University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · Courses
GERM
136 courses with the subject GERM, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
GERM 101Elementary German I3
German 101 will get you to start developing the four major language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a cultural context. This course will provide you with an expanding set of vocabulary and grammar, as well as cultural knowledge, so that you will feel comfortable conversing in German about a wide range of topics, including your family, your studies, your likes and dislikes, your hobbies, and even historical events. You will learn to interpret German language texts from a variety of sources and enhance your knowledge of cultural differences and similarities between German-speaking countries and your own. Honors version available.
This continuation of GERM 101 emphasizes speaking, listening, reading, writing in a cultural context. Students enhance their basic vocabulary and grammar and will regularly communicate in German about everyday topics. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 105 and GERM 101 or 102. Honors version available.
Students acquire necessary materials and opportunities to develop further their language skills in a cultural context. They review and expand upon the basic grammar covered in beginning German. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 206 and GERM 203 or GERM 204. Honors version available.
GERM 204Essential German for Advanced Proficiency: Vielfalt in Practice3
German 204 continues to develop the four major language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a highly authentic cultural context. Students will undertake a creative project that will span the entire semester and require you to incorporate peer and instructor feedback at specific points in your creative process. In addition, you will review and practice grammar topics to successfully bridge to 300-level GERM courses. Honors version available.
GERM 207The Psychology of Language Learning Motivation: Why We Keep Going (or Give Up)3
Why do some people fall in love with language learning while others stop after 'hello'? This course explores the psychology of motivation and the factors that shape language learning, including emotion, identity, and educational context. Through global case studies, students investigate how these forces influence persistence and success. Coursework emphasizes hands-on research: designing surveys, analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data, and evaluating the strengths and limits of different forms of evidence. Students will develop projects that explain what sustains language learners and present their findings through clear, audience-ready reports, visualizations, and presentations.
GERM 210Getting Medieval: Knights, Violence, and Romance3
Offers a historical perspective on the portrayal of medieval culture in film from the 1920s to today. Specific topics include the ideal hero, the quest, etiquette, chivalry, rituals, and love. Readings and discussions in English.
This course examines concepts that medieval texts utilize in order to articulate an understanding of human beings, their relations to others, their social, political, and religious worlds. Readings and discussions in English.
GERM 215Germanic Heroic Legend: Heroes and Villains, Monsters and Marauders3
Examination of representations of the warrior culture of the Germanic-language areas of the Atlantic North (Germany, Scandinavia, Anglo-Saxon England) from the Gallic Wars under Julius Caesar (58--50 BCE) through the Migration Age (ca. 300--600 CE). Readings and class discussions in English. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 215 and GSLL 53.
This interdisciplinary course examines representations of women, concepts of gender, and women's participation in the economic, political, religious, and cultural life of the Middle Ages. Discussion and texts in English.
The Reformation was seminal for the development of the modern world. This course will investigate Reformation literature written in the period from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 17th century, and will investigate how Reformation ideas resonate through today. Readings and discussions in English.
GERM 244Reason and Passion in German Literature and Thought3
This course introduces students to the most important authors of the Enlightenment and Romanticism, with a focus on the German philosophical and literary tradition. The course will focus on how these authors negotiated tensions between overwhelming affects and the demands of rationality: a problem of ethical, political, and personal importance with which we are still grappling. Readings and discussions in English.
An introduction to the writings of three great German writers of the 19th century who have had enormous impact on the lives of people around the world. Readings and discussions in English.
GERM 247Music, Madness, and Genius: The Pathologies of German Musical Literature3
This course surveys the themes of madness and genius and their relation to music in German literature of the 19th and 20th century. Readings and class discussions in English. Prior knowledge of music is recommended but not required.
The idea of world literature was a German invention, proposed by Goethe to describe literature of universal importance for all of humanity. German thought, and German literature, in particular, remains an important component in this canon. This English-language literature course introduces newcomers to some highlights of German literature.
