German Course Descriptions Second Year B.A. Students 2015/16 Year coordinators: N.N. (semester 1) Dr. Tina Pusse, MA., Room AM 346. Telephone: 495874; email: tina.pusse@nuigalway.ie Entry requirements: First Arts Students having attained a total mark of 40% or more will be admitted to Second Arts German courses. Compulsory Modules: Students are obliged to take all six modules on offer. All modules have the value of 5 ECTS. For further details, please check our Departmental website: www.nuigalway.ie/german Important Dates First Semester Start of teaching Monday, 7th September, 2015 End of teaching Saturday, 28th November, 2015 Study Week Monday, 30th November – Saturday, 5th December, 2015 Examinations –Semester 1 Monday, 7th – Friday, 18th December, 2015 Christmas Vacation Saturday, 19th December, 2015 – Sunday, 10th January, 2016 Second Semester Start of Teaching period 1 Monday, 11th January, 2016 End of Teaching period 1 Saturday, 19th March, 2016 Easter Holidays Thursday, 24th – Tuesday,29th March, 2016. Start of Teaching period 2 Monday, 4th April, 2016 End of Teaching period 2 Saturday, 16th April, 2016 Study Week Monday, 18th – Saturday, 23th April, 2016 Examinations – Semester 2 Monday, 25th April - Wednesday, 11th May, 2016 Autumn Examinations Tuesday,2nd – Friday, 12th August, 2016 2 Semester 1 All modules are compulsory. All modules have the value of 5 ECTS. Module Components GR236 German Language I GR239 History of German Literature and Culture I Students have to choose one of the two optional components. Family Fiction (core) Märchen (optional) Childhood under Nazi control (optional) 60% 40% 40% GR238 German Studies I Students have to choose one of the two optional components. Research Skills (core) Old and New Media: From Consuming to Producing Information (optional) Write, Act, Podcast: Producing and presenting German Texts (optional) 50% 50% 50% Semester 2 All modules are compulsory. All modules have the value of 5 ECTS. Module Components GR237 German Language II GR235 History of German Literature and Culture II Students have to choose one of the three optional components. Wiener Moderne (core) Kafka, Der Prozess (optional) Heinrich Heine (optional) Introduction to Linguistics (optional) 60% 40% 40% 40% GR240 German Studies II Both components are compulsory. Landeskunde Intercultural Communications 50% 50% 3 Semester I GR236 German Language I (4 hrs. per week) Lecturer: Tina Pusse. Course description: This course (level B1+) will reinforce and build on your language skills acquired in first year. It will help you to become more comfortable and articulate in your practical use of German while deepening your understanding of grammar, vocabulary and structure. Prerequisites: 40% or more in First Arts German, or the equivalent. Teaching and learning methods: The course is based on language exercises and text production, including aural, oral and written language work, conversation and oral presentations, listening comprehension. Attendance is vital. As students are required to participate fully in all elements of the course, 50% of all marks are given for continuous assessment. Former beginners will be given additional support. Methods of assessment: Two-hour written examination and oral examination 50%; continuous assessment (written assignments, grammar exercises, in-class tests) 50%. Core texts: Michaela Perlmann-Balme & Susanne Schwalb, Sicher! B1+ in two volumes: Sicher! B1+ Kursbuch, (Hueber) ISBN 978-3-19-001206-0) and Sicher! B1+ Arbeitsbuch mit Audio-CD (Hueber) ISBN 978-3-19-011206-7; Dreyer, Hilke & Schmitt, Richard, A Practice Grammar of German (Hueber) ISBN 978-3-19-327255-3 GR239 History of German Literature and Culture I Components: Family Fiction (core) 60% Märchen (optional) 40% Childhood under Nazi control (optional) 40% Family Fiction (2 hrs. per week) Lecturer: Tina Pusse Course description: The struggles and the dynamics in families have always been a major topic of literary exploration. Although it is not inevitable that at the end of a drama an entire family lays slaughtered on the stage, like in Hamlet, families, at least 4 in literature, are seen as social units where conflicts, sometimes devastating, arise. Very often family conflicts reflect general problems related to gender issues and to concepts of masculinity and femininity. The course will analyse family conflicts in their historical contexts in novellas and short stories from Romanticism to contemporary German literature. Methods of assessment: 20% attendance with active participation including a short presentation, 80% take home essay (the essay assignment will be broken down into four steps, each of them will build 20% of your essay grade). Core texts: Franz Kafka: Die Verwandlung. Stuttgart: Reclam 2006 (ISBN: 