

Prof. Kit Belgum

E-mail: belgum@mail.utexas.edu                                    Phone: 232-6375                       

Office hours: M 3-4:30, W 9:30-11, and by appt.            Office: BUR 324

Description:

Literature presents us with worlds that we don’t know. Often this takes the form of imagined places and people, but some literature gives us access to real places we may not have visited. This is travel literature. This seminar on German travel literature has three main objectives: 1) to provide an overview of the history of travel and the enormous changes in modes and goals of travel between the eighteenth century and the present, 2) to investigate the changes that this travel had on perceptions of the world during the same period, particularly as they left their mark on German cultural writing and literature, and 3) to explore issues such as context, authorship, publication, and audience. Finally, as a senior seminar, this class is designed to give students an introduction to scholarship and the steps involved in conducting research.

We will begin with the travels and writings of Georg Forster who accompanied Captain Cook on his trip around the world and with of the naturalist Alexander von Humboldt who wrote extensively about his1799-1804 trip to the Americas over the course of many decades. We will then consider the impact of new technologies on literary expression in the first half of the nineteenth century and focus on the role of travel and tourism in the development of new genres at mid-century, such as Heinrich Heine's Reisebilder, and new media, such as Baedeker's travel guides and the significant increase in the ability of women such as Ida Pfeiffer to travel. The final texts of the semester will include nostalgia for an earlier era, the impact of German colonial aspirations and industrialization on writing about the rest of the world, and the importance of travel as a metaphor for engaging with the modern world in the post-war period.

Readings: Readings listed on the syllabus must be completed before each class period so that productive discussion can follow the introductory lectures. In order to facilitate discussion, everyone should come to each class with one question about the day’s reading.

             Vocabulary building: To help everyone build their vocabulary as the semester progresses, each student will keep a journal that registers at least five words from each day’s reading that are new to the student and most central to the topic. One of these should be used in a meaningful sentence.

            Reaction papers: Each student will write four (4) one-page "reaction papers." Two of these should take issue with or respond to the previous seminar meeting. They should present a student’s reactions to a reading and at least one issue from lectures or discussion. They can either pose relevant and related issues or take a critical position with respect to the material. Most importantly they should, however, present an independent, original thought on a topic. Two other reaction papers should introduce and critique a work of scholarship on a topic related to the seminar (and ideally relevant to the student’s research project). These reaction papers should identify the subject matter, main thesis, argumentation, and methodology of the scholarly paper and then provide an evaluation of it (assessing its strengths and weaknesses). The purpose of these two reaction papers is to help each student to reflect on relevant background research for his or her project and to identify the qualities inherent in first-rate scholarly work. One of these should be presented orally in class by November 6 (5 minutes), which will be preparation for the Referat.

            Research topic: Each student will select the topic for his/her research project after discussing it with the instructor. The research topic should include at least one work not read in class. It may include works read in the seminar or focus exclusively on other material and topics related to travel and literature. The tentative title and a one-paragraph summary should be posted on the course web site by October 30. An initial bibliography (including primary texts and scholarship) is due on November 20. The research project will be both presented as a Referat and submitted in the form of a written term paper (see below).

            Referat: During the last week of the semester, each student will present the results of his/her research on one aspect of travel writing (10 minutes). The purpose of this presentation is threefold: to share the initial results of your research with other seminar participants, to receive detailed feedback from peers on the content, organization, and argument of your paper, and to practice a formal presentation in German.

Research paper (Seminararbeit): A 6-page paper on the student's research project on one aspect of travel writing (the same topic as the Referat) is due on December 8. This paper should have a clear thesis statement and follow a logical and well-organized argumentation and should include reference to at least three pieces of scholarship. It should also incorporate some of the new vocabulary items from your vocabulary journal.

Grading:            

Preparation, participation, discussion questions – 25%

Vocabulary journal – 10%

Reaction papers (one page each) (5% x 4) – 20%

Oral presentation of one reaction paper – 5%

Research presentation – 15%

Research paper (six pages) – 25%           

Syllabus

Woche 1             Die Geschichte von Reisen und Reiseliteratur

            26.08.                        Einführung – Themen des Semesters, Semesterarbeit

            28.08.                        Textbeispiele

Woche 2             Der Reiseführer

                              31.08.            Kaminer: Ich bin kein Berliner: Ein Reiseführer für faule Touristen (S. 9-15)

                              01.09.            Kaminer: (S. 23-29, 37-41)

                              03.09.            Kaminer: (S. 60-68, 69-72, 99-103, 111-115)

Woche 3             (Bibliographie und ein Überblick)

                              09.09.            NB: Sitzung fällt aus – Aufgabe mit der MLA Bibliographie

                              11.09.            NB: Sitzung fällt aus – drei englisch-sprachige Essays lesen und Fragen beantworten

Woche 4            Aufklärung und Erziehung

                              14.09.            Campe: Robinson der Jüngere (1779) (1. Abend)

                              16.09.            Campe: (7. Abend)

                              18.09             Campe: (15. und 30. Abend, Seiten 6-9)

Woche 5            Entdeckungs- und Forschungsreisen

                              21.09.            Forster: Reise um die Welt 1772-1775

                              23.09.            Forster: Reise um die Welt 1772-1775

                              25.09.            Humboldt: Ansichten der Natur

Woche 6             Reisen als Selbsteentdeckung

                              29.09.            Goethe: Italienische Reise (Abfahrt)

                              30.09.            Goethe: Italienische Reise (2. Römischer Aufenthalt)

                              02.10.