GERM 255The Twilight of the World: Ecological Crises in German Literature and Film3
This seminar explores how German authors and film makers have grappled to come to terms with ecological crises from early Romanticism to the present. We will examine philosophical, literary, and cinematic investigations of natural and nuclear catastrophes, pollution, waste, mass extinction, and climate change. Readings and class discussions in English. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 255 and GSLL 52.
This course examines the work of one or several film directors who went into exile during the Third Reich to discuss: How does the experience of exile influence film style? What are theories and histories of exile and exile cinema, and how do they relate to other approaches to film, via national film histories, genre, style, etc.? How does a biography of exile relate to so-called auteur theory? Readings and Discussions in English.
GERM 265Hitler in Hollywood: Cinematic Representations of Nazi Germany3
An examination of selected cinematic representations (both American and German) of Nazi Germany in terms of their aesthetic properties and propagandistic value. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.
Explores important German films of 1919 to 1933, locating them in their artistic, cultural, and historical context. Treats the contested course of Weimar film history and culture and provides a theoretically informed introduction to the study of film and visual materials. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.
We will explore the works of one or more German director(s). By watching a sample of a director's oeuvre over a significant period of time, students come to understand the director's arch, identify common threads in their films, and consider how his or her work relates to larger developments in German film history. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.
Introduction to feminist aesthetics and film theory by the examination of the representation of women in German cinema from expressionism to the present. All materials and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM/WGST 250.
This course explores the major developments of German cinema. All films with English subtitles. Readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 275.
GERM 274Representing the Holocaust: Mediating Trauma in Art and Theory3
This course will explore artistic mediations of the Holocaust in literature, film, and beyond. It focuses on questions of representation, authenticity, appropriateness and uniqueness, the role of memory, the problems and limits of language in articulating the Shoah, and issues of trauma and justice. Readings and class discussions in English. Previously offered as GSLL 274.
GERM 277Trouble in Paradise: Freedom, Democracy, Capitalism, Neutrality Through the Lens of Swiss Authors3
In this course we will read a selection of texts and watch movies that cast a vigilant eye on the role the ideas of freedom, democracy, civil rights, neutrality, the humanitarian tradition, justice, capitalism as well as the notion of authenticity, acceptance, morality, or the alpine idyll have played in Switzerland's self-understanding and in its relationship with Europe and the world. Readings and class discussions in English.
GERM 278Performance, Drama, Translation, Adaptation and Ethnographic Exchange3
German drama has been fundamental to shaping the country's identity. Thus, what better way to learn about a culture and history than to engage with its dramatic texts and performance? Nevertheless, there are always nuances that can potentially get lost in translation when adapting a text from one language to another. What does a reader of the translation need to know in order to properly understand the play? Readings and discussions in English.
GERM 279Once Upon A Fairy Tale: Fairy Tales and Childhood, Then and Now3
Considers fairy tales from several different national traditions and historical periods against the backdrop of folklore, literature, psychoanalysis, and the socializing forces directed at children. Readings and class discussions in English. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 279/CMPL 279 and GSLL 54.
GERM 281The German Idea of War: Philosophical Dialogues with the Literary and Visual Arts in WWI3
This course brings into dialogue key ideas from seminal German philosophers who anticipated, experienced, or survived the Great War, with contemporary works of German literature, film, and painting. Of concern are the ways philosophy's concepts and art's themes shaped both one another and the idea of war. Readings and discussions in English.
GERM 283Freedom, Terror, and Identity: Modern Philosophy from Kant to Arendt3
This course investigates how philosophical thought motivates, inspires, and generates forms of agency and identity against cultural tendencies that limit or erode freedom. Readings, lecture, and discussion in English.
GERM 284Translations and Adaptations of German Pop Literature3
By reading a few longer novels over the course of the semester, students will learn how to hone their critical thinking and reading skills, become familiar with a foreign culture, and consider how American culture is reflected back at them in these post-1960 German texts. Readings and discussions in English.
GERM 285Contemporary German Literature in Translation3
This class will introduce students to the latest translations of recent novels by both established and up-and-coming authors of the post-1989 German literary world. Readings and class discussions in English.
