Professors: Herbert A. Arnold, Peter M. Frenzel, Leo A. Lensing (Chair), Krishna R. Winston

Assistant Professor: Noah W. Isenberg

Adjunct Professors: Annemarie Arnold, Vera B. Grant

Departmental Advising Experts (2000-2001): Krishna Winston, Herbert Arnold

Interdisciplinary in nature, the academic field known as German studies has undergone rapid development in recent years. At Wesleyan, the Department of German Studies takes an active part in internationalizing the curriculum to educate students for a world in which a sophisticated understanding of other cultures has become increasingly important. A background in German studies can provide preparation for careers in many fields, including teaching, translation, publishing, arts administration, international law, business, and foreign service. Graduate study in certain subfields of literature, as well as linguistics, philosophy, art history, history, psychology, the natural sciences, music, and many other disciplines, calls for fluency in German.

At every level, the German Studies Department’s courses in German stress the four basic skills–reading, writing, listening, and speaking–and attempt to develop students’ sensitivities to language and its relationship to culture. Instruction in the German language helps students gain an appreciation of the significance of grammar, syntax, idiom, and levels of diction. The department’s courses offered in English focus on the German-speaking countries’ specific historical experiences and on their contributions to literature, the other arts (film, photography, music, painting), and many other areas. These courses often raise the question of translation, asking how successfully cultural phenomena particular to a certain place and time can be expressed in another language.

In its classes and in other activities, such as conversation hours, lectures, and the film-on-videotape series, the department provides rich opportunities for students to encounter the cultures of the German-speaking countries past and present. All students interested in German are welcome to take courses in the department and to participate in department-sponsored events.

Major program. To become a German studies major, a student should have no grade lower than a B in any course offered by the department, except GERM101/102 or GERM105. The department recognizes the diversity of students’ interests and goals by allowing majors great flexibility in designing their programs of study, which are arranged in close consultation with a faculty advisor in the department. While a specific concentration is not required, coherence should be a guiding principle. Majors are expected to adhere to the guidelines on general education.

Requirements and procedures. The department requires 10 credits’ worth of courses. At least five credits must be earned in courses taught in German above the level of GERM214. Courses in which class discussion is conducted in English may be taken in the German Studies Department and, with the major advisor’s approval, in other departments. In accordance with Wesleyan’s academic regulations, a maximum of four courses from other departments may be counted. For additional practice in German, majors taking courses taught in English by faculty in the department are strongly encouraged to do part of the reading and writing in German and to have extra sessions with the instructor to discuss the material in German. All majors must take GERM299, The New Germany, 1870-1990: Introduction to German Studies and GERM301, Advanced Seminar in German Literature. GERM299 is offered almost every year in the first semester and should be taken in the sophomore or junior year. GERM301 is offered in alternate years and should be taken in the junior or senior year. Majors are expected to spend a semester in Germany with the Wesleyan Program in Regensburg. Courses taken in Regensburg, with the exception of intensive language courses, count toward the major, provided their subject matter is relevant to German studies; the director of the program should be consulted about whether a given course will count. In the senior year, every major must complete an honors thesis or a one-semester project.

1. Eligibility. To become a candidate for honors in German, a student must maintain a grade-point average of 88.3 (B+) in all German courses credited toward the major and must fulfill the departmental requirements for the GERM301 and GERM299 stated above.

2. Candidacy. The senior must sign up for GERM409/410 (Senior Thesis Tutorial). Candidates for honors in German studies or in German and another major may need two tutors. By the deadline set by the Committee on Honors, the department will formally nominate the candidate if it appears reasonably certain that the project will be completed on time and in the prescribed form.

3. Honors projects. The following are examples of two-semester senior-year projects: a traditional research thesis; a detailed analysis of a text, to be presented in written form; a translation from German to English, accompanied by a critical essay or introduction; a production of a play, accompanied by a written analysis.

4. Deadline. All theses and written projects must be submitted by the spring deadline established by the Committee on Honors. Suitable dates for theatrical productions will be arranged by the department.

5. Evaluation and award of honors. The student’s project will be evaluated by the tutor(s) and a designated reader or readers. If honors are awarded, they may be either honors or high honors. The award will be reported to the Honors Committee and the faculty. A student receiving high honors may, at the department’s discretion, be nominated to take the qualifying examination for University honors.

The German House. This small house at 135 High Street, with seven single rooms, sponsors many cultural and social activities. To apply for a place, a student should get in touch with the residents of the house by the end of the first semester.

Department prizes. Students who demonstrate excellence in the study of German may be candidates for prizes given from the Scott, Prentice, and Blankenagel Funds. For information, see the department chair.

The Wesleyan University Program in Germany (WUPG) offers an extended second semester under the auspices of a partnership agreement with the University of Regensburg.

Since the program is an integral part of Wesleyan’s undergraduate curriculum and an organic component of the German Studies Department’s offerings, majors in German studies are urged to participate, either as sophomores or, at the latest, as second-semester juniors. Up to 20 students from Wesleyan and other colleges and universities are admitted to the program annually. Open to students who have had at least three semesters of college German or the equivalent, the extended semester is divided into intensive language preparation (February-March) and regular matriculation at the University of Regensburg for the German second semester (May-July).

Students choose from a broad selection of University courses, supplemented by group tutorials organized and monitored by the Wesleyan resident director. An informal series of cultural events includes visits to theaters and concerts, excursions to historic sites and museums, and guest lectures.

Students earn credit for four, and in special cases, five, courses. The preparatory language course is taught by the staff of the University’s Institute for German as a Foreign Language. A Wesleyan faculty member administers all aspects of the program and advises students during their six-month stay in Germany. Under the terms of the agreement with the University of Regensburg, all Wesleyan participants are guaranteed rooms in dormitories and other housing facilities that ensure maximum contact with German students.

Brochures and application forms are available from the German Department, 401 Fisk Hall, or from the Office of International Studies, 307 Fisk Hall. The deadline for applications is November 1.