978-3-15009900-1); Ludwig Tieck: Der blonde Eckbert. Der Runenberg. Stuttgart: Reclam 2006 (ISBN: 978-3-15-007732-0); E.T.A. Hoffmann: Der Sandmann. Stuttgart: Reclam (ISBN 3-15-000230-3): Elfriede Jelinek: Die Klavierspielerin (Excerpt will be provided). Märchen (1 hr. per week) Lecturer: Hans-Walter Schmidt-Hannisa Course description: The course will start with a brief introduction to the fairy tale as a literary genre. It will then focus on Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’ collection of Kinderund Haus-Märchen, published between 1812 and 1858 in six editions and one of the most well-known German books of all times. We will read and discuss the Vorrede of the collection which points out the Grimm’s understanding of the genre as a national treasure and explains what had motivated the brothers to collect and preserve tales originally emerging from an oral tradition of storytelling. The myth launched by the Grimms that the texts in their collection are manifestations of an original and pristine German “Volksgeist” will be dismantled and their true political and moral intentions will be reconstructed. We will then analyse a selection of popular and lesser known fairy tales included in the Kinder- und Haus-Märchen, such as Rotkäppchen and Hans im Glück. In a second part of the course we will explore the difference between “Volksmärchen”, i.e. fairy tales emerging from oral tradition, and “Kunstmärchen” which are authored texts using forms and motifs from the Volksmärchen tradition. As an example of Kunstmärchen we will read Adelbert von Chamisso’s Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte (1813). Methods of assessment: Two in-class tests Core texts: Brüder Grimm: Kinder- und Haus-Märchen; Adelbert von Chamisso’s Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte. All texts will be made available on Blackbroard. 5 GR239 Childhood under Nazi control. Autobiographical Writings by Ruth Klüger and Christa Wolf (1 hr. per week) Lecturer: Jeannine Jud Course description: This module will focus on Ruth Klüger’s memoir Weiter leben. Eine Jugend, and Christa Wolf’s semi-autobiographical novel Kindheitsmuster. In her book Klüger explores her experiences of life in Vienna as a Jewish child under Nazi control, followed by life in the Ghetto Theresienstadt and the concentration camps Auschwitz-Birkenau and Christianstadt. In Kindheitsmuster Christa Wolf examines her experience as an Aryan German child in Nazi German, exploring concepts of childhood indoctrination, how much the Germans really knew about the atrocities that were happening and the trauma of war. This seminar will compare and contrast the experiences brought to paper by these two authors concerning very different childhoods, growing up under the same regime. It will consider set notions of victims and perpetrators and will aim to offer a personal insight into this complex historical period. Assessment: in-class test (70%), active participation and continuous assessment (30%). Core texts: Christa Wolf: Kindheitsmuster; Ruth Klüger: Weiter leben. Eine Jugend. Texts will be provided as handouts. GR238 German Studies I Components: Introduction to Research Skills (core) 50% Old and New Media (optional) 50% Write, Act, Podcast (optional) 50% Introduction to Research Skills (1 hr. per week) Lecturer: Áine Ryan Course description: You will learn to conduct research effectively from the initial stages of framing a research question to the practicalities of using library resources, referencing and developing good writing skills to finally writing your own research proposal on an element of D-A-CH culture (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) chosen by you. Independent learning is the primary aim of this course; in addition the skills acquired should help in carrying out essay writing including devising and completing your final-year extended essay. 6 Methods of assessment: 30%: In-class test, 40%: Take-home assignment - Writing a Research Proposal, 20%: Attendance and Participation. Core texts: Handouts supplied in class and on Blackboard. Departmental guidelines for essay writing: http://www.nuigalway.ie/colleges-andschools/arts-social-sciences-and-celtic-studies/language-literaturesculture/disciplines/german/undergraduate-courses/ba-joint-honours-international/ Old and New Media: Moving From Consuming to Producing Information (1 hr. per week) Lecturer: Colm Whelan Course description: This course will focus on television and film; it will address topics such as ideology, advertising and access to the production of media content. The course will explore convergence culture and participation culture in which various types of media interact and lead on from one another. We will discuss how media viewing and consumption has changed with technology and internet access. The course will address the question Is new media more democratic?