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German (GER) Courses

Academic Unit: German, Nordic, Slavic & Dutch

GER 222 - Reading German
(0 cr; A-F or Audit; offered Every Fall; 1 academic progress units; 1 financial aid progress units)
Teaches only a reading knowledge of German. Enables graduate students to satisfy departmental requirements for an advanced degree. Intensive reading of German scholarly texts. Emphasizes reading, grammar, some listening, discipline-specific vocabulary.
GER 1001 - Beginning German
(5 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: GER 4001
Emphasis on working toward novice-intermediate low proficiency in all four language modalities (listening, reading, speaking, writing). Topics include everyday subjects (shopping, directions, family, food, housing, etc.).
GER 1002 - Beginning German
(5 cr; Prereq-1001; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: GER 4002
Listening, reading, speaking, writing. Emphasizes proficiency. Topics include free-time activities, careers, and culture of German-speaking areas.
GER 1003 - Intermediate German
(5 cr; Prereq-1002 or Entrance Proficiency Test; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: GER 4003
Listening, reading, speaking, writing. Contextualized grammar/vocabulary. Authentic readings. Essay assignments.
GER 1004 - Intermediate German
(5 cr; Prereq-1003 or completion of Entrance Proficiency Test at 1004 level; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: GER 4004
Listening, reading, speaking, writing. Contextualized grammar/vocabulary. Authentic readings. Essay assignments.
GER 1022 - Beginning German Review
(5 cr; Prereq-Placement above 1001; Student Option; offered Every Fall & Spring)
Intended for students with previous experience in German, primarily those who have studied German in high school or at community colleges, or who are transfer students. Intensive review of all four language modalities (listening, reading, speaking, writing), with a proficiency emphasis to prepare for German 1003.
GER 1551 - Sustainability in Germany: Recreation, Education, Innovation [GP]
(3 cr; Prereq-Ger 1003 or equivalent; may be concurrently enrolled in 1003 ; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Equivalent courses: GER 3551
How has Germany responded to the grand challenge of climate-change? In what ways are perspectives on climate change & sustainability reflected in everyday culture? This course is designed for students to seek answers to these questions by experiencing life in Germany first-hand. During the first part of the course, you will review concepts & vocabulary related to climate change & sustainability, learn about the stages of intercultural development, reflect on your own cultural identity, practice conversational speaking in German, & prepare to immerse yourself in a foreign country. In May, you will apply what you learned as you travel to Freiburg & Munich. There you will see innovative technologies developed to lower CO2 emissions & talk with students, teachers, & business owners to learn about green communities that promote sustainable living. Finally, you will reflect on your own intercultural development as well as how approaches in Germany to climate change differ or are similar to those in your own country.
GER 3011W - Conversation and Composition [WI]
(4 cr; Prereq-1004; Student Option; offered Every Fall & Spring)
Equivalent courses: was GER 3011 until 05-SEP-00
Achieving proficiency in professional or academic German. Refinement of oral/written expression. Review of important communicative modes of language. Wide range of topics to develop advanced level of proficiency.
GER 3012W - Conversation and Composition [WI]
(3 cr; Prereq-3011W; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
Equivalent courses: was GER 3012 until 05-SEP-00
Prepares students for upper-level language and content courses in German. Continues the same focus and approach as 3011 with the addition of a larger reading component.
GER 3014 - German Media
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Introduction to German language media. German language newspaper/magazine articles. The Internet. Radio/TV broadcasts. Structure/style of journalistic prose.
GER 3016 - Techniques of Translation
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Periodic Spring)
Theory/practice of translation from/to German in various genres. Idiomatics, stylistics, and cross-cultural aspects of translation.
GER 3021 - Business German
(3 cr; Prereq-3011 or equiv; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
German economy, business culture. Practice of language used in business. Reading/discussion of German business documents. Preparation of formal letters and reports.
