Course Proposal Form for GERM 4510, Page 1
University Curriculum Committee
Course Proposal Form
for Courses Numbered 0001 – 4999
(Faculty Senate Resolution #04–18, April 2004)
Note: Before completing this form, please read the accompanying instructions carefully.
1. Course Prefix and Number: GERM 4510
2. Date: 01/22/2008
3. Requested Action (check only one box):
X
New Course
Revision of Active Course
Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of an Existing Course
from #
to
#
4. Justification for new course or course revision or renumbering:
New courses must routinely be created to address historical and cultural changes taking place in the world. The most important
event in recent German history and for a majority of Germans alive today is no longer the Second World War, but rather the fall
of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the resulting German unification in 1990. The societal, literary, and cultural ramifications of
German unification deserve to be treated in an independent course.
Justification of Need: Offering an elective course on post-unification culture provides students with analytical proficiencies and
knowledge of a significant event in German history, which contributes to the successful study of German society, culture, and
history. Furthermore, because Special Topics and Study Abroad classes (post-unification culture and literature courses are
currently offered at most German universities) cannot be given Writing Intensive status, we need to offer one or more Writing
Intensive German class(es) like this one each semester to meet student graduation requirements.
5. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
4510. Post-Unification Culture and Literature (3) (WI) P: GERM 2210, 2211, 2300;
or consent of instructor. Explores cultural trends after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall
using literary, historical and audio-visual texts.
6. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
7. Undergraduate Catalog Page Number from current catalog:
392
8. The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee must approve Writing Intensive
(WI) credit for all courses prior to their consideration by the UCC. If WI credit is
requested, has this course been approved for Writing Intensive (WI) credit?
If Yes, will all sections be Writing Intensive (yes/no)?
YES
9. Any course requesting Foundations Curriculum credit must be
reviewed by Academic Standards Committee prior to their consideration by
the UCC. If FC credit has been approved by the ASC, then check the
appropriate box (check at most one), otherwise leave all boxes blank.
English (EN)
Science (SC)
Humanities (HU)
Social Science (SO)
Fine Arts (FA)
Mathematics (MA)
Health (HL)
Exercise (EX)
Course Proposal Form for GERM 4510, Page 2
10. Course Credit:
Lecture Hours
3 Weekly OR
Per Term
Lab
Weekly OR
Per Term
Studio
Weekly OR
Per Term
Practicum
Weekly OR
Per Term
Internship
Weekly OR
Per Term
Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain.
Total Credit Hours
Credit Hours
Credit Hours
Credit Hours
Credit Hours
Credit Hours
3 s.h
s.h
s.h
s.h
s.h
3 s.h
11. Anticipated yearly student enrollment: once established, 5-10 students
12. Affected Degrees or Academic Programs:
13.
Overlap or Duplication with Affected Units or Programs:
X
Not Applicable
Applicable (notification and responses from affected units are
attached)
14. Approval by the Council for Teacher Education (required for courses affecting
teacher education programs):
Not Applicable
X
Applicable (CTE has given its approval.)
15.
Statements of Support:
X
Current staff is adequate
Additional staff is needed (describe needs in the box below):
X
Current facilities are adequate
Additional facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below):
X
Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief
explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition of required
initial resources):
X
Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below,
give a brief explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition):
Course Proposal Form for GERM 4510, Page 3
X
ITCS resources are not needed
The following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each
need):
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students
Remember to forward email approval from the director of ITCS to
UCC.
16. Syllabus – please insert course syllabus below. You must include (a) the
name of the textbook chosen for the course, (b) the course objectives, (c) the
course content outline, and (d) the course assignments and grading plan.
GERM 4510: Post-Unification Culture and Literature (Writing Intensive)
Required Texts:
1) Diverse photocopies and handouts in a Course Packet or uploaded onto Blackboard
2) Cooke, Paul. Representing East Germany Since Unification: From Colonization to Nostalgia. Oxford and New
York: Berg, 2005.
3) Schirmer, Bernd. Schlehweins Giraffe. Frankfurt a. M.: Vito von Eichborn, 1992.
4) Brussig, Thomas. Helden wie wir. Berlin: Volk und Welt, 1995.
5) von Stuckrad-Barre, Benjamin. Black Box. München: Goldmann, 2002.
6) Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2003.
