Teacher (Course Author): Ann Hobbs, Jon Hughes, Stefano Jossa, Barbara Rassi, Odile Rimbert, Benedict Schofield
20-21 GM2123: Love and Marriage in Major Novels by Theodor Fontane
The course will be dedicated to the detailed analyses of 3 major novels by Theodor Fontane: "Irrungen, Wirrungen" / "On Tangled Paths" (1888), "Effi Briest" (1896) and "Unwiederbringlich" / "No Way Back" (1891). The literary analyses of these works will focus on themes around love, marriage, adultery and divorce, assessing these in their cultural, social and psychological contexts. Whereas in "Irrungen, Wirrungen" Fontane explores the impact of class boundaries on the relationship between two young lovers, in "Effi Briest" he focuses on the potentially disastrous outcomes of the marriage of convenience. In "Unwiederbringlich", Fontane examines the break-up of a once happy, but eventually disintegrating middle-age marriage.
Assessment:
• Formative piece of work: 0% --- Deadline = 7 December 2017
• Essay: 30% (1500-2000 words) --- Deadline = 8 March 2018
• Written Examination: 70%
All essays are to be written in ENGLISH (although quotations from German material should be given in the original if you are studying German on the post A-Level pathway).
Assessment:
• Formative piece of work: 0% --- Deadline = 7 December 2017
• Essay: 30% (1500-2000 words) --- Deadline = 8 March 2018
• Written Examination: 70%
All essays are to be written in ENGLISH (although quotations from German material should be given in the original if you are studying German on the post A-Level pathway).
20-21 GM2124: Representations of Childhood and Youth in Modern German Culture
Childhood and youth - the formative periods in our lives - are of obvious crucial importance for individuals, for society and for culture. They have also been contested and controversial concepts. Children and adolescents have long been the subject of social, familial and educational pressures against which they have often rebelled in the attempt to assert individuality and develop their own identities. This course aims to introduce students to a range of literary and cinematic responses to the lives of children and young people in the context of the German-speaking countries between the late nineteenth century and the present day. Using a range of classic and recent texts and films, it will explore the historical contexts of the theme, and consider the way broader social, political and ethical issues that emerge from the representation of young people, and of institutions such as the school and the military.
20-21 GM2501: Pra Oral In German
This course does not use Moodle for teaching at this time. For more information, please contact your department or the course tutor.
20-21 GM2502: Pra Oral In German
This course does not use Moodle for teaching at this time. For more information, please contact your department or the course tutor.
20-21 GM3009: German Language III
GM3009 (Full Unit) is a compulsory core language course at final year level.
The course will be taught with 3 hours / week + a fortnightly grammar lecture (Advanced)
- Essay
- Translation
- Oral Practice
- Grammar Lecture (fortnightly, please refer to "Language Skills" site on MOODLE)
ASSESSMENT:
3-Hour Written Examination (50%)
- Erörterung (German essay)
- Translation
English/German - German/English or German monolingual dictionaries are allowed for the written examination. Dictionaries will NOT be provided.
Oral Examination (50%)
- Presentation
- Discussion
FOR THE ATTENTION OF ALL STUDENTS OF LANGUAGE:
PLEASE NOTE THAT IN ORDER TO PASS THE FINAL YEAR CORE LANGUAGE UNIT YOU MUST PASS BOTH THE FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION AND THE FINAL WRITTEN EXAMINATION.
Teacher (Course Author): Uwe Baumann, Karina Berger, Ann Hobbs, Jon Hughes, Emily Jeremiah, Stefano Jossa, Julian Koch, Nicholas Martin, Barbara Rassi, Odile Rimbert, Benedict Schofield, Gaby Thomson-Wohlgemuth
20-21 GM3131: Narrative and Identity
This course will explore identity as it is expressed in German-language literature from the eighteenth century to the present day.
20-21 GM3134: National Socialism and the Third Reich in German film and visual culture from 1933 to the present
The course covers the period of the Third Reich to present-day Germany. You will study a broad range of examples of the visual representation of National Socialism as an ideology, a political movement and a 'national' phenomenon. Starting in the 1930s and 1940s, you will be introduced to National Socialism in its historical context and asked to consider its defining characteristics. You will consider the Nazis’ use of propaganda and ceremony, focusing on film and graphic and fine art under Hitler. The course will then focus on the aftermath of the war in both West and East Germany, and the problematic idea of the 'Zero Hour'. You will consider early attempts to 'come to terms' with the past. The debates around Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming to terms with the past) provide the focus for the next part of the course. You will study the depiction of perpetrators/victims, and of moral ambiguity before moving on to analyse the debates around German national responsibility for the Holocaust in the context of depictions of the failure of memory and denial in German film of the 1980s and 1990s, and conclude by studying the more recent trend towards 'normalization' in films incorporating 'ordinary' Germans and/or 'good Germans'. Throughout, you will comparatively consider the role of visual art in the above debates and trends, using the post-war work of Anselm Kiefer as a case studies, alongside analysis of site-specific memorials.