Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures

The intersection of literary fantasy with historical reality considered in two ways: (1) fantastic-looking tales based on historical reality; and (2) stories describing fantastic situations that actually came true. Previously offered as GERM 50.

Critical issues that dominated the 20th century: WWI and Bolshevik Revolution; rise of fascism, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and their roles; origins and evolution of Cold War; collapse of Eastern Bloc. Previously offered as GERM 51.

This seminar explores ecological crises and their depiction in German literature and film. The texts and films we will discuss will range from early Romantic fairy tales to present-day documentaries and climate-change literature (cli-fi). Together, we will face nuclear catastrophes, flooding, landslides, mass extinction, and climate change. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English. Students may not receive credit for both GSLL 52 and GERM 255.

Introduction to pre-Christian culture of Germany, Anglo-Saxon England, and Scandinavia from the late Roman Empire through the Viking Age, as preserved in myths, sagas, charms, inscriptions, and historical documents. Previously offered as GERM 53. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 215 and GSLL 53.

Fairy tales from different national traditions and historical periods read through various critical lenses, against a backdrop of changing historical conceptions of the child. Works from Grimm, Anderson, Brontë, Disney, etc. Students may not receive credit for both GSLL 54 and GERM 279/CMPL 279. Previously offered as GERM 54.

Introduces students to study of humanities by examining how the idea of Rome evolved through poetry, history, philosophy, opera, even forgery into a concept that has long outlasted the Romans. Previously offered as GERM 55.

This course seeks to explore the historically difficult position of minorities in the modern world, using the situation of Jews in Germany from the 18th century to the Holocaust as a case study. Previously offered as GERM 56.

Stalinist Soviet Union serves as a case study to examine how dictatorships develop and how they tend to be enveloped in justifications and kept in existence by outside observers. Previously offered as GERM 59.

Students explore the international history, filmic techniques and cultural meanings of non-narrative cinema of the 20th century. Students also transform in-class discussions and individual essays into video projects. Previously offered as GERM 60.

The intersection of performance in a theater space and in everyday life will serve as a springboard to investigating the diversity of contemporary America. Examines how race, class, religion, sexuality, sexual orientation, history, and death are performed in America today. Previously offered as GERM 63.

This seminar deals with how encounters between Europe and the African Diaspora have changed notions of race, nation, identity, and belonging in the 20th century. Through engaging with diverse texts--literary, nonliterary, and visual--we will explore the construction of blackness in various national and historical contexts. Previously offered as GERM 67.

This course focuses on three powerful affective states that challenge the conception of humans as autonomous, independent beings: intensity, vitality, and ecstasy. We will examine both philosophical and artistic representations of these particular states, focusing on the way in which they both endanger and enrich our experience of the world. Previously offered as GERM 68. Honors version available.

Why is it that we cry at the movies? We will focus on the melodrama but also look at comedy and horror to think about emotional responses to films. Students will learn the basics of film analysis, gain an overview of genre cinema, and study approaches to emotion, affect, and the body.

This seminar investigates youth cultures from the 1940s to the present in the United States and around the world. It offers students a history of how different youth cultures developed over time, and consideration of how the constitution of youth cultures has been influenced by factors like race, class, and gender.

This seminar examines the influence the Bible had on great works of Western literature and traces this powerful literary tradition through different cultures and historical periods. Readings and discussions in English.

This course examines concepts and representations of underworlds in literature and the visual arts from the ancient world to the Middle Ages and Renaissance to modernity. Our journey will take us to the realms of the afterlife as well as into the abyss of the human psyche and the shady areas of underground criminal activities. We will explore how the desire to know the beyond has triggered people's imagination, inspired literary and artistic traditions.

This course explores the question of the animal in the works of major Russian writers (Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov, Platonov). Among the topics to be discussed are: The animal as the other; animal and human natures: dominance and submission, ethics of human/animal relations, and the trope of "talking" animals. Readings and discussions in English.

Explores and reflects on the experience and significance of being a doctor in Russia and the United States, analyzing "doctors' stories" presented in fiction, nonfiction, film, and other media. Previously offered as SLAV 82.

The word "robot" was invented by Czech author Karel Capek in 1920. Science fiction has had a long-running obsession with robots. Fiction and film dream up robots who have mastered and often surpassed the strange art that is being human. In this class, we will read and watch stories about robots from East and Central Europe, with occasional detours into American culture. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.