Woche 7             Tourismus

                              05.10.            Baedeker und Murray: Reiseführer

                              07.10.            Hoffmann von Fallersleben “Die Engländer am Rhein”

            09.10.

Woche 8             Das “Reisebild”

                              12.10.            Heine: Die Harzreise; 10 pages (Abfahrt aus Göttingen)

                              14.10.            Heine: Die Harzreise; 10 pages (oben auf dem Brocken)

                              16.10.

Woche 9             Frauenfahrten

                              19.10.            Pfeiffer: Reise in das Heilige Land

                              21.10.            Peiffer

                              23.10.

Woche 10             Koloniale Vorstellungen

                              26.10.            Rohlfs: Quer durch Afrika “Reise nach Undala”

                              28.10.            Rohlfs: Quer durch Afrika “Eintritt ins Reich der Pollo”

            30.10.

Woche 11             Nostalgische Reise

                              02.11.            Fontane: Wanderungen durch die Mark-Brandenburg (Neu-Ruppin)

                              04.11.            Fontane

                              06.11.

Woche 12            Reise-Reportage

                              09.11.            Kisch: Paradies Amerika

                              11.11.            Kisch

                              13.11.

Woche 13             Kritik des Tourismus: seine Alternativen 

                              16.11.            Grass: Kopfgeburten oder die Deutschen sterben aus

                              18.11.            Grass

                              20.11.

Woche 14             Reisen in dem elektronischen Zeitalter – Fernsehen und Internet

                              23.11.            ARD Ratgeber: Reise - Argonaut.tv 

                              25.11.            Sitzung fällt aus - Thanksgiving

Woche 15             Studentenprojekte

                              30.11.            Referate

                              02.12.            Referate

                              04.12.            Referate

                              14.12.            Seminararbeit fällig (um 12h)           

SYLLABUS AND ASSIGNMENTS

You have received all requirements for this course in writing. It is your responsibility to read and follow them. No late work is accepted. The conditions for making up work for medical and other leaves are listed in the next section.

RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS AND OTHER ABSENCES

• Students can make up work missed because of a religious holiday as long as they notify the instructor in writing at least one week before the holiday occurs. 
• The same applies to official university obligations like Club or Varsity sports.
• Documentation from a physician is required for medical absence; arrangements to make up missed work must be made promptly, and in no case should the work be completed more than 2 weeks after the absence. 
• Other absences (e.g. family events) must be arranged for at least two weeks in advance and missed work must be turned in during the next class session.

ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE

• UT Learning Center, in JES A332 provides free academic assistance, including help with college-level writing, reading, and learning strategies: <http://www.utexas.edu/student/utlc>.
• Undergraduate Writing Center in FAC 211 has trained consultants who provide assistance with writing: <http://uwc.utexas.edu>.
• For help using UT libraries see: <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/assistive/policy.html>.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

The University of Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for students with disabilities. Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact the Service for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations: <http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/index.php>. To receive accommodations you must give this letter to your instructors. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-6441 TTY.

SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY

All forms of forms of scholastic dishonesty, such as plagiarism in written work or cheating during a quiz or test, will be reported to the Dean of Students. Unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism on papers, and cheating on tests will result in an F for the assignment, with no makeup possible. Students who engage in any form of scholastic dishonesty more than once, will receive an automatic F for the course.

Please consult the information produced by the Dean of Students Office and read all the links and sub-pages: <http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php>.  They explain the various forms of “scholastic dishonesty,” the “consequences of scholastic dishonesty,” and “avoiding scholastic dishonesty.” It is your responsibility to know what plagiarism is and how to cite all of your sources appropriately.

To make correct citations, researchers often use bibliographic software like UT's "Noodlebib" <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/noodlebib> or Zotero  <http://www.zotero.com>. 

CLASSROOM REGULATIONS

Cell phones must be turned off in class. Computers may be used only for note-taking.

QUESTIONS?

Please come and talk to me anytime if you have questions about these items, concerns about the course, or need some academic advice. I am here to help!

GER 386.3

German Literature: Enlightenment through Realism, 1730-1890

Fall 2009

Professor Kit Belgum

Office: BUR 324

Office Phone: 232-6375; E-mail: belgum@mail.utexas.edu

Office Hours: M 3-4:40 and W 9:30-11 and by appointment

Description:

This course will provide a general survey of German literature from the early eighteenth through the late nineteenth century. We will examine ten conventionally defined literary periods of the German tradition: Aufklärung, Empfindsamkeit, Sturm und Drang, Klassik, Romantik, Biedermeier, Junges Deutschland, Vormärz, Realismus, Gründerzeit. We will read and discuss texts from the main genres (prose, poetry, and drama) as well as cultural, social, or political essays from most of the periods in question. Our attention will be primarily on discussing the major thematic and formal shifts that occurred over the course of 160 years in the German literary tradition and understanding the development and work of individual authors in this context. 