GER 3104W - Reading and Analysis of German Literature [LITR WI]
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: was GER 3104 until 05-SEP-00
Introduction to literary analysis. Readings from drama, prose, and lyric poetry, from 18th century to present.
GER 3421 - 18th-Century German Literature
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
German literature, 1720-1810, Enlightenment/Weimar classicism in historical/cultural context. Reading/discussion of literary/philosophical works, aesthetic criticism.
GER 3441 - 20th-/21st-Century Literature
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
German literature, from 1890 to present, in historical, political, social, and cultural context.
GER 3501 - Contemporary Germany
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
Social, political, and cultural developments in Germany, from 1945 to present.
GER 3510 - Topics in German Studies (Topics course)
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Every Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
One topic in depth dealing with culture or civilization of German-speaking countries.
GER 3511W - German Civilization and Culture: Middle Ages to 1700 [WI]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
Equivalent courses: was GSD 3511W until 20-JAN-15, was GER 3511 until 05-SEP-00
Survey of representative cultural-historical events in Germany from early Germanic times to 1700.
GER 3512W - German Civilization and Culture: 1700 to the Present [WI]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Equivalent courses: was GSD 3512W until 20-JAN-15, was GER 3512 until 05-SEP-00
Survey of representative cultural-historical events in Germany from 1700 to the present.
GER 3520 - Topics in Austrian and Central European Culture (Topics course)
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Culture, politics, and economy in Austria and Central Europe. Comparative analysis of cultural/political developments. Topics vary.
GER 3551 - Sustainability in Germany: Recreation, Education, Innovation [GP]
(3 cr; Prereq-Ger 3011 or equivalent; may be concurrently enrolled in 3011; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Equivalent courses: GER 1551
How has Germany responded to the grand challenge of climate-change? In what ways are perspectives on climate change & sustainability reflected in everyday culture? This course is designed for students to seek answers to these questions by experiencing life in Germany first-hand. During the first part of the course, you will review concepts & vocabulary related to climate change & sustainability, learn about the stages of intercultural development, reflect on your own cultural identity, practice conversational speaking in German, & prepare to immerse yourself in a foreign country. In May, you will apply what you learned as you travel to Freiburg & Munich. There you will see innovative technologies developed to lower CO2 emissions & talk with students, teachers, & business owners to learn about green communities that promote sustainable living. Finally, you will reflect on your own intercultural development as well as how approaches in Germany to climate change differ or are similar to those in your own country.
GER 3601 - German Medieval Literature [LITR GP]
(3 cr; Prereq-No knowledge of German required; Student Option; offered Fall Odd, Spring Even Year)
Literary investigation of the greatest works of medieval German poetry. Readings in English. Majors will be required to write a paper with use of secondary sources in English and German.
GER 3604W - Introduction to German Cinema [AH WI GP]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Fall Even, Spring Odd Year)
Equivalent courses: was GER 3604 until 05-SEP-00
An introduction to the study of German cinema, with a focus on the relation between German film and German history, literature, culture, and politics.
GER 3610 - German Literature in Translation (Topics course)
(3 cr; Prereq-No knowledge of German required; cr toward major or minor requires reading in German; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
In-depth study of authors or topics from various periods in German literature.