GERM 286(Un)Welcomed Guests? German Reflections on Exile and Immigration3
This course introduces students to philosophical, literary, and film texts engaging with the ethics of migration. How might the writings by and depictions of refugees throughout German history resonate with the current crisis? The course includes a service learning component, so that students gain experience working with local refugees and are able to use their practical experience to reflect on the theoretical discussions in class. Readings and discussions in English.
GERM 301Advanced Spoken German: Vielfalt in Media3
An advanced language course for developing oral communication skills by examining and discussing contemporary German media (film, radio, literature). In addition to strengthening their command of German language skills, students will create their own media broadcast (podcast, video, interview, etc.) that engages cultural difference between North American and German societies.
GERM 302Advanced Written German: Vielfalt in Analytic and Creative Writing3
An advanced language course for developing writing skills by engaging German approaches to analytic and creative modes of expression. In addition to strengthening their command of German language skills, students will also reflect on a variety of contemporary topics (environmentalism, technology, work and education) shaping German-speaking Europe.
Readings, discussions, and essays in German. An appropriate conclusion to GERM 101-204, it also provides the background for more advanced undergraduate literature and culture courses.
An introduction to the language of German work culture, business, commerce, and industry. Special emphasis is given to the acquisition of advanced professional language skills and cultural competencies in the workplace. Course conducted in German.
GERM 304 recommended but not required. As a continuation of GERM 304 the course offers a more advanced treatment of the current German economic and business debates and events while further strengthening relevant German language skills. Course conducted in German.
This course provides a practical and theoretical introduction to translation from and into German. Translation practices will be discussed not only from a linguistic perspective, but also from a cultural and historical perspective.
GERM 307German for Educational and Community Engagement1
The goal of this course is to enrich students' knowledge of German by giving them the opportunity to teach elementary German classes to high school students at a local partner school. In preparation for teaching, students will learn about current best practices in foreign language pedagogy by engaging with foundational texts from the discipline as well as from invited guest speakers. Students will also gain first-hand experience designing teaching materials and learning about curricular design.
GERM 325Fools and Laughter in Early Modern German Literature3
Fools are everywhere. Human folly is one of the most distinctive preoccupations of German literature of the early modern period. This course will explore the multiple meanings of the German term "fool" in works from the 15th to the 18th century. Readings and discussions in German.
German literature from the Enlightenment to Romanticism. Readings include works by Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, and the Romantics. Readings and lectures in German.
GERM 349Vienna-Munich-Berlin: Revolutions in German Art c. 19003
Investigation of the interconnectedness of turn-of-the-century arts, philosophy, psychoanalysis with focus on Berlin and Vienna. Works by Hauptmann, Wedekind, Schnitzler, Freud, Schoenberg, Hofmannsthal, Rilke, T. Mann. Readings and lectures in German.
Examines exciting new directions in German and Austrian cinema from the past 20 years. By analyzing weekly films, students develop skills in film analysis and criticism; read reviews, interviews, and film-theoretical texts; write a film review; and produce a critical essay. Readings and discussions in German. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 367 and 467.
Introduction to German intellectual history from the Enlightenment to the rise of fascism. Close readings and discussions of texts by Kant, Schiller, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, and Benjamin. Readings and lectures in German.
Famous novellas by authors such as Kleist, Brentano, Meyer, Keller, and Kafka, from the early 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. Readings and discussions in German.
German drama from the late Enlightenment to the present. Texts include plays by dramatists such as Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Hauptmann, Brecht, and Dürrenmatt. Readings and lectures in German.
GERM 373"Denk ich an Deutschland. . .": German Lyrical Poetry through the Centuries3
Survey of German lyric poetry from 18th to 21st century; major poets, forms, literary movements discussed. Readings, class discussions, and public recitation in German.
GERM 374German Theater: Words Speak as Loudly as Actions3
Students study German plays, write original monodramas, and give two public dramatic performances. Readings, discussions, rehearsals in German aim to enable critique of dramas and theoretical texts.
