GERMAN
-- Upper-Division-Courses --

--Spring 2003 --
 

  --  German 302  -- German 312  --  German 332  -- German 350  --
  --  German 415  -- German 420  --  German 422  -- German 485  --

 

==>  GERMAN 302

 Introduction to German Literature
Section # Credits Time Place Instructor
 46726  3  10.10-11.00  MWF   HSS 109 Dr. Berwald
- 716A McClung -

Carefully reading a selection of short texts from around 1800 until today, we will discuss how German and Austrian writers have approached history, nature, the human mind and body, and the need for dialogue. 

Requirements: Reading journal throughout the semester (in English or German); three papers (in German). 

For further information send an e-mail to oberwald@utk.edu or call 974-7163 

Language of Instruction: German
 

 

==>  GERMAN 312

German Composition and Conversation
Section # Credits Time Place Instructor
46742  3  1.25- 2.15  MWF HSS 115  Dr. Mellor
- 714 McClung -

This course seeks to develop an array of skills leading to the level of the Zertifikat Deutsch exam given near the end of the semester. We work systematically on speaking and writing short papers about everyday topics and on developing increasingly sophisticated listening comprehension and reading skills on subject matter relevant to everyday life in a German-speaking country. This course is designed to provide a level of language skills suitable for further study in German at home or abroad.

The prerequisites for this course are second year German or equivalent. German 301, 302, or 311 are NOT prerequisites for 312. If you have questions about the suitability of this course for your needs, please contact the instructor, Dr. Mellor via e-mail at  mellor@utk.edu , or call 974-3298.

Language of Instruction: German
 

 

==>  GERMAN 332

 Elements of German for Upper Division and Graduate Students
Section # Credits Time Place Instructor
46755  3  3.40- 4.55  TR    TOW 715 Dr. Berwald
- 716A McClung -

General Description: German 332 is a service course given by the German Department for students who want experience translating German texts from their field of academic expertise.  It is open to all students, but it is generally taken by graduate students who wish to satisfy their department's reading requirement in a foreign language or by advanced undergraduates looking forward to graduate school.

Prerequisites: The prerequisite for German 332 is German 331 or the equivalent.  Students are expected to have a working knowledge of the essentials of German grammar, including structures not often encountered or extensively covered in normal elementary German courses.  These structures include extended adjective constructions, passive, and subjunctive. Anyone who does not have this working knowledge upon entering 332 should take 331 instead. If there is any question on the matter of prerequisites, the department can request that a student take a proficiency test to demonstrate her/his knowledge of the subject matter.

The Translation Project:  The translation will be 10,000 words of German into English.  Students should choose selections that will hold their interest and be of use professionally.  The home department is the best source of advice on suitable passages. The passage or passages must come from a text not previously translated into English. Recent periodicals offer appropriate material. Introductions or chapters from books are also good sources. Bring the passages to the 332 instructor for approval before actually beginning the translation. All work should be the student's own, and any help given by anyone rather the instructor should be noted in writing when the affected passage is submitted for grading. Between semesters other members of the German faculty can approve passages for those students wishing to get an early start on the project.

For further information send an e-mail to oberwald@utk.edu or call 974-7163 

Language of Instruction: English
 

 

 ==>  GERMAN 350

Modern German Jewish Culture
Section # Credits Time Place Instructor
 46768  3   9.40-10.55  TR  HSS 220 Dr. Höyng
- 719 McClung -

In this course we will focus on German Jewish Culture in Vienna during 1860sñ1945. The social and political context will provide the focusing on mainly prominent Viennese Jews like Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Theodor Herzl, Arthur Schnitzler, Karl Kraus, Robert Musil, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Jospeh Roth, Stefan Zweig, and Arnold Schoenberg. However, lesser known persons will also be integrated like Bertha Pappenheim or more recently Ruth Klüger. By presenting their lives, we will explore the topic from an interdisciplinary approach: from music to political journalism, from psychology to social activism, from autobiography to fictional literature and drama. The interdisciplinary aspect will also be reflected in the various media used during the course: music, films, slides, maps and audio-tapes will be an integral part.

The following materials are part of the class:

  • Gustav Mahler, First Symphony (1889)
  • Theodor Herzl, The Jewish State (1896)
  • Arthur Schnitzler, Der Weg ins Freie (1908), Professor Bernhardi (1912)
  • Jospeh Roth, The Wandering Jews (2000)
  • Sigmund Freud, Moses and Monotheism (1938)
  • Brigitte Haman, Hitlerís Vienna: A Dictatorís Apprentenceship (2000)
  • Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday (1940)
  • Arnold Schoenberg, Ein Überlebender aus Warschau (1945)
  • Ruth Klüger, Still Alive. A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered (1994, 2002)
You will write two short papers, each approximately five pages long (30%), and one longer research paper, approximately 10 pages long plus a bibliography (35%). In addition, there will be six book quizzes on the reading (20%). Finally, active class participation is expected (15%).