GER 3631 - Jewish and German Writing at the Margins: Multilingualism, Race, Memory
(3 cr; Prereq-No knowledge of German required; some work in German must be done in order to count this course toward a German minor or a German, Scandinavian, Dutch major.; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
Equivalent courses: was CSCL 3631 until 06-SEP-05, was JWST 3631 until 07-SEP-99, CSCL 3123, JWST 3631
How are minority stories, novels, and poems constructed at the margins of a majority culture?s language? This course addresses this question by exploring the complexity of Jewish culture in modernity, with a focus on 20th and 21st century German and American literature. We will first tackle the open-ended and endlessly productive question of what is meant by Jewish culture. What is a Jewish writer and is there such a thing as Jewish writing? What makes a text "Jewish"? How do Jewish authors challenge the assumptions of majority culture in their work? What role do multilingualism and translation play in the formation of Jewish cultures at the margins? We will trace the lines of affinity between the U.S. and Europe to explore the entangled histories of Germans and Jews, and between German Jews and Turkish Germans, as we look at works that challenge and expand the definition of Jewishness in the 20th century. Additional topics to be considered include how the legacies of American slavery and European colonialism shape our understandings of the Nazi genocide of the Jews, and whether Jewish writing should be understood under the rubric of "whiteness." Moving beyond the approach to German Jewish literary studies anchored in Weimar Germany, we will explore the circulation of Jewish memory between Europe and the U.S. in the aftermath of the Holocaust. We will read works by, among others, Franz Kafka, Paul Celan, Gershon Scholem, Hannah Arendt, Benjamin Stein, Walter Benjamin, Barbara Honigmann, Helene Cixous, Raymond Federman, W.G. Sebald, Allen Ginsberg, Adeena Karasick, Alfred Kazin, Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Bernard Malamud, Avram Sutzkever, Zafer Senocak.
GER 3633 - The Holocaust: Memory, Narrative, History [GP HIS]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring)
Equivalent courses: JWST 3633
Decades after the end of the second world war, the Holocaust continues to play a formative role in public discourse about the past in Germany and Austria. As the event itself recedes into the past, our knowledge about the Holocaust has become increasingly shaped by literary and filmic representations of it. This course has several objectives: first, to deepen students' historical knowledge of the events and experiences of the Holocaust, and at the same time to introduce critical models for examining the relationship between personal experience, historical events, and forms of representation. This class will introduce students to the debates about the politics of memory and the artistic representation of the Holocaust, with special focus on public debates about the complex ways in which Holocaust memory surfaces in contemporary Germany and Austria, and by the accrual of layers of text and discourse about the Holocaust. We will explore the controversies and debates about public Holocaust memorialization in Germany, Austria, and the U.S. We will also explore the complex interplay between documentary and fictional accounts of the Holocaust, with attention paid to literary and film texts that challenge and "remediate" the limits of Holocaust representation. Additional topics will include Holocaust testimony; Holocaust memoirs, and 2nd and 3rd generation Holocaust literature, the Historians' Debate of the 1980s. No knowledge of German required.
GER 3634 - Women & Nonbinary German Authors: Cultural History & Constructing Selves through Narrative & Media
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Examination of narrative texts and media by women and nonbinary German writers against a background of the cultural history of Germany spanning the 18th through the 20th century. Focus on personal narrative texts, both written and visual, and readings in literary and cultural theory and history. All readings in English.
GER 3641 - German Folklore [LITR GP]
(3 cr; Prereq-No knowledge of German required; cr for major or minor by arrangement with instructor; Student Option; offered Fall Even, Spring Odd Year)
Literary and cultural investigation of the main folklore genres: charms, legends, folktales, and ballads; their composition, origin, and role in society with a strong emphasis on their international character. Readings in English. Majors required to write a paper with use of secondary sources in English and German.
GER 3651 - Thinking Environment: Green Culture, German Literature and Global Debates [LITR ENV]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Fall Odd, Spring Even Year)
Equivalent courses: GER 5651
How environmental thinking became social-political force through German literature/culture, with comparisons to global or U.S. developments. Authors include Goethe, Christa Wolf, Enzensberger.
GER 3655 - Cultures of Control and Surveillance in Germany and the US [CIV HIS]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Fall Odd Year)
Discourses and practices of social control and surveillance in comparative/historical perspective. Explores the central conceptual condition for modern ethics: the relationship between individual and society. Paintings, manuals, scholarly and philosophical essays, and literary texts including writings by Franz Kafka.
