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Academic Year 2005/2006


Seminar in German Studies: States of Crisis, Narratives of Transgression
GERM 299 FA

Crosslistings:
COL 299
GELT 299

The annual Seminar in German Studies serves as an introduction to the increasingly diverse and interdisciplinary field of German Studies. The goal of the seminar is to help students critically examine significant themes in the culture of the German-speaking countries through a variety of media and genres (literature, film, photography, journalism, the internet, visual art, criticism, philosophy, historiography). The course will have a substantial methodological component, emphasizing the improvement of analytic and interpretive skills and the expression of complex problems in a concise and lucid fashion.

The topic for 2005 is "States of Crisis, Narratives of Transgression"

We will investigate how - throughout the history of the German-speaking regions of Europe - states of crisis (at the levels of the individual, the family, class, gender, ethnicity, and the nation) have engendered narratives of transgression, ranging from merely "deviant" behavior to radical otherness to violent revolt and, ultimately, to terrorism. Cases to be studied include: war and the dissolution of social and political order, madness, crime and punishment, the crisis of political legitimacy and the terrorist response, the transgression of taboos and social conventions, the crisis of communicative language and the artistic response, sexual transgressions.

MAJOR READINGS

Heinrich von Kleist, PENTHESILEA; ¿Michael Kohlhaas¿ and selected short stories
Thomas Bernhard, GARGOYLES
Elfriede Jelinek, THE PIANO TEACHER
Georg Büchner, LENZ
Friedrich Schiller, THE CRIMINAL FROM LOST HONOR
Hugo von Hofmannsthal, "Letter to Lord Candos," ¿Cavalry Story¿
E.T.A. Hoffmann, THE SANDMAN
Johann Wolfgang Goethe, ¿The New Melusine¿
Franz Kafka, ¿Before the Law,¿ ¿In the Penal Colony¿
Robert Musil, THE CONFUSIONS OF YOUNG TÖRLESS
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, THE JEWS¿ BEECH TREE
Daniel Paul Schreber, MEMOIRS OF MY NERVOUS ILLNESS

MOVIES:

Michael Haneke, THE PIANO TEACHER
Volker Schlöndorff, YOUNG TÖRLESS
Oliver Hirschbiegel, THE EXPERIMENT
Fatih Akin, HEAD-ON

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

There will be brief weekly response papers, two oral reports and a final research paper (8 - 10 pages).

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

This course is required for all German Studies majors.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA GERM    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Plass,Ulrich    
Times: .M.W... 02:40PM-04:00PM;     Location: FISK412;
Reserved Seats:    (Total Limit: 20)
SR. major: 0   Jr. major: 2
SR. non-major: 2   Jr. non-major: 3   SO: 8   FR: 5

Special Attributes:
Curricular Renewal:    Speaking, Writing
Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-30-2006


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