GERM 379German-Language Swiss Literature and Culture3
This course offers an introduction to the German-language literature and culture of Switzerland. Possible authors include: Jeremias Gotthelf, Gottfried Keller, Robert Walser, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Max Frisch, Christian Kracht.
Presents Austria from the Biedermeier period to the end of the monarchy. Readings of works by authors such as Stifter, Schnitzler, Roth, Freud, Herzl, who articulate artistic, political, historical themes. Readings and lectures in German.
GERM 381Berlin: Mapping a (Post) Modern Metropolis3
Exploration of the rich cultural and turbulent political history of 20th-century Germany by focusing on the literature, film, art, and architecture produced in and about the city of Berlin. All materials and discussions in German.
GERM 382Representations of Violence and Terrorism in Contemporary German Literature and Film3
Investigates literary and cinematic response to rise in terrorism in Germany since 1970. Focus on cultural and political significance of the gangster, the freedom fighter, and the terrorist. Readings and discussions in German.
GERM 383Recycling the Past: East German Literature3
Explores the practice in East Germany of adapting earlier literatures and setting contemporary narratives in distant times. East German authors used cultural heritage as a screen for utopian sentiments and for pursuing the relationships between everyday life, historical conditions, and political circumstances. Readings and discussions in German.
GERM 384Guilt, Suffering, and Trauma in Post War Germany3
German texts from 1945 to the present trace the depth of fascist violence and its aftermath in German historical writing and identity. How have Germans positioned themselves toward their history over time? Does one understand oneself as perpetrator, victim, or both? Readings and discussions in German.
GERM 385Schein/Sein: Turkish German Culture, 1964 to Today3
Students will learn about Turkish migration to Germany following WWII. Students will read texts written about Turkish guest workers, as well as first-hand accounts from guest workers and literary texts by Turkish artists of the first, second, and third generation. Readings and discussions in German.
GERM 386Germany Goes East: Contemporary German Literature by Eastern European Immigrants3
Since 1989, writers born in the former Eastern Bloc have taken German literature by storm. We investigate this contemporary prose, exploring themes like homeland and diaspora, communism and capitalism, German history and the European Union. Readings and class discussions in German.
Students may enroll only in conjunction with a German Department course offered in English that features an accompanying discussion section. All materials and discussions in German. May count toward the major or minor in German.
A recitation section for selected courses that promote foreign language proficiency across the curriculum (LAC). Readings and discussions in German. May count toward the major and minor in German.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
1
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 4 total credits.
GERM 400Grammar by Design: Unlocking the Rules of German Grammar3
This advanced German grammar course invites participants to engage with language through the principles of scientific inquiry, fostering both analytical and creative thinking. Students will apply logic, imagination, and empirical testing to explore and justify grammatical rules, patterns, and deviation as they occur naturally in the German language. By generating and testing hypotheses about grammatical structures, learners will design investigations that challenge their understanding of the language, collect and interpret linguistic data, and make informed inferences that account for nuance and variation. The course includes a series of projects and presentations, allowing students to apply their findings in real-world contexts.
GERM 410Getting Medieval. Or: What Makes Us Modern?3
In GERM 410 we will strive to understand what the adjective 'medieval' entails and juxtapose it with notions of what it means to be modern. We will examine mostly German medieval works of art and literature and put them in dialogue with modern adaptations of the Middle Ages. Readings and class discussions in English.
Lecture/discussion course on the history and culture of the Vikings and their impact on Europe circa 750-1050 CE. Emphasis on what we can and cannot know about these Scandinavian raiders, traders, and farmers from archeological, historical, literary, and legal evidence. Readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 216.
GERM 426Play Time: Theater in the Medieval and Early Modern World3
This course explores the vibrant world of medieval and early modern performance and theater. Students will discover how religious and secular plays were a formative component of marking time and creating community through their integration into liturgical practice, with Jews performing Purim plays and Christians staging plays at Christmas, during Carnival and Lent, and Easter. They will encounter entire cities transformed into public spaces of performance, often political and for days at a time. Readings and class discussions in English.
