GER 392: Construction of German Identities - Post 1945

SYLLABUS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ASSIGNMENTS

Course Description

This course compares the social capital (the symbolic leverage) enjoyed by different groups and icons within and outside of the two Germanys prior to and after reunification. Students will study the ways in which the literature, films, and historical documents written during this period reflect discrepant concepts of what it is to be German and how these discrepancies, in turn, affect attitudes and behaviors in Germany today. We will analyze representative fictional texts, theoretical positions, and their historical periods to identify the images that result from these dissonant discourses and the symbolic systems prevalent in the two Germanys after WWII.

Applying representative work in cultural studies, discourse analysis, in conjunction with reception and communication theory, we will read fictional works from the MA reading list, focusing on a close reading of specific segments of these texts. Copies can be ordered from Amazon.de or are available from the instructor. The emphasis will be on practical application of theory to uncover the fundamental message systems of seminal novels, plays, and stories that reflect discrepant identities such as the trauma of the immediate postwar era in the West (Draußen vor der Tür) and the physical and emotional cost of Stalinist production norms filled under duress in the East (Der Lohndrücker) or the West's satiric looks at the mixed blessings of an economic miracle (Blechtrommel) weighed against the idealism of "rebuilding" (Der geteilte Himmel) in the East. Other topics include East / West looks at feminism, the second generations of the two Germanys, and the way both Germany's addressed the Nazi past. The post unification period will examine the multicultural identities in Germany's literature and cultural realities. Excerpts from representative films will also be shown and available in DVD format to be viewed en toto in the LAITS Lab (Mezes 2.104).

This course is designed to be practical in several different respects. Rather than the traditional seminar paper as a sole option, students will also prepare portfolios for potential classroom applications of work read for different class levels, including a course syllabus that might serve for a 312L class or a sample to submit as part of an eventual job interview process in conjunction with a conference paper relating to that material. Second, students will be asked to make timed (5 minute) presentations in both German and English commensurate with conference and interview settings. Third, written responses to close reading questions will model the format of the comprehensive exam . The course will use the German language exclusively for one half of all class sessions. Longer papers and classroom materials are to be written in English.

Grading:

Essay Questions     20%
Oral Presentations     15%
1st Draft of Paper / Talk     15%
Assignments for Pedagogical Portfolio     20%
Peer Evaluations of Drafts in Progress     5%
Final Draft (Paper)     15%
Final Draft (Syllabus)     10%

A course packet of readings in secondary texts is provided.
Texts (excerpts from texts with #):

Böll, Heinrich Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum
Borchert, Wolfgang. Draußen vor der Tür (on line)
Dürrenmatt, Friedrich. Der Besuch der alten Dame
# Frisch, Biedermann und die Brandstifter
# Grass, Günter. Die Blechtrommel (2 loan copies available)
Hein, Christoph. Drachenblut
Hochhuth. Der Stellvertreter (2 loan copies available)
Müller, der Lohndrücker (2 library and personal copies available)
Schneider, Peter. Vati (2 library and personal copies available)
# Stefan, Verena. Häutungen
# Wallraff, Industriereportagen "Im Stahlrohrwerk"
Weiß, Peter. Marat / Sade (5 copies available)
Wolf, Christa. Der geteilte Himmel, # Kindheitsmuster

Films available at the LAITS lab:

Die Mörder unter uns *
Heimat (also available in the Flawn Academic Center: VIDCASS 8183 V.1-12, #2 and #9 at LAITS)
Deutschland im Herbst * VIDCASS 4850
Blechtrommel
Goodbye Lenin *
Marat / Sade *
Angst essen Seele auf *
Allseitig Reduzierte Persönlichkeit (Redupers) *
Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum

   (starred [*] are on the MA reading / viewing list)


Last update: September 2005
Send electronic mail to: jswaffar@mail.utexas.edu