Course Syllabus
General Information
 College of Arts and Letters
 GER 350W – Environmental Sustainability in Germany: Issues, Models, and Applications.
 Offered every Spring semester
 3 credit hours
 Dr. Bernd Conrad
 BAA 222
 T 5-730
Course prerequisites
GER 202
Course description
GER 350W is a junior-level writing course for the revised BA in Modern Languages (under review as of the completion of this syllabus). This course will help students to develop an in-depth knowledge of the language and concepts associated with environmental sustainability in Germany. Being considered one of the world’s leaders in the development and use of green technologies, Germany has become a showcase of business ventures that aim to be economically viable while maintaining a sustainable relationship to the environment. Video documentaries of sustainability projects recorded on location and regularly featured on TV will be the primary source of materials. Students will learn about the people, places, and cultural trends that propel the sustainability movement.
The course will also offer a framework for exploring new developments in environmental science and technologies in Germany and their potential to serve as models world-wide. In order to apply a synthesis of the knowledge acquired from the video documentaries, students will collaborate on a simulated environmental sustainability project to be presented to an audience of upper division students.
Student Learning Expectations/Outcomes for this Course
As a 300-level course, GER 350W will refine skills acquired in lower division and provide additional opportunities for oral and written discourse. Consistent with the emphasis on writing, the course requires draft and revision of four composition tasks that satisfy the Junior Level Writing requirement. Language skills related outcomes are defined on the basis of the B1 proficiency level of the European Common Reference Framework for Language
Study. Critical thinking and analysis skills expectations are informed by the department's Global Engagement goals: to create opportunities for becoming equipped with, experiencing, and exploring environmental sustainability thought the lens of a culture that is a global leader in this area. Specifically, learning outcomes and expectations for GER 350W are as follows:
1. Students will be able to identify key concepts of environmental sustainability and will be able to analyze them in target-language oral and written discourse.
2. Students will be able to compare and contrast the important environmental sustainability approaches in Germany and their local impact as well as assess their potential for global implications and applications.
3. Students investigate the scientific, technological, and economic developments important to environmental sustainability and produce target-language written or oral discourse communicating their findings
Revised 04/22/03

Course structure/approach
The introductory phase is to provide students with a conceptual framework for environmental sustainability and to prepare them linguistically for reflecting and investigating the topic in German. In the familiarization phase, the first of two main units of the course, the key ideas will be contextualized for them by showcasing established and experimental sustainability projects via video and -–to a lesser extent— via printed documentation. Having familiarized themselves with a variety of sustainability applications in class, students will be ready to explore additional projects by researching or discovering them on the web on their own. This third phase, exploration, will partially overlap with the previous one. In order to apply a synthesis of the knowledge acquired in and outside of the classroom, students will collaborate to create in the last phase of the course a simulated environmental sustainability project to be presented at the end of the semester to an audience of upper division students.
Textbook and required materials selected features from Deutsche Welle TV programs Made in Germany, Projekt Zukunft,
Kultur.21, fit & gesund, Global 3000; compilation of transcripts of TV broadcasts, magazine, newspaper articles, and transcripts of TV broadcasts;
Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
Semester project
15% Upon initial brainstorming and planning in conjunction with your instructor in class, you will complete outside of class a collaborative small-group project designing, describing, and orally presenting in the target-language a simulation of an environmental sustainability semester project. The written description of your project serves as one of four compositions to be included in the junior level writing portfolio.
Final exam
Exams
HW:
15% You will take a comprehensive written final exam over the concepts and language presented in the course materials
30% There will be one written exam at the end of the introductory phase and one at the end of the familiarization phase. Both will assess aural comprehension, writing ability, and understanding of key sustainability concepts
30% You will complete various homework assignments to develop your listening, reading, and writing skills, including all four compositions to be included in the junior level portfolio.
Participation 10% You will be assessed at the end of the semester as to the extent to which you participated in class discussions, came to class prepared, and cooperated during group work activities.
Junior Level Writing Portfolio
The written portfolio consists of four writing tasks that represent different discourse modes and follow a draft and revision procedure. At the end of the semester, present to your instructor all revised papers in one folder.
1. Summary (for week 4). Summarize the distinction "nachhaltig" (sustainable) versus
"wiederverwertbar" (recyclable) in the context of the "Schubladen" sustainability venture presented in class
2. Narrative (for week 8). Give details about characters, setting, and actions observed in the presentation of one of the experimental materials projects. Write your narrative account in the past tense.
Revised 04/22/03

3. Personal Letter (for week 12). Write a letter to a friend about one of the sustainability projects you explored on your own online during weeks 9-11.
4. Description (for week 15). Describe your collaborative semester project. Give as many details as possible about materials, production process, product shape, color, and function.
Revised 04/22/03