Terror was used as a political weapon in 19th-century Russia. This seminar introduces the terrorists through their own writings and fictional representations in novels by Fyodor Dostoevsky and Joseph Conrad. Previously offered as SLAV 84.

Readings for this seminar include children's wartime diaries, adult memoirs of child survivors, and fiction from Central and Eastern Europe. Previously offered as SLAV 85.

The seminar considers the relationship between literature and madness through the works of major Russian writers (Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Chekhov, Nabokov). Previously offered as SLAV 86.

What is totalitarianism? Can a portrayal of suffering, even death, under a totalitarian state, have artistic value, or must it remain only a political pamphlet? This seminar studies authors who reveal the crimes of totalitarianism, while also showing the moral strength and/or weaknesses of humans victimized by the totalitarian state.

An introduction to the region, this course examines the role of gender in central and east European literature from the end of the 19th century to contemporary times. Course materials include novels, films, historical readings, and essays. Readings and class discussions in English. Previously offered as SLAV 88H. Honors version available.

Special topics course. Content will vary each semester.

This course offers a historical perspective on the adaptation of medieval culture in "Game of Thrones." We will focus on topics such as family, politics, religion, violence, gender, slavery, outcasts, knighthood, travel, heroes, myths, and magic. Readings and discussions in English.

This course draws on a variety of cultural documents to explore both the conflict and cross fertilization between the Christian and Islamic cultures of the Middle Ages. Readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 218.

This seminar covers popular and pious literature written by and for Jews in the 15th to 18th century in German-speaking countries. Originally written in Old Yiddish, this literature preserved the popular European genres and nonfiction accounts of Jewish community and family life. Previously offered as GERM 225.

Why was occupied Germany divided into two states after World War II? Were the Cold War and division inevitable? We explore these questions in two chronological contexts: 1945-1949 and 1989-present, with emphasis on the reemergence of Western conflict with Putin's Russia. Readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 254. Honors version available.

This course investigates the central role played by the "German question" in the break-up of the wartime alliance, the emergence of East-West political blocs, the subsequent dissolution of the USSR, and the return to new Russian-Western antagonisms. Readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 255.

This seminar provides students with a general introduction to Marxist thought with particular attention to its critical importance for interpreting the role of ideology in modern literature. Readings and class discussions in English. Previously taught as GSLL 251.

Central Europe, at the center of dramatic historical changes--WWI, emergence of independent nation states, WWII and Holocaust, Communism and its end, incorporation into the European Union--produced unprecedented cultural results. The creative voices of writers and filmmakers have relevance far beyond this region.

We will study how contemporary literary and cinematic works of Central European intellectuals serve as reflections on the everyday life of this region. Readings and class discussions in English. Films with English subtitles.

This course examines the roles and representations of Jews in the world of the theater from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice to the present, considering dramas, operas, musicals, film adaptations, and films. Readings and discussions in English.

A study of the role of Jews and the "Jewish question" in German culture from 1750 to the Holocaust and beyond. Discussions and texts (literary, political, theological) in English. Previously offered as GERM 270.

An examination of the vampire in the visual and verbal cultures of Central and Eastern Europe, and the popular adaptation of "vampirism" in the West. All materials and discussions in English. Previously offered as HUNG 271.

Explore the relationship between Poland, Russia, and Germany from World War II until the present day, through films and readings that cover World War II, the fall of Communism in Europe, the Holocaust and the post-war situation of Jews, religious faith, Putin's politics, women's rights, and the current refugee situation in Germany. Film directors include Balabanov, Becker, Fassbinder, Kalatozov, Holland, Mikhalkov, Polanski, Wajda, and Wenders. Readings and class discussions in English. Films with English subtitles.

Aesthetic experiment, agit-prop tool, and instrument of social critique: documentary film is a flexible form. In the Socialist Bloc, documentary was sanctioned by the state but often used to undermine state power. This course is a survey of Polish, Czech, Yugoslav and Hungarian documentary film. We will explore studio productions alongside home movies, amateur films, and art films. Does documentary simply record reality, or can it change reality too? Readings & discussions in English.

This course examines the relationship between text, music, and the visual arts, focusing on the way in which nonliterary aesthetic content may both mediate and call into question cultural values.

This course looks at cultural geography through the lens of literature about rivers. After a brief survey of the world's major rivers and a short dive into the way environmental science seeks to understand rivers, classes are devoted to poems, stories, novels, histories, and even science fiction about rivers. Students engage in mentored research culminating in a substantial essay. Readings and discussions in English.