GERM 427From Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr.: The Origins of Religious Freedom3
This course examines the theological and historical foundations of religious freedom in the United States, from the Protestant Reformation to the Civil Rights Movement. Starting with Martin Luther's challenge to the Catholic Church in "The Freedom of a Christian" (1520), the course traces key ideas such as religious tolerance, separation of church and state, and freedom of belief. Foundational documents from American democracy and the Civil Rights Movement will be used to explore how these concepts evolved and became central to American ideals of religious freedom. Readings and Discussions in English.
This course examines the historical conditions governing the emergence of radical thought in the nineteenth century with an emphasis on the German context. It will analyze some of the boldest thought experiments of the period--whether conservative or revolutionary, ideologically right or left--by following an intellectual itinerary from Hegel to Marx. We will then interrogate the consequences of this trajectory for contemporary theory and culture. Readings and class discussions in English.
GERM 449Vienna, Munich, Berlin. Revolution in German Art ca. 19003
Investigation of the interconnectedness of turn-of-the-century arts, philosophy, and psychoanalysis with focus on Berlin and Vienna. Works by Hauptmann, Wedekind, Schnitzler, Freud, Schoenberg, Hofmannsthal, Hofmannsthal/Strauss, Rilke, and T. Mann. Class discussions and lectures in English Reading in English (German optional).
Explores Nietzsche on literature, and Hesse's and Mann's literary thematization of Nietzsche's philosophy. Emphasis on conceptions of character, myth, music, and language, and Nietzsche's cultural and moral critique and its reevaluation in light of the 20th century political crises. Taught in English; some readings in German for qualified students.
We all have an understanding of what the term "modern" means. But what is "modernist"? This course examines the multifaceted and complex relationship between these two concepts during the first half of the 20th century. It introduces students to modernism as a broad literary, artistic, cinematic, and philosophical phenomenon and interrogates its development against the back-drop of the rise of modernity since the 19th century. Placing its focus on the German and Austrian tradition from Nietzsche to Walter Benjamin, the course asks how modernism took shape in radical innovations across numerous genres, art forms, and media.
This course explores canonical German literary texts written between 1945 and 2000 that wrestle with the historical transformation of German guilt for world war and genocide into suffering and trauma. Readings and class discussions in English.
Examines exciting new directions in German and Austrian cinema from the past 20 years. By analyzing weekly films, students develop skills in film analysis and criticism; read reviews, interviews, and film-theoretical texts; write a film review; and produce a critical essay. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 367 and 467. Previously offered as CMPL 267/GERM 267.
GERM 474Words and Pictures: Literature and Photography in the 20th Century3
The course examines literary responses to the medium of photography from the early 20th to the early 21st century. It explores how the ''realism'' of photographic images challenged, inspired, and transformed the character of literary narration. It asks about the ways in which literary texts used and incorporated photographs for their own fictional and documentary purposes. And it relates these aesthetic purposes to the particular socio-political contexts--ranging from the rise of modernity around 1900 to post-modern debates around 2000--in which the respective works were produced. Authors include Kafka, Rilke, Benjamin, Kluge, Barthes, Sontag, and Sebald. Taught in English.
GERM 475Different than the Others: Stories of Queer German Liberation, 1864-20213
This English-language seminar introduces students to over 150 years of LGBTQ+ repression and liberation in German-speaking Europe, from the prohibition of same-sex acts in 1871 to the present, through the lens of German literature and film. Readings and class discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 282.
GERM 481Berlin: Mapping a (Post) Modern Metropolis3
This course aims to capture the spirit of the city as students engage in multiple texts from the 19th and 20th centuries representative of the city's literary, cultural, and visual history. The texts range from Theodor Fontane's bourgeoisie in Mitte to the Turkish-German minority in Kreuzberg. In addition to reading literary texts, students will also watch films and music videos, and discuss art and architecture. Readings and class discussions in English.
GERM 483Recycling the Past: East German Literature3
Explores the practice in East Germany of adapting earlier literatures and setting contemporary narratives in distant times. East German authors used cultural heritage as a screen for utopian sentiments and for pursuing the relationships between everyday life, historical conditions, and political circumstances. Readings and discussions in English.