GER 3661 - African Americans in Germany [HIS DSJ]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Fall Odd Year)
Equivalent courses: HIST 3859
How have African Americans understood their experiences with race outside of the United States? African Americans have been migrating and circulating the globe since the American Revolution, and it is only recently that scholars have considered the ways in which an abroad experience has been transformative for African Americans. In this seminar-style class, we will explore why and how African Americans have used their experiences in Germany to express a new understanding of their identity in the United States.
GER 3671W - Modern Art in Germany and Central Europe [AH WI]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Fall Odd Year)
This course examines the relationship between art and modernity by surveying the development of modern art in Germany and Central Europe from the nineteenth century to the present day. Over the course of the semester, we will consider artworks created in a variety of media while examining how artists engaged with a number of modernity?s key issues?from the rise of the self as a locus of expression, to the political ambitions of the interwar avant-garde and the threat of fascism, to the impact of new media technologies, consumer culture, and an increasingly globalized reality on artistic practice. Students will develop skills in close-looking, visual analysis, and historical interpretation through close-looking exercises carried out in class and through written assignments. Class lectures will occasionally be supplemented by field trips to museums such as the Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Walker Art Center, where students will have the opportunity to discuss and analyze original works of art in person. Class discussions, readings, and assignments will all be in English, with additional German-language texts available for interested students.
GER 3701 - History of the German Language
(3 cr; Prereq-1004; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Change in grammar and lexicon, 750 A.D. to present.
GER 3702 - Beginning Middle High German
(3 cr; Prereq-1004; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Middle High German grammar. Selected literary texts.
GER 3993 - Directed Studies
(1 cr [max 4]; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 12 times)
Guided individual reading or study. Prereq instr consent, dept consent, college consent.
GER 4001 - Beginning German for Graduate Research
(5 cr; Prereq-Grad student; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: GER 1001 (starting 02-SEP-08)
Emphasis on working toward novice-intermediate low proficiency in all four language modalities (listening, reading, speaking, writing). Topics include everyday subjects (shopping, directions, family, food, housing, etc.). Meets concurrently with 1001.
GER 4002 - Beginning German for Graduate Research
(5 cr; Prereq-Grad student; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: GER 1002 (starting 20-JAN-15)
Listening, reading, speaking, writing. Emphasizes proficiency. Topics include free-time activities, careers, and culture of German-speaking areas. Meets concurrently with 1002.
GER 4003 - Intermediate German for Graduate Research
(5 cr; Prereq-Grad student; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: GER 1003 (starting 20-JAN-15)
Listening, reading, speaking, writing. Contextualized grammar/vocabulary. Authentic readings. Essay assignments. Meets concurrently with 1003.
GER 4004 - Intermediate German for Graduate Research
(5 cr; Prereq-Grad student; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Equivalent courses: GER 1004 (starting 23-MAY-16)
Listening, reading, speaking, writing. Contextualized grammar/vocabulary. Authentic readings. Essay assignments. Meets concurrently with 1004.
GER 5011 - Advanced Conversation and Composition
(3 cr; Prereq-3012, [grad student or adv undergrad]; Student Option; offered Fall Odd Year)
Achieving high proficiency in writing/speaking professional/academic German.
GER 5210 - Topics in German Media Theory (Topics course)
(3 cr [max 4]; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
This course offers an in-depth exploration of current methods, issues, and debates in German media theory, aesthetics, and practice. Topics will vary by semester.
GER 5410 - Topics in German Literature (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Topic may focus on a specific author, group of authors, genre, period, or subject matter. Topics specified in Class Schedule.
GER 5510 - Topics in Contemporary German Culture (Topics course)
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
A topic of contemporary German culture explored in depth.
GER 5610 - German Literature in Translation (Topics course)
(3 cr; Prereq-No knowledge of German required; cr toward major or minor requires reading in German; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Study in depth of authors or topics from various periods in German literature. Requires no knowledge of German.