Traces the invention of race, racism, and discourses of cultural inferiority/superiority throughout Western culture. What historical events created the necessity for racist thinking? How did colonialism and transatlantic migration change Atlantic cultures? Why did black culture become fashionable? Is the 21st century "post-racial"? Readings and course descriptions in English.

A critical look at varieties of cinematic representation and memorialization of the Holocaust, from those countries of Europe where it mostly took place. Taught in English. All films in (or subtitled in) English. Previously offered as SLAV 281.

Scholars of Afropessimism argue that we are not living in the age of post-slavery, but in the "afterlife of slavery" and that Blacks exist outside of the world, because the social world is held together by anti-Blackness. This argumentation has had important effects within Black German and Black European Studies. This course seeks to explore these philosophical claims, by comparing American films with European films that deal with anti-Black racism.

An introduction to Hungarian society and culture since the end of World War II through a selection of film classics. Films with English subtitles. Readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as HUNG 280.

This course examines cultures of dissent and protest in Central Europe, including student protests of the 1960s and the fall of Communism in 1989. Materials include literature, film, music, theatre, and popular culture from Czechoslovakia, East Germany, West Germany, Hungary, and Poland. Readings and discussions in English.

Recent years have seen a worldwide push for emancipatory acts of iconoclasm: calls to "topple" monuments as emblems of social oppression. This course examines cases of contested and demolished monuments in contexts close to home (the Carolina campus) and geographically remote (Poland, Prague). If demolishing a monument can be a violent act, how might visual objects in public space exert their own forces of violence? Readings and discussions in English.

Protest movements of 1968 are often remembered as one "planetary event." In Western Europe, protesters demanded revolution, while in Eastern Europe, protesters living under communism demanded reform. In this course, we will explore dissent and counterculture in Central Europe through the lens of 1968. Through film and fiction from Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, we will investigate the impact of the Central European '68(s) worldwide. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.

We will explore the unique possibilities of comics in the form of graphic medicine: namely comics that thematize physical and mental health. How do comic artists work through issues of trauma and pain? How do artists with chronic illness and disabilities articulate their experience through comics? This course engages with the Medical Humanities, seeking to bring together students of medicine along with students of the humanities to contemplate how we communicate physical and mental illness.

This course serves as an introduction to research methodologies, theories, and the university resources available to students seeking to perform cutting-edge research in the humanities. The goal of the course is to produce a substantial research project. The capacities developed in this course as well as the project itself could be used as the basis for grants, scholarships, internship applications, or an honors thesis. Taught in English. Previously offered as CMPL 395H/GSLL 295H/ROML 295H.

Historical contexts and connections through artistic representation of the Holocaust and Soviet terror in Eastern Europe and the USSR. Taught in English; some foreign language readings for qualified students.

This course studies magical realism in Central European literature and film by placing it in a global literary/cinema context. Readings and discussions in English.

Does Central Europe exist? It is a region with shifting borders, diverse languages, and a complex history. In this course, we will explore stories that invent fictional countries in Central Europe from the mist-shrouded mountains of Wes Anderson's Zubrowka to Ursula Le Guin's invented realm of Orsinia. We will also read work by writers from within the region who mythologized their home environments. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.

This one-credit hour class aims to develop and facilitate conversational skills in a Germanic or Slavic language in the context of the current political, economic, and cultural climate. Knowledge of the language of instruction at the upper-intermediate level required.

Examines selected themes in the history, culture, society, art, and/or literature of Germanic and Slavic/East European countries.

In this course, students will carry out a research project under the direct supervision of a faculty mentor. The course culminates in a final research paper at the end of the semester.

In this course, students work through a reading list in a specific field under the direction of a faculty member. Permission of the instructor required.

Permission of the instructor. Reading knowledge of a language other than English recommended. Starting from the proposition that cultural literacy would be impossible without reliance on translations, this course addresses fundamental issues in the practice, art, and politics of literary translation. Previously offered as SLAV 560.

History and theory of international avant-garde and experimentalist movements in film, video, intermedia, multimedia, and digital formats. Content and focus may vary from semester to semester. Previously offered as GERM 683.

Permission of the director of undergraduate studies. For majors only. Reading and special studies under the direction of a faculty member.

