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Course Offerings

101, 102 – Beginning German (3cr., 3cr.)

Grammar, emphasis on gaining rapid comprehension and developing fluency in spoken German. Introduction to reading German. Learning to write German.

201, 202 – Intermediate German (3cr., 3cr.)

Prerequisites: German 102 or equivalent for 201; German 201 or equivalent for 202.

Grammar review, concentration on reading for comprehension. Honing of oral skills and writing German. Readings in German 202 focus on global issues.

311 – Introduction to German Literature (4cr.)

Prerequisites: German 202 or equivalent.

Emphasizes texts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Close attention paid to form, content, motifs, character analysis, and social and cultural background.

313 – Business German(4cr.)

Prerequisites: German 393 or equivalent

This course provides students with the basic communicative skills in the German language as used in German business and economics. It introduces students to the economic role of the German-speaking countries in the global economy. Topics include German economic geography, German business and economics terminology in finance, the social welfare system, transport system, the structure of corporations, and the code of behavior in the business world. Students will develop their skills in listening comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking and writing.

317 – German Civilization (4cr.)

Prerequisites: two German 300-level courses.

Survey of the culture and civilization of the German-speaking areas, with emphasis on Germany.

375 – German Literature: the Enlightenment through Romanticism (4cr.)

Prerequisites: two German 300-level courses.

Representative authors like Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Novalis, Tieck, Hoffmann, Brentano, Eichendorff.

376 – German Literature: Post-Romanticism to Turn of the Century (4cr.)

Recommendations: two 300-level German courses.

Representative authors like Heine, Büchner, Grillparzer, Droste-Hülshoff, Hebbel, Storm, Keller, Fontane, Hauptmann.

385, 386 – German Literature of the Twentieth Century (4cr., 4cr.)

Recommendations: two 300-level German courses.

Representative authors like Hofmannsthal, Mann, Kafka, Brecht, Böll, Frisch, Grass, Handke, Bachmann, Wolf, Arjouni.

393, 394, 395 – Advanced Grammar, Conversation, Composition (4cr., 4cr., 4cr.)

Prerequisites: German 202 must be completed before starting this sequence. German 394 is a prerequisite for 395.

Intensive written and oral language practice. Designed to expand the student’s active vocabulary and help the student develop his or her own style. Emphasis on global issues in 394 and 395.

485b, c, d – Seminar in German (4cr)

Prerequisites: two 300-level German courses.

Selected topics in German literature, German cultural studies, or Germanic linguistics:

485b: Visual Histories

This course introduces students to the new and fast-growing academic field of Visual Culture, by examining the histories, theories and practices of cultural production and consumption of visual images/objects in the contemporary and modern world. Western and, increasingly, global culture is dominated by the visual images, whether material or virtual, and by visual experience. The seminar
provides an exciting interdisciplinary framework within which students may explore this expanding field. The course encourages connections across visual arts, architecture, film, cultural studies and critical theory, cultural geography and history.

485c: Representations of Death in German Art, Literature, and Music

This course examines the representation of death in German literature, music, and the visual arts from the middle ages to today. It introduces interdisciplinary approaches and theories in the study of attitudes towards death, dying, the corpse, afterlife, and the relationship between the living and the dead. The class follows mostly a chronological structure and focuses on several themes:
Mortality; war, disease; visions of the afterlife; mourning rituals. Texts include works by Johannes Tepl, Oswald von Wolkenstein, Andreas Gryphius, Lessing, Herder, Novalis, Rilke, Tucholsky, and Brecht. Musical works include the Matthäuspassion by Johann
Sebastian Bach, the Requiems by Mozart and Brahms as well as a selection from Richard Wagners “Tristan und Isolde.”

485d – Representations of the Holocaust in German Culture

485e – Kaffeehausliteratur: Austrian Books, Culture, and Modernity

485g – German in the Sciences

The course supports the increasing number of double majors in German and the STEM fields in connecting their interests. It covers a wide variety of scientific topics (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, environmental sciences, computer sciences) and develops students ability to communicate appropriately in a science context. See an example syllabus: 485G Syllabus (2016).

491, 492 – Individual Study (1-6, 1-6) & Undergraduate Research

Prerequisite: approval of instructor.

During the individual studies, students pursue a research project of their choosing under the supervision of a faculty member. At the end of German 491, they can propose a research paper,which they will write during the term they are enrolled in 492. Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged. Facultymembers will advise students on the presentation of their finished papers at university, regional, and national conferences.

499 – Internship (1-6)

Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

Supervised off-campus experience developed in consultation with the department. Credit only toward Business Minor and as general elective. UMW’s Career Services can help identify possible companies. The German faculty might be able to assist finding internship opportunities in Germany.

In addition, the German program offers the following classes in English. They do not count towards the major.