- everbody has access to phones and social mediaInformation is now constantly emerging from multiple sources as everybody can produce and participate in creating it. Teaching and learning methods: We will read and discuss relevant texts. In a group project students will create on-line accounts and produce news, images, art, stories, and drama themselves. Methods of assessment: Group project incl. individual report (40%), in-class test (60%). Language of instruction: English Core texts: Excerpts from: Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction; Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture Any texts used in the course will be provided as links or on blackboard. Write, Act, Podcast: Producing and Presenting German Texts (2 hrs. per week) Lecturer: Vincent O’Connell Course Description: In this multimedia course students will learn to write short scenes in German, perform them and record them as podcasts. In one unit of the course students will creatively write about everyday situations as they might occur, for example, during their year abroad. In a second unit short literary texts such as poems, short stories or fairytales will be used as source material from which dramatic 7 sketches can be developed. Performances of such sketches will be recorded as podcasts and uploaded to Blackboard. The course will enable students to build up confidence in their language and communication skills. Speaking and acting will help students to become in particular more aware of German intonation and pronunciation. Methods of assessment: Attendance 10%, written dialogues 30%, scene enactment 30%, podcasts 30% Attendance is crucial. Please note that due to the nature of the course, there will be no opportunity to repeat this module. Please note: Students have to register for this course by sending an email to Geraldine.smyth@nuigalway.ie. 20 is the maximum number of students for this class. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Core texts: Handouts will be supplied by the lecturer. Semester II GR237 German Language II (4 hrs. per week) Lecturer: Michael Shields. Course description: Continuing from GR236, this course (level B1+) will build up fluency and accuracy in your German language. It will help you become more comfortable in the practical use of German while deepening your understanding of grammar and vocabulary. Prerequisites: Erasmus students arriving in Semester 2 who are interested in doing this module should consult the lecturer. Teaching and learning methods: The course will involve language exercises and text production, including aural, oral and written language structure work, writing in a range of text types, conversation and oral presentations, listening comprehension. Attendance is vital. As students are required to participate fully in all elements of the course, 45% of all marks are given for continuous assessment. Methods of assessment: Two-hour written examination and oral examination: 55%; continuous assessment (written assignments, grammar exercises, 45%. Core texts: Michaela Perlmann-Balme & Susanne Schwalb, Sicher! B1+ in two volumes: Sicher! B1+ Kursbuch, (Hueber) ISBN 978-3-19-001206-0 and Sicher! B1+ Arbeitsbuch mit Audio-CD (Hueber) ISBN 978-3-19-011206-7 Dreyer, Hilke & Schmitt, Richard, A Practice Grammar of German (Hueber) ISBN 978-3-19-327255-3 8 GR235 History of German Literature and Culture II Components: Wiener Moderne (core) 60% Kafka, Der Prozess (optional) 40% Heinrich Heine and Germany (optional 40% Introduction to Linguistics (optional) 40% Literature and Culture of the Wiener Moderne (2 hrs. per week) Lecturer: Hans-Walter Schmidt-Hannisa Course description: The module introduces students to the literature and culture of Vienna in the period 1890-1930. It provides a portrait of the Hapsburgian Capital including aspects like the political and economical situation, urban sociology and architecture. The major thematic focus of the module will be the representation of women in contemporary literature, art, and theory. It introduces major representatives of contemporary art (Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele), and music (Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Arnold Schönberg). The module analyses major texts of various genres (narration, poetry, drama) by various authors (Arthur Schnitzler, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Peter Altenberg). These texts will be discussed in the context of relevant contemporary theories such as psychoanalysis, and the criticism of language. Assessment: Take-home essay: 80%, two in-class-tests: 20%. Core texts: Arthur Schnitzler, Fräulein