GER 5651 - Thinking Environment: Green Culture, German Literature and Global Debates [LITR ENV]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Fall Odd, Spring Even Year)
Equivalent courses: GER 3651 (starting 03-SEP-13)
How environmental thinking became social-political force through German literature/culture, with comparisons to global or U.S. developments. Authors include Goethe, Christa Wolf, Enzensberger.
GER 5711 - History of the German Language I
(3 cr; Prereq-3011; Student Option; offered Fall Even Year)
Historical development of German, from beginnings to 1450.
GER 5721 - Introduction to Middle High German
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Fall Odd Year)
Introduction to Middle High German language and literature. Study of grammar through formal description of Middle High German phonology, morphology, and syntax. Normalized MHG texts read.
GER 5734 - Old Saxon
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Study of the poetry of Old Saxon. Detailed investigation of Old Saxon in comparison with the other Old Germanic languages.
GER 5993 - Directed Studies
(1 cr [max 4]; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 12 times)
Guided individual reading or study. Prereq instr consent, dept consent, college consent.
GER 8002 - Basic Seminar in German Studies
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Equivalent courses: was GSD 8001 until 28-MAY-13
Theory and methods applicable in study of German literature and culture; introduction to bibliography and research skills; guided research projects.
GER 8010 - Current Debates in Literary and Cultural Theory (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 4 times)
Seminar. Close readings of theoretical constellations in texts. Topic such as text/image, history/memory/time, oral culture/literacy, public/private, authority/crisis. Draws on literary, philosopical, and theoretical work.
GER 8020 - Problems in Literary and Cultural History (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 4 times)
Historiographic texts as literature and literary or filmic texts as historical documents. Homogenizing/constructive elements in historiography. Strategies of writing historical syntheses.
GER 8200 - Seminar in Medieval German Literature and Culture (Topics course)
(3 cr; Prereq-5721; Student Option; offered Spring Even Year; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Topics on specific author, group of authors, genre, or subject matter in German literature, ca. 800-1450.
GER 8210 - Seminar in Early Modern German Literature and Culture (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Topics on specific author, group of authors, genre, or subject matter in German literature, 1450-1750.
GER 8220 - Seminar in 18th-Century German Literature and Culture (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Literary, philosophical, and aesthetic texts emerging from major 18th-century literary trends, 1720-1810. Cultural and historical contexts of Enlightenment and Weimar Classicism.
GER 8230 - Seminar in 19th-Century German Literature and Culture (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Examination of an author, issue, or movement, using a variety of critical approaches.
GER 8240 - Seminar in 20th-/21st-Century German Literature and Culture (Topics course)
(3 cr; A-F or Audit; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Topics on literature, film, or other forms of "high" and popular culture.
GER 8300 - Topics in Literature and Cultural Theory (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 18 credits; may be repeated 6 times)
Authors, themes, movements, and social issues from 1700 to present. Focus varies each semester.
GER 8741 - Gothic and Methods of Comparative Reconstruction I
(3 cr; Student Option)
The oldest extant Germanic language and the prehistory of Germanic group of languages.
GER 8742 - Gothic and Methods of Comparative Reconstruction II
(3 cr; Prereq-8741; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall)
Continuation of study of the oldest extant Germanic language and the prehistory of Germanic group of languages.
GER 8751 - Paleography: Medieval Manuscript Readings
(3 cr; A-F or Audit; offered Periodic Spring)
Introduction to techniques of reading and transcribing medieval German and Latin manuscripts.
GER 8752 - Medieval Text Editing
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Spring)
Introduction to techniques of historical text-critical editing of medieval Germanic and Latin manuscripts.
GER 8820 - Seminar: Advanced Theory (Topics course)
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Periodic Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 9 credits; may be repeated 3 times)
Topic in critical thought, e.g., the Frankfurt School, hermeneutics, reception theory.
GER 8994 - Directed Research
(1 cr [max 3]; Prereq-instr consent, dept consent; may be taken as tutorial with instr consent; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 12 times)
tbd

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