Grading System
A
B
90-100%
80-89%
C
D
F
70-79%
60-69%
< 60%
Course outline
Topics and Activities
PHASE I
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Homework (HW) & Exams
Introduction to sustainability concepts & language conceptual framework & key terminology people, places, and the culture of sustainability sustainable versus recyclable: The
"Schubladen" project
HW: reading
HW: reading
HW: reading
PHASE II Familiarization with Sustainability Projects
Week 4 green fashion 1: "Ökomode"
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8 green fashion 2: "Ökomode" alternative materials: experimentation alternative materials: products renewable energies
HW: writing task 1 first exam
HW: video review & reading
HW: video review worksheet
HW: video review & reading
HW: video review worksheet
HW: writing task 2
PHASE III Familiarization and Exploration
Week 9 food: "Haus Bollheim" & "Überfischung"
Week 10
Week 11 economics & finance 1: "Not business as usual" economics & finance 2: "Not business as usual"
PHASE IV Sustainability Project Design Experience
Week 12 planning and brainstorming
HW: video review & explore
HW: video review & explore
HW: video review & explore
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Revised 04/22/03 planning and brainstorming design design description draft & revision
HW: writing task 3 second exam
HW: video review tech & science
HW: video review tech & science
HW: writing task 4

Week 16 FINALS
Final exam: Consult the final exam schedule at: http://home.nau.edu/registrar/calendars.asp
Course policy
 Retests/makeup will only be granted for excused absences.
 Attendance is mandatory and missed classes or meetings will result in a lower participation grade.
 This course enforces strictly to the university policy on academic honesty.
NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY POLICY STATEMENTS
SAFE ENVIRONMENT POLICY
NAU’s Safe Working and Learning Environment Policy seeks to prohibit discrimination and promote the safety of all individuals within the university. The goal of this policy is to prevent the occurrence of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status and to prevent sexual harassment, sexual assault or retaliation by anyone at this university.
You may obtain a copy of this policy from the college dean’s office or from the NAU’s
Affirmative Action website http://home.nau.edu/diversity/. If you have concerns about this policy, it is important that you contact the departmental chair, dean’s office, the
Office of Student Life (928-523-5181), or NAU’s Office of Affirmative Action (928-523-
3312).
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
If you have a documented disability, you can arrange for accommodations by contacting
Disability Resources (DR) at 523-8773 (voice)or 523-6906 (TTY), dr@nau.edu (e-mail)or
928-523-8747 (fax).Students needing academic accommodations are required to register with
DR and provide required disability related documentation. Although you may request an accommodation at any time, in order for DR to best meet your individual needs, you are urged to register and submit necessary documentation (www.nau.edu/dr) 8 weeks prior to the time you wish to receive accommodations. DR is strongly committed to the needs of student with disabilities and the promotion of Universal Design. Concerns or questions related to the accessibility of programs and facilities at NAU may be brought to the attention of DR or the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity (523-3312).
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
Any study involving observation of or interaction with human subjects that originates at
NAU—including a course project, report, or research paper—must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human subjects in research and research-related activities.
The IRB meets monthly. Proposals must be submitted for review at least fifteen working days before the monthly meeting. You should consult with your course instructor early in the course to ascertain if your project needs to be reviewed by the IRB and/or to secure information or appropriate forms and procedures for the IRB review. Your instructor and department chair or college dean must sign the application for approval by the IRB. The
IRB categorizes projects into three levels depending on the nature of the project: exempt from further review, expedited review, or full board review. If the IRB certifies that a project is exempt from further review, you need not resubmit the project for continuing
IRB review as long as there are no modifications in the exempted procedures.
A copy of the IRB Policy and Procedures Manual is available in each department’s administrative office and each college dean’s office or on their website:
Revised 04/22/03

http://www.research.nau.edu/vpr/IRB/index.htm. If you have questions, contact the IRB
Coordinator in the Office of the Vice President for Research at 928-523-8288 or 523-4340.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The university takes an extremely serious view of violations of academic integrity. As members of the academic community, NAU’s administration, faculty, staff and students are dedicated to promoting an atmosphere of honesty and are committed to maintaining the academic integrity essential to the education process. Inherent in this commitment is the belief that academic dishonesty in all forms violates the basic principles of integrity and impedes learning. Students are therefore responsible for conducting themselves in an academically honest manner.
Individual students and faculty members are responsible for identifying instances of academic dishonesty. Faculty members then recommend penalties to the department chair or college dean in keeping with the severity of the violation. The complete policy on academic integrity is in Appendix G of NAU’s Student Handbook http://www4.nau.edu/stulife/handbookdishonesty.htm.
ACADEMIC CONTACT HOUR POLICY
The Arizona Board of Regents Academic Contact Hour Policy (ABOR Handbook, 2-206, Academic
Credit) states: “an hour of work is the equivalent of 50 minutes of class time…at least
15 contact hours of recitation, lecture, discussion, testing or evaluation, seminar, or colloquium as well as a minimum of 30 hours of student HW: is required for each unit of credit.”
The reasonable interpretation of this policy is that for every credit hour, a student should expect, on average, to do a minimum of two additional hours of work per week; e.g., preparation, HW:, studying.
SENSITIVE COURSE MATERIALS
If an instructor believes it is appropriate, the syllabus should communicate to students that some course content may be considered sensitive by some students.
“University education aims to expand student understanding and awareness. Thus, it necessarily involves engagement with a wide range of information, ideas, and creative representations. In the course of college studies, students can expect to encounter—and critically appraise—materials that may differ from and perhaps challenge familiar understandings, ideas, and beliefs. Students are encouraged to discuss these matters with faculty.”
Revised 04/22/03