Else; Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Poems; handouts. Franz Kafka: Der Process (1 hrs. per week) Lecturer: Tina Pusse Course description: Students will be introduced to one of the highlights of early 20th century prose, Franz Kafka’s Der Process, in which a man is arrested and prosecuted by an inaccessible authority that does not reveal the nature of his crime to him. Students will learn about Kafka and his life as a Jewish-German writer in early 20th century Prague. However, the focus of the course will be a close reading of the (unfinished) novel. Method of assessment: Attendance and continuous assessment (40%), written exam (60%) Core text: Franz Kafka, Der Process. Edited by Ralf Kellermann. Reclam XL – Text und Kontext. ISBN: 978-3-15-019126-2 9 Heinrich Heine and Germany (1 hr. per week) Lecturer: Michael Shields Course description: In 1843 Heine travelled to Germany from Paris, where he had spent over ten years as a political refugee and met Karl Marx and other progressive thinkers. His travel poem Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen (first published in 1844 and banned in Prussia the same year) is a satirical description of the impressions of such a journey, and contains hilarious descriptions of the contrast between the revolutionary poet and the conservative figures he meets. The course will focus on this canonical poem and the literary, political and cultural influences that helped shape its representation of Germany. Teaching and learning methods: Starting with a close reading of the text, students will be introduced to different ways of approaching it and will develop techniques for understanding and analyzing it, comparing interpretations and translations and branching out to consider related texts where relevant. We will approach it as a spoken and written work and discuss how best to use the wide range of interpretative tools available in the library and online. Methods of assessment: Written exam (60%), take-home essay (40%). Core texts: Heinrich Heine, Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen. Edited by Werner Bellmann ,(Reclam) ISBN: 978-3-15-002253-5 Introduction to Linguistics and Linguistic Analysis: (1 hr. per week) Lecturer: Mel Boland Course description: What do we mean when we say that we ‘know’ a language? These introductory classes on the field of linguistics examine the idea of native speaker competence, exploring key areas of analysis such as phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax. Methods of assessment and examination: In-class examination, to take place in the final class. Core Text: Keith Allan et al, The English Language & Linguistics Companion (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). 10 GR240 German Studies II Components: Landeskunde Intercultural Communication 50% 50% Landeskunde (1 hr. per week in) Lecturer: Áine Ryan Course description: This course will examine elements of everyday German life and culture with the aim of giving you insights which will prepare you for your Erasmus year in Germany. It has a practical focus as well as an aim of making you familiar with German culture and society. We will look at student life at a German university, how to prepare yourself before you go as well as the cultural elements of various regions in Germany. There will be sessions in the multi-media lab as we work with authentic material available online as well as YouTube videos and other visual/audio material. Methods of assessment: In-class test 50%, take-home essay 30%, attendance and homework 20% Core Texts: Handouts provided in class and on Blackboard Intercultural Communication (1 hr. per week) Lecturer: Áine Ryan Course Description: The aim of this module is for you to increase your understanding of how to communicate with people from diverse ethnical backgrounds and to gain an insight into other cultures as well as examining your relationship to your own culture. There will be a particular focus on Germany and Ireland as you will be spending a year abroad in Germany. The course will contain a mixture of class-room teaching, group-work and individual student contributions. We will also make use of media like film and podcasts. Methods of assessment: Take-home essay 40%, in-class test 40%, attendance and participation 20%. Teaching and Learning Methods: Team work, discussions, text analysis, reflection on cultural experiences and encounters. Students are expected to read prescribed material each week before coming to class. Material is also available on Blackboard. Core Texts: Jane Jackson, Introducing language and intercultural communication. London: Routledge, 2014; Larry A Samovar, Richard E Porter, Edwin R McDaniel, Communication Between Cultures. Wadsworth Publishing, 2009, 7th edition. 11