Some of the thematic emphases we will explore include: the concept of Bürgertum and its relation to the family and gender relations, the notion of a public sphere, the sociology of literature and the growth of literary production, changing notions of the subject and the emerging idea of alienation, literary imagination and the fantastical, revolution and restoration, rationalism and science, nationalism, modernization, and education.

In addition, for the entire period we will consider a variety of issues that comprise what many scholars call the institution of literature. These include such diverse issues as the importance and influence of literary schools and circles, discussions about the autonomy of art, and the call for a national literature. We will also occasionally focus on key debates and internal literary arguments among intellectuals and authors during this period.

Assignments:

1)    The main purpose of this class is to read, reflect on, and discuss German literary works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The goal of this reading and discussion is to refine our interpretive skills and to come to a better understanding of the development of German literature during this period. Therefore, the major assignment of the course is to read the works as carefully as you can and to come to class prepared to discuss as many aspects of each work as possible. Readings listed on the syllabus should be competed before each class meeting so that productive discussion can follow the lecture. Since there will be a heavier reading load in some weeks than in others, you should pace yourself and read ahead when you have fewer other commitments.

2)    We will be reading thirteen dramas and prose works in their entirety as well as numerous lyric poems and several essays. Each student is asked to prepare one longer work and one shorter work in more detail and present a 10-minute and 5-minute (respectively) introduction to the central issues, themes, and formal concerns of those two works. These presentations should each propose an interpretation of the work; they should not focus on biographical information of the author or socio-historical background, since that will be treated in the course lectures. Because the main objective of this activity is for each student to hone his or her interpretive skills, the presentation need not include references to other interpretations or scholarship. This activity is preparation for the text interpretation segment of the two exams (and of the preliminary exam). Each presentation should include a short (no longer than one page) handout with a thesis and an outline of the argumentation (to be posted on Blackboard the day before class).

3)    During the third week of the semester each student should become familiar with an important kind of reference work for literary studies by conducting a comparison of two literary histories (that cover the entire period we are studying) and writing up the results in a brief (max. three-page) summary. Details are outlined in the posted assignment. A second assignment involves becoming familiar with the reference work, Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe.

4)    On Fridays of weeks 4 - 12 we will discuss a scholarly article that analyzes one of the works read and interpreted earlier in the week. Each student is responsible for presenting one of these articles. This presentation should include 1) a summary of the author’s argument, 2) a commentary on the type of interpretive tools/theories/literary perspectives used in the article, 3) an analysis of the style/organization/argumentation of the article, and 4) an assessment of the strengths/weaknesses of the article. On three (3) Fridays participants (when not presenting) submit a short (half-page) comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the week’s article (including the bibliographic information in MLA style).

5)    There will be two exams (a midterm and a final) that cover the readings and lectures/discussions. These will be modeled on the Germanic Studies preliminary exam with general essay questions, short-answer identifications, and text interpretations. 

Grading: 

Reviews of two literary histories and Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe = 5%

Two interpretations (orally presented) 10% + 5% = 15%           

Presentation on one scholarly article = 5%

Short (half-page) comment on each of 3 scholarly articles = 5%

Class participation = 10%

Midterm exam = 30%                                       

Final exam = 30%

[see attached version for full day-by-day syllabus and important supplemental information]

DESCRIPTION:
A survey of German literature and culture from the mid-eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. This course will cover the intellectual and literary movements of the Enlightenment, Classicism, Romanticism, the Pre-March era, Realism, and Naturalism. We will read and discuss texts from the main literary genres (prose, poetry, and drama) as well as some essays and look at artworks from each of the periods in question. We will also learn about some of the most important historical events of the time, including the French Revolution, Industrialization, the German Revolution of 1848, and the German Empire. Our discussions of the texts and artworks will follow the topics of Love and Nature and the ways each individual text and each time period have similar or different understandings of these concepts. Questions we will ask include: What do love and nature mean for each time period? Which person/group of persons is imagined as most ‘natural’ and most ‘lovable’? How do love and nature relate to political order or disorder? What happens when culture and love, or mankind and nature, clash? What can German literary history tell us about our contemporary understandings of love and nature?

In this course, you will learn to 1) read carefully and thoughtfully, 2) identify the significance of literary works and their relation to historical developments, 3) account for the variations in German writing over the century and a half, 4) compare notions of love and nature in different moments in time.

TEXTBOOKS:
Lessing: Emilia Galotti

Hoffmann: Der Sandmann

Hauptmann: Bahnwärter Thiel

Additional readings available in a course packet and/or on Blackboard.

GRADING:  
2 Exams    25% (10%/15%)
3 Essays     30% (5%/10%/15%)

1 Oral presentation    10%

3 short (15 minute) one-on-one conversations with the instructor    15%
Discussion/Preparation/Participation    20%

PREREQUISITE:
Three semester hours of upper-division coursework in German with a grade of at least C.