This course enables a student to earn a maximum of three credit hours for a faculty-supervised internship directly related to the study of German literature or culture, or that uses the German language in day-to-day conduct of business in a German-speaking environment.
LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Introduction to formal analysis of German grammar (phonology, morphophonemics, prosodics, morphology, syntax) within the framework of generative grammar.
Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic analysis of Early New High German texts, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax. On demand.
Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic analysis of Old High German texts, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax; comparison of the various dialects with other older dialects of Germanic. On demand.
Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic study of biblical texts (Heliand, Genesis) in Old Saxon, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax; comparison with Old English, Old High German, and other Germanic dialects. On demand.
Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic analysis of Old Norse (Old Icelandic) texts, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax; comparison with other older dialects of Germanic. On demand.
Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic analysis of Gothic biblical texts, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax; comparison with other older dialects of Germanic. On demand.
LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Study of stylistic theories and practices in literature and linguistics, analysis of a large variety of texts, written exercises, training in the use of stylistic devices.
LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Major topics in sociolinguistics: development of the German language, traditional dialects, variation in contemporary speech, German as a minority language (Alsace, Belgium), German outside of Germany (Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein).
LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Special problems will be selected for intensive investigation. Subject matter of the course will be adapted to the particular interests of the students and instructor.
What do we really know about how people learn a second language? This advanced seminar examines major theories of language learning, from behaviorist and innatist models to sociocultural and dynamic systems approaches. Students will critically evaluate research traditions, assess the cognitive and social factors that shape acquisition, and reflect on applications to pedagogy and policy. A central focus will be questioning what we think we know about language learning and how theories reshape those assumptions. Case studies from German and other world languages provide the foundation for discussion and application.
This course offers a survey of structuralist, poststructuralist, and posthumanist thought. It examines in particular how these forms of thought address the ethical, political, ecological, aesthetic and existential challenges of the present. Readings and class discussions in English.
GERM 555Interrogating Cultures of Fascism: Introduction to Frankfurt School's Critical Theory 1923-Present3
This research-intensive seminar for advanced undergraduates covers the history of the Frankfurt School and the scope of its theory for contemporary social, political, and cultural analysis. Taught in English; some readings in German for qualified students. Students must have junior or senior standing or have permission of the instructor. This 500-level course has no prerequisites. Because of the complexity of the texts, students should have at least sophomore and prior classroom experience with philosophical texts.
GERM 556Language Remains: Exploring the German-Jewish Dialogue3
This course explores German-Jewish writing before and after the Holocaust, focusing on the social and political position of Jews as a minority in German-speaking countries and how those are manifest in their writing and relation to the German language. Readings and class discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 466/JWST 466.
GERM 56020th-Century German Philosophy and Modern Youth Cultures3
This philosophical Approaches course investigates the rich European intellectual foundations on which 20th-century youth culture erected its triumvirate of sex, drugs, and rock music. Readings and class discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 280.
GERM 565Sick Stories: Illness, Pain, and Medicine in German Literature and Beyond3
This course examines portrayals of illness, pain, and medicine in German literature and beyond from the Middle Ages to today. Students engage with novels, plays, essays, films, and theory--from Sophocles and Thomas Mann to Kafka, Freud, Woolf, and Biss--alongside critics like Sontag and Berlant. Integrating literary studies, medical humanities, and ethics, the class explores how narratives of suffering address dignity, justice, and civic responsibility. Students analyze how personal and professional medical experiences shape literary forms, question medical authority, and influence cultural norms, ultimately developing skills to interpret, critique, and ethically evaluate literature's role in shaping views on health.
Intellectual history is the examination of ideas and thinkers as they emerge and become significant in particular cultural and historical contexts. This course will focus on German intellectuals and explore their ideas and concepts as a springboard for us to challenge our own frameworks of understanding. Taught in English.