For further information send an e-mail to  hoeyng@utk.edu or call 974-7162.

Language of Instruction: English
 

 

==>  GERMAN 415

German Special Topics:  "Berlin in the 20th Century -- The City with Scars"
Section # Credits Time Place Instructor
46771  3  7.45-10.35  M  TOW 715 Dr. Lee
- 713 McClung -

This course is a continuation of German 415 from fall term and is open only to students who completed the course in the fall.  Participants meet one time per week to discuss readings related to Berlin.  They do independent research on a Berlin topic of their interest and write a twenty page paper reflecting that research.  Over spring break the group travels to Berlin.  Individual students are responsible for taking the group on one guided tour related to their research interest.

For further information send an e-mail to  dlee@utk.edu or call 974-7158.

Language of Instruction: English
 

==>  GERMAN 420

"We are Germans, We are Whites, and We Want to Stay White!": 
The History of Black Germans in the 20th Century
Section # Credits Time Place Instructor
  46917  3 2.10-3.25  TR  Library 212 Dr. El-Tayeb
- 717 McClung -

The black populations of continental Europe are often ignored, both in general debates and in academic studies. African Germans in particular are usually neither considered "proper Germans" nor recognized as part of the African Diaspora. In the German discourse, they  typically figure as "foreigners" as "black" and "German" remain exclusive categories for the majority of the nation's white population. More directly than with other German minorities, this exclusion can be traced to dominant notions of race; notions that - due to the widespread believe that there is no such thing as a German racism - remain largely unreflected. 
In this course, we will analyze how it was possible to negate the existence of Germans of African descent, despite their 500 years-long history and how this history figures in the larger context of the African Diaspora. Focussing on the Twentieth Century  we will consider key periods such as German colonialism, the persecution of blacks during National Socialism and the  last decades of the century that saw the beginning of a black German movement. While the black experience will be central to our course, the fate of other groups such as Sinti (gypsies) or Turkish and Jewish Germans will be considered. 
We will use a variety of sources, ranging from  scientific publications to novels, films, and Hip Hop songs.

For more information send an e-mail to feltayeb@utk.edu or call 974-2715

Language of Instruction: English
 

 

==>  GERMAN 422

German Drama
Section # Credits Time Place Instructor
  46784  3   11.15-12.05  MWF  TBA Dr. Höyng
- 719 McClung -

In this course, you will learn five main aspects of modern German drama. First, you will gain historical awareness by reading and discussing five representative playwrights and dramas. Second, in each play we will connect the text to aspects of its performative qualities like directing, dramaturgy, acting style or costumes. Third, we will connect the main issues of each play to their context outside of the text: middle class family and its moral values, human ideals and social class, modernism and sciences, feminism and postmodernism. Fourth, we will integrate the aesthetic qualities of the texts by their interdependence with other forms and means of representation like art, opera or film. Fifth, you will gain an awareness of the institutional history of German speaking theaters.

Required texts:

  • Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Emilia Galotti
  • Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Iphigenie auf Tauris
  • Georg Büchner, Woyzeck
  • Bertolt Brecht, Das Leben des Galileo Galilei
  • Elfriede Jelinek, Clara S.
Besides these plays, there will be additional texts provided.

We will have five quizzes on the plays (25%). 
You will write four papers, each approximately five pages long (ca. 40%). 
Your active class participation is expected (35%).

For more information send an e-mail to  hoeyng@utk.edu  or call 974-7162.

Language of Instruction: German
 

 

==>  GERMAN 485

Business German
Section # Credits Time Place Instructor
46802  3   11.10- 12.25  TR  HSS 219 Dr. Ohnesorg
- 712 McClung -

This course introduces students to the language of business German and gives them insight into Germany's place in the global economy. Topics covered in this course will include finance, industry, tourism, business correspondence, ecology, transportation  etc. While the discussion of these topics, along with the development of specialized vocabulary and skill-building exercises will offer an excellent preparation for those students who plan to pursue careers in international business, the materials covered will also be appropriate for those students of German who would like to choose business German as an elective course. It will not only improve their skills in writing, speaking, listening and reading but it will also help them gain factual knowledge and cultural insights that are essential for any type of interaction with institutions, businesses, authorities etc. in the German speaking world. 
In this course students will get acquainted with a variety of authentic materials in the form of written texts, tape recordings and  video clips. The use of the World Wide Web will ensure that students learn how to gather up-to-date information relevant to the topics covered in class.

For more information send an e-mail to  ohnesorg@utk.edu  or call 974-7098.

Language of Instruction: German