Courses Taught in German

The following courses have been offered recently and are proposed for the upcoming summer:

GERMAN 101
First Year German I
(FL) 1.0 Credit

Introduction to German language and culture. Four skills (understanding, speaking, reading, writing) and communicative approach to the language of everyday life in German-speaking countries, the language of their histories and societies, their arts and letters.

GERMAN 102
First Year German II
(FL) 1.0 Credit

Second semester of introductory language course. Practice in spoken and written German, vocabulary building, building cultural awareness. Focus on topics of everyday life in German-speaking countries through stories, poetry, music, video, internet, as well as grounding in basic structures of the German language.

GERMAN 203
Intermediate German I
(CZ, FL) 1.0 Credit

Each of these courses builds language proficiency through a topic-oriented syllabus focusing on contemporary German-speaking cultures and societies (family, leisure, work, education, environment, current events).

GERMAN 204
Intermediate German II
(CZ, FL) 1.0 Credit 

(See description of GERMAN 203 above.) Increased focus on reading, speaking, essay writing. Extensive reading includes one full-length play by a contemporary German, Swiss, or Austrian writer.
 
GERMAN 303AS 
Advanced German in Berlin 
(ALP, CCI, CZ, FL) 1.0 Credit

Prerequisite: GERMAN 204 or equivalent. May substitute for 305S or 306S to fulfill major requirement.

Reading and discussion of advanced material centered largely on contemporary Berlin. Development of written and oral proficiency in German, as well as insight into the cultural and historical aspects of the capital.

Courses Taught in English

The following courses have been offered recently and are proposed for the upcoming summer:

GERMAN 362SA / ENVIRON 367SA / ECON 331SA 
Economics of Green Germany 
(SS, STS, EI) 1.0 Credit, Professor Benjamin Gorlach 

Comprehensive overview of the Energiewende—Germany's effort to reshape its energy system, the industry, and building sectors into a nuclear-free, low-carbon economy. Application of a range of analytical methods—including economic assessment tools, legal analyses, and political science—to shed light on different facets of the Energiewende and to help understand the public and academic debates around it. The course thus offers different angles—looking at the economics of the Energiewende, as well as the technological, social, ethical, legal, and political implications. 

GERMAN 365A / ARTHIST 297A 
Art & Architecture of Berlin: Fifteenth to the Twentieth Century   
(ALP, CCI, CZ) 1.0 Credit, Professor Matthias Pabsch 

The main goal of this course is to provide students with an introduction to the visual arts of Germany from the 15th to the 20th century through lectures conducted in Berlin’s museums and cultural institution. Classroom lectures will be kept to a minimum so that students may encounter actual works of art in the city’s magnificent collections. Some lectures will be conducted by guest speakers, such as curators from the Bauhaus Archiv or the Neue Nationalgalerie.

Students will learn about the German Old Masters, such as Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach, as well German Romantic and Realist artists, including Caspar David Friedrich and Adolf Menzel. Germany’s powerful modernist art movements, such as Expressionism and New Objectivity, will be considered in relation to the many upheavals in modern German history. By the end of the course, students will not only have a broad understanding of the development of the visual arts in Germany but also of how art has served in the elusive search and articulation of German cultural identity. Includes architectural bus & walking tours, as well as an excursion to the castles of Potsdam.

GERMAN 222SA / DOCST 171SA / ARTVIS 171SA / VMS 171SA 
Capturing the City: Documentary Photography in Berlin 
(ALP, CCI) 1.0 Credit, Professor Chris Sims

Through excursions to museums, art galleries, and studio visits with photographers and documentarians in Berlin, students will learn and practice the analysis and interpretation of still photography. Students will conduct documentary photography fieldwork projects focused on interpreting cultural life, public spaces, landscapes, and people in Berlin and will mount an exhibition of their work.

Students will learn the techniques and practice of color photography—composition, lighting, color correction, editing, and sequencing—alongside studying the history and development of documentary photography in Germany since the 19th century. Project fieldwork sites may include Tempelhof airfield (a Nazi-era airport made famous during the 1948–1949 Berlin Airlift and now used as a public park as well as reception center for refugees), flea markets, and the Berlin U-Bahn.