Permission of the director of undergraduate studies. For majors only. Reading and preparation of an essay under the direction of a faculty member, designed to lead to the completion of the honors thesis.

Permission of the director of undergraduate studies. For majors only. Introduction to research techniques and preparation of an essay, designed to lead to the completion of the honors thesis.

This study abroad course provides students with in-depth exposure to the history and culture of the Netherlands in the 17th century through the lens of its chief city, Amsterdam. Conducted in English. No knowledge of Dutch is required.

Permission of the instructor. Special readings and research in a selected field or topic under the direction of a faculty member.

The first course in the Dutch language sequence, DTCH 402 is a rapid introduction to modern Dutch with emphasis on all fundamental components of communication. Completion of DTCH 402 fulfills level 2 of a foreign language.

The second course in the Dutch language sequence, DTCH 403 focuses on increased skills in speaking, listening, reading, global comprehension, and communication. Emphasis on reading and discussion of longer texts. Completion of DTCH 403 fulfills level 3 of a foreign language.

This third Dutch course completes the language sequence. DTCH 404 aims to increase proficiency in language skills (reading, speaking, writing) and is constructed around a series of themes meant to introduce students to Dutch society, culture, and history. Completion of DTCH 404 fulfills level 4 of a foreign language.

Ability to read and speak Dutch at intermediate to advanced level recommended. Introduction to Dutch literature from Middle Ages to the present. Survey of topics in Dutch culture.

Develops the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing) in a cultural context. In addition to mastering basic vocabulary and grammar, students will communicate in German about everyday topics. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 105 and GERM 101 or 102. Honors version available.

This continuation of GERM 101 emphasizes speaking, listening, reading, writing in a cultural context. Students enhance their basic vocabulary and grammar and will regularly communicate in German about everyday topics. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 105 and GERM 101 or 102. Honors version available.

Students acquire necessary materials and opportunities to develop further their language skills in a cultural context. They review and expand upon the basic grammar covered in beginning German. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 206 and GERM 203 or GERM 204. Honors version available.

Emphasizes further development of the four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, listening) within a cultural context. Discussions focus on modern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in literature and film. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 206 and GERM 203 or GERM 204. Honors version available.

Offers a historical perspective on the portrayal of medieval culture in film from the 1920s to today. Specific topics include the ideal hero, the quest, etiquette, chivalry, rituals, and love. Readings and discussions in English.

This course examines concepts that medieval texts utilize in order to articulate an understanding of human beings, their relations to others, their social, political, and religious worlds. Readings and discussions in English.

Examination of representations of the warrior culture of the Germanic-language areas of the Atlantic North (Germany, Scandinavia, Anglo-Saxon England) from the Gallic Wars under Julius Caesar (58--50 BCE) through the Migration Age (ca. 300--600 CE). Readings and class discussions in English. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 215 and GSLL 53.

This interdisciplinary course examines representations of women, concepts of gender, and women's participation in the economic, political, religious, and cultural life of the Middle Ages. Discussion and texts in English.

The Reformation was seminal for the development of the modern world. This course will investigate Reformation literature written in the period from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 17th century, and will investigate how Reformation ideas resonate through today. Readings and discussions in English.

This course introduces students to the most important authors of the Enlightenment and Romanticism, with a focus on the German philosophical and literary tradition. The course will focus on how these authors negotiated tensions between overwhelming affects and the demands of rationality: a problem of ethical, political, and personal importance with which we are still grappling. Readings and discussions in English.

An introduction to the writings of three great German writers of the 19th century who have had enormous impact on the lives of people around the world. Readings and discussions in English.

This course surveys the themes of madness and genius and their relation to music in German literature of the 19th and 20th century. Readings and class discussions in English. Prior knowledge of music is recommended but not required.

The idea of world literature was a German invention, proposed by Goethe to describe literature of universal importance for all of humanity. German thought, and German literature, in particular, remains an important component in this canon. This English-language literature course introduces newcomers to some highlights of German literature.

This seminar explores how German authors and film makers have grappled to come to terms with ecological crises from early Romanticism to the present. We will examine philosophical, literary, and cinematic investigations of natural and nuclear catastrophes, pollution, waste, mass extinction, and climate change. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 255 and GSLL 52.

This course examines the work of one or several film directors who went into exile during the Third Reich to discuss: How does the experience of exile influence film style? What are theories and histories of exile and exile cinema, and how do they relate to other approaches to film, via national film histories, genre, style, etc.? How does a biography of exile relate to so-called auteur theory? Readings and Discussions in English.