Course Description:
In this course we will explore cultural and literary trends in Germany from 1989 to the present. We will begin by
reading historical texts that provide the reasons why the German Democratic Republic imploded politically in
summer and autumn 1989, leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall. We will also review the events surrounding the
1989 revolution and subsequent unification of Germany on October 3, 1990 to set the stage for reading texts like
Bernd Schirmer's Schlehweins Giraffe, Ingo Schulze's Simple Storys, and Thomas Brussig's Helden wie wir that
harshly criticize the process of unification and/or the repression East Germans faced in the GDR. The films
Helden wie wir and Goodbye, Lenin! round out the discussion of cultural responses to unification. Next, we move
to the trend of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming-to-terms with the Nazi past) and its manifestations in the
postwall period, focusing on excerpts of texts by the canonical authors Martin Walser and Günter Grass. Two
other significant trends treated here are pop literature and immigrant/minority literature and film, which will be
compared with similar, recent trends in American culture such as the Academy Award winning film Crash.
Although some secondary literature in English is included in the reading assignments, all primary texts are in
German and the course will be conducted in German.
Course Objectives:
In this course students will acquire analytical competencies; reading, writing, speaking, and listening proficiency
in the German language; and historical and cultural knowledge.
By the end of the semester, students are expected to be able to:
1) analyze written texts and films produced in both Eastern and Western Germany from 1989 to the present as
reactions to the political turmoil and socio-cultural changes brought about by reunification
2) interpret these texts and films in speaking and in writing by applying a few, basic literary critical and film
theories (i.e., identifying narrative points-of-view or elucidating the meanings of metaphors and symbols)
3) acquire knowledge of the political and cultural history of Germany from 1989 to the present
4) situate these artifacts within their cultural and historical Eastern and Western German as well as wider
European contexts (i.e., reunification affected Eastern and Western Germans entirely differently, and
reunification and the end of the Cold War altered the configuration of the European Union significantly)
Course Proposal Form for GERM 4510, Page 4
5) compare Eastern and Western German reactions to unification, as well as the reactions of immigrant
populations within Germany (Turkish Germans are the most prominent) and draw conclusions about cultural
difference and cultural diversity from such comparisons
6) write a research paper in several drafts
7) synthesize research into an oral presentation to be delivered in front of classmates.
Course Requirements:
1) Regular attendance and in-class participation are essential, as a high percentage of the work in this class
will be carried out in classroom discussions, oral reports, and lectures.
2) There will be two major exams, one midterm and one final, which you will not be allowed to make up unless
you have a written excuse or verifiable medical reason.
3) During the course of the semester, you will each deliver one short (3-5 minutes) and one longer oral report
(15 minutes) in German, the first of which will be the biography of an author, filmmaker, songwriter, etc. and
the second of which will be on the topic of your research paper.
4) Additionally, you will be required to write five short essays (1-2 pages) based upon the reading assignments
and films and one 6-8 page research paper, all in German.
5) The research paper will be written in six stages:
1) selection of topic;
2) creation of a bibliography of at least five sources, only three of which may be from the Internet and
at least two of which must be scholarly books or articles;
3) creation of a research paper outline;
4) first draft;
5) second draft;
6) final draft.
Before composing your first, second, and final drafts you must meet with me one-on-one in my office for 1015 minutes to discuss your organization, arguments, written use of German, and writing plans for each draft.
The final draft of the research paper is due on the last day of class.
Evaluation:
Grading Scale:
Class Participation
20%
90-100
=A
Two Exams @ 10% each
20%
80-89.99
=B
Four Short Writing Assignments
20%
70-79.99
=C
Final Research Paper
20%
60-69.99
=D
Two Oral Reports @ 10% each
20%
00-59.99
=F
Schedule of Assignments
Week One: Discussion of GDR history, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and unification; viewing and discussion of
the documentary film "Chronik der Einheit."
Homework: Read several chapters from history books on unification history, which are posted
on Blackboard, and the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Cooke's Representing East Germany
Since Unification.
Week Two: Discussion of problems unification produced for Eastern and Western Germans in the 1990s;
excerpts from film "Letztes aus der DaDaeR," Volker Braun's poem "Mein Eigentum," Nina
Hagen's pop song "Christian auf der Autobahn."