GERM 572The Fourth Dimension: The German Netflix Series "Dark" and the Mystery of Time3
In this course we will follow the narrative of one of the most recent cinematic explorations of the topic of time - the German Netflix series "Dark" (2017-2020) - into the great depths of theories and imaginations of time. The discussion of the series will be accompanied and supported by an introduction to the philosophy of time. Readings and class discussions in English.
GERM 579What is a Medium? German Media Theory from Aesthetics to Cultural Techniques3
This seminar provides students across the humanities with an overview of the historical and cultural relevance of German media theories. We will discuss the distinction between "art" and "medium", the role of technology and techniques, as well as the interaction of media theory and practice with politics. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as CMPL 479/GERM 479.
GERM 587Theories of Migration of the 20th and 21st Centuries3
In this course we will engage with different theories around how migration affects societies by taking the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) as a case study. Since its founding in 1945, the FRG has seen several waves of migration. In this class we will read several theoretical texts and two novels to consider how Germany has been shaped by migration. Readings and class discussions in English.
Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. With GERM 602, a two-semester sequence designed as preparation for the reading knowledge examination for higher degrees in the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, etc.
Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Analysis of phonological, morphological, and syntactic development from Indo-European to the older stages of Germanic dialects.
GERM 703Advanced Topics in Foreign Language Pedagogy3
This seminar provides experienced teaching assistants the opportunity to revisit the fundamentals in foreign language pedagogy while exploring in greater depth advanced issues like content-based instruction, technology, and supervising.
This seminar introduces students to methods of academic work in German Studies. As a discipline with deep historical and interdisciplinary roots, German Studies shares a wide array of theoretical approaches to its subject matter with other fields in the Humanities. We will examine a variety of these approaches including rhetoric, genre theory, hermeneutics, aesthetics, deconstruction, linguistics and speech act theory, psychoanalysis, structuralism and semiotics, critical theory, new historicism, gender theory, and media theory.
First part of a three-semester sequence offering students a comprehensive, text-based survey of German literary history from the High Middle Ages to the present. The course introduces students to medieval German language, literature, and culture. Readings in English, German and Middle High German. Discussions in German. Previously offered as GERM 614. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Second part of a three-semester sequence offering students a comprehensive, text-based survey of German literary history from the High Middle Ages to the present. Previously offered as GERM 615. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Third part of a three-semester sequence offering students a comprehensive, text-based survey of German literary history from the High Middle Ages to the present. Previously offered as GERM 616. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
German literature of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Close readings, lectures, and discussions of representative texts. Previously offered as GERM 625. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
Literature in the Age of Enlightenment. Close readings, lectures, and discussions of representative texts. Previously offered as GERM 630. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
Literature of the Romantic period. Close readings, lectures, and discussions of representative texts. Previously offered as GERM 640. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
Literature of Realism, Naturalism, and related movements. Close readings, lectures, and discussions of representative texts. Previously offered as GERM 645. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
Major figures of the period from the turn of the century to World War II. Close readings, lectures, and discussions of representative texts. Previously offered as GERM 650. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
Literature since World War II in both the Federal Republic and the former GDR. Close readings, lectures, and discussions of representative texts. Previously offered as GERM 655. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
Literature since German unification in 1989. Close readings, lectures, and discussions of representative texts. Previously offered as GERM 685. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
This seminar will examine the historical variability of melancholy as it relates to works of visual art and literature, as well as philosophical, religious, psychological, and medical discourses from French, German, Italian and English-speaking Europe. Emphasis will be placed on German literature from the Middle Ages to the 20th century and on exploring the inherent melancholy of its modes of imagination, expression, and representation.
GERM 889Special Topics in German Literature, Culture, Film: Compact Seminar3
An intensive seven-week seminar to be offered exclusively during fall semesters, this graduate-level course is taught by a distinguished short-term scholar with expertise in German literature, film or culture who is visiting from a German-speaking country.
Permission of the instructor and the director of graduate studies. Special readings and research in a selected field or topic outside the scope of current course offerings.
Subject
GERM
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
12
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
Students enrolled in the Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies will enroll in this course during the semester in which they undergo the Writing Proficiency Review.