An examination of selected cinematic representations (both American and German) of Nazi Germany in terms of their aesthetic properties and propagandistic value. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.

Explores important German films of 1919 to 1933, locating them in their artistic, cultural, and historical context. Treats the contested course of Weimar film history and culture and provides a theoretically informed introduction to the study of film and visual materials. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.

We will explore the works of one or more German director(s). By watching a sample of a director's oeuvre over a significant period of time, students come to understand the director's arch, identify common threads in their films, and consider how his or her work relates to larger developments in German film history. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English.

Introduction to feminist aesthetics and film theory by the examination of the representation of women in German cinema from expressionism to the present. All materials and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM/WGST 250.

This course explores the major developments of German cinema. All films with English subtitles. Readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 275.

This course will explore artistic mediations of the Holocaust in literature, film, and beyond. It focuses on questions of representation, authenticity, appropriateness and uniqueness, the role of memory, the problems and limits of language in articulating the Shoah, and issues of trauma and justice. Readings and class discussions in English. Previously offered as GSLL 274.

In this course we will read a selection of texts and watch movies that cast a vigilant eye on the role the ideas of freedom, democracy, civil rights, neutrality, the humanitarian tradition, justice, capitalism as well as the notion of authenticity, acceptance, morality, or the alpine idyll have played in Switzerland's self-understanding and in its relationship with Europe and the world.

German drama has been fundamental to shaping the country's identity. Thus, what better way to learn about a culture and history than to engage with its dramatic texts and performance? Nevertheless, there are always nuances that can potentially get lost in translation when adapting a text from one language to another. What does a reader of the translation need to know in order to properly understand the play? Readings and discussions in English.

Considers fairy tales from several different national traditions and historical periods against the backdrop of folklore, literature, psychoanalysis, and the socializing forces directed at children. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 279/CMPL 279 and GSLL 54.

This course brings into dialogue key ideas from seminal German philosophers who anticipated, experienced, or survived the Great War, with contemporary works of German literature, film, and painting. Of concern are the ways philosophy's concepts and art's themes shaped both one another and the idea of war. Readings and discussions in English.

This course investigates how philosophical thought motivates, inspires, and generates forms of agency and identity against cultural tendencies that limit or erode freedom. Readings, lecture, and discussion in English.

By reading a few longer novels over the course of the semester, students will learn how to hone their critical thinking and reading skills, become familiar with a foreign culture, and consider how American culture is reflected back at them in these post-1960 German texts. Readings and discussions in English.

This class will introduce students to the latest translations of recent novels by both established and up-and-coming authors of the post-1989 German literary world. Readings and class discussions in English.

This course introduces students to philosophical, literary, and film texts engaging with the ethics of migration. How might the writings by and depictions of refugees throughout German history resonate with the current crisis? The course includes a service learning component, so that students gain experience working with local refugees and are able to use their practical experience to reflect on the theoretical discussions in class. Readings and discussions in English.

Examines selected themes in the history, culture, society, art, and/or literature of German-speaking countries. Readings and discussions in English.

Introduction to present-day German-speaking societies with an emphasis on practical contexts of everyday life (business, media, culture). The course initiates a sustained reflection on class, gender, race, and political economy and prepares students for studying and interning in German-speaking Europe. Further goals include improvement of pronunciation and the mastery of grammar.

Emphasis is on advanced communication and writing based on shorter readings from contemporary life and culture in German-speaking societies. The readings provide subject matter for in-class discussion and regular written compositions that explore a variety of practical genres (report, article, essay).

Readings, discussions, and essays in German. An appropriate conclusion to GERM 101-204, it also provides the background for more advanced undergraduate literature and culture courses.

An introduction to the language and culture of German business, commerce, and industry. Special emphasis is given to the acquisition of advanced business-related language skills. Course conducted in German.

GERM 304 recommended but not required. As a continuation of GERM 304 the course offers a more advanced treatment of the current German economic and business debates and events while further strengthening relevant German language skills. Course conducted in German.

This course provides a practical and theoretical introduction to translation from and into German. Translation practices will be discussed not only from a linguistic perspective, but also from a cultural and historical perspective.

The goal of this course is to enrich students' knowledge of German by giving them the opportunity to teach elementary German classes to high school students at a local partner school. In preparation for teaching, students will learn about current best practices in foreign language pedagogy by engaging with foundational texts from the discipline as well as from invited guest speakers. Students will also gain first-hand experience designing teaching materials and learning about curricular design.