Homework: Select topic for research paper. Read Chapter 2 of Cooke, as well as Volker
Braun's poem "Mein Eigentum" and chapters 1-5 of Schlehweins Giraffe by Bernd Schirmer.
Week Three: Discussion of Bernd Schirmer's Schlehweins Giraffe.
Homework: Finish reading Schirmer's Schlehweins Giraffe. Write an essay in which
you discuss the literary techniques Schirmer uses (for example, the giraffe allegory, the
fairy tale, humor/satire) to depict the problems Easterners faced after unification.
Week Four: Introduction to East German issues and the problems they encountered in discussing their past,
especially repressive aspects of the GDR such as the secret police (Stasi). How Thomas
Brussig reckons with the GDR past in the picaresque novel Helden wie wir. Homework: Read
Ch. 5 of Cooke and Ch. 1-2 of Helden wie wir by Brussig.
Week Five: Further discussion of Brussig's Helden wie wir.
Homework: Research Paper Bibliography Due. Finish reading Helden wie wir.
Week Six: Discussion of the film Helden wie wir, based on Brussig's novel, and the nostalgic film Goodbye,
Lenin! Homework: Watch Helden wie wir and Goodbye, Lenin! Write an essay in which you
Course Proposal Form for GERM 4510, Page 5
compare the depiction of East Germany in the novel Helden wie wir with the film version OR
analyze the ways Brussig criticizes the GDR in his novel.
Week Seven: Lecture and discussion of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming-to-terms with the Nazi past) as a
reaction to German unification and the 50th/60th anniversaries of World War II.
Homework: Research Paper outline due. Read the Introduction to Bill Niven's Facing the Nazi
Past and excerpts from Ein springender Brunnen by Martin Walser.
Week Eight: Discussion of Martin Walser's debate with Ignaz Bubis on (in)appropriate ways for Germans to
deal with the Nazi past; the Berlin Holocaust Memorial; Günter Grass as Nobel Prize winning
spokesperson for the older generation's approach to the War. Midterm Exam. Homework:
Read Bill Niven, Ch. 7 on the Walser-Bubis debate, and Chapter 8 on the Berlin Holocaust
Memorial and excerpts from Grass Im Krebsgang.
Week Nine: Wrap-up discussion of Vergangenheitsbewältigung. Introduction to pop literature of the 1990s and
early 21st century. Homework: Write an essay in which you discuss several different ways the
Germans have attempted to come to terms with the Nazi past and the Holocaust in postunification literature and culture. Which do you find to be the best approach(es) to remembering
and working through this past? Read Introduction and Chapter 1 from Moritz Baßler's Der
deutsche Poproman. Die neuen Archivisten.
Week Ten:
Discussion of Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre's Blackbox and other authors as examples of the
new German pop literature trend. Homework: First draft of research paper due (at least 3
pages). Read selections from Blackbox by Stuckrad-Barre.
Week Eleven: Discussion of Judith Hermann and Max Goldt as further examples of pop authors.
Homework: Read selections from Judith Hermann's short story collection Sommerhaus,
später and Der Sommerverächter by Max Goldt. Write an essay in which you discuss the main
characteristics of German pop literature and how they are reflected in Blackbox, Sommerhaus,
später, and Der Sommerverächter.
Week Twelve: Discussion of German cinema after reunification as a further example of pop culture.
Homework: Read "Post-Unification Cinema 1989-2000" by Sabine Hake, 109-116.
Week Thirteen: Introduction to immigrant/minority literature in Germany, especially Turkish-German literature
and Afro-German literature. Discussion of short stories by Emine Sevgi Özdamar and poems
by May Ayim. Homework: Research paper second draft due (at least 5 pages). Read
select stories and poems by Özdamar and Ayim.
Week Fourteen: Turkish-German literature and film. Homework: Read Chapters 1-3 of Osman Engin's
Kanaken Gandi and watch the film Lola und Bilidikid. Write an essay in which you compare
Turkish-German and/or Afro-German literature/film depictions of life in Germany with AfricanAmerican, Native American, Hispanic, etc. depictions of life in the U.S. Which problems are
similar, which appear to be different?
Week Fifteen: Discussion of the film Gegen die Wand. Oral Reports on research papers. Wrap-up and review
for final exam. Homework: Watch the film Gegen die Wand. Prepare and deliver oral reports.
Research paper final draft due on last day of class.