Fools are everywhere. Human folly is one of the most distinctive preoccupations of German literature of the early modern period. This course will explore the multiple meanings of the German term "fool" in works from the 15th to the 18th century. Readings and discussions in German.

German literature from the Enlightenment to Romanticism. Readings include works by Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, and the Romantics. Readings and lectures in German.

Investigation of the interconnectedness of turn-of-the-century arts, philosophy, psychoanalysis with focus on Berlin and Vienna. Works by Hauptmann, Wedekind, Schnitzler, Freud, Schoenberg, Hofmannsthal, Rilke, T. Mann. Readings and lectures in German.

Examines exciting new directions in German and Austrian cinema from the past 20 years. By analyzing weekly films, students develop skills in film analysis and criticism; read reviews, interviews, and film-theoretical texts; write a film review; and produce a critical essay. Readings and discussions in German. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 367 and 467.

Introduction to German intellectual history from the Enlightenment to the rise of fascism. Close readings and discussions of texts by Kant, Schiller, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, and Benjamin. Readings and lectures in German.

Famous novellas by authors such as Kleist, Brentano, Meyer, Keller, and Kafka, from the early 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. Readings and discussions in German.

German drama from the late Enlightenment to the present. Texts include plays by dramatists such as Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Hauptmann, Brecht, and Dürrenmatt. Readings and lectures in German.

Survey of German lyric poetry from 18th to 21st century; major poets, forms, literary movements discussed. Readings, class discussions, and public recitation in German.

Students study German plays, write original monodramas, and give two public dramatic performances. Readings, discussions, rehearsals in German aim to enable critique of dramas and theoretical texts.

This course offers an introduction to the German-language literature and culture of Switzerland. Possible authors include: Jeremias Gotthelf, Gottfried Keller, Robert Walser, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Max Frisch, Christian Kracht.

Presents Austria from the Biedermeier period to the end of the monarchy. Readings of works by authors such as Stifter, Schnitzler, Roth, Freud, Herzl, who articulate artistic, political, historical themes. Readings and lectures in German.

Exploration of the rich cultural and turbulent political history of 20th-century Germany by focusing on the literature, film, art, and architecture produced in and about the city of Berlin. All materials and discussions in German.

Investigates literary and cinematic response to rise in terrorism in Germany since 1970. Focus on cultural and political significance of the gangster, the freedom fighter, and the terrorist. Readings and discussions in German.

Explores the practice in East Germany of adapting earlier literatures and setting contemporary narratives in distant times. East German authors used cultural heritage as a screen for utopian sentiments and for pursuing the relationships between everyday life, historical conditions, and political circumstances. Readings and discussions in German.

German texts from 1945 to the present trace the depth of fascist violence and its aftermath in German historical writing and identity. How have Germans positioned themselves toward their history over time? Does one understand oneself as perpetrator, victim, or both? Readings and discussions in German.

Students will learn about Turkish migration to Germany following WWII. Students will read texts written about Turkish guest workers, as well as first-hand accounts from guest workers and literary texts by Turkish artists of the first, second, and third generation. Readings and discussions in German.

Since 1989, writers born in the former Eastern Bloc have taken German literature by storm. We investigate this contemporary prose, exploring themes like homeland and diaspora, communism and capitalism, German history and the European Union.

Students may enroll only in conjunction with a German Department course offered in English that features an accompanying discussion section. All materials and discussions in German. May count toward the major or minor in German.

A recitation section for selected courses that promote foreign language proficiency across the curriculum (LAC). Readings and discussions in German. May count toward the major and minor in German.

Examines selected themes in the history, culture, society, art, and/or literature of German-speaking countries. Readings and discussions in German.

Special readings and research in a selected field or topic under the direction of a faculty member.

Review of basic and advanced grammatical structures. Course strengthens application of grammar in context for undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students also work with grammar issues encountered in the foreign language classroom.

In GERM 410 we will strive to understand what the adjective 'medieval' entails and juxtapose it with notions of what it means to be modern. We will examine mostly German medieval works of art and literature and put them in dialogue with modern adaptations of the Middle Ages.

Lecture/discussion course on Viking culture, mythology, exploration, and extension of power in northern Europe (approx. 750-1050 CE) as represented in sagas, the Eddas, runic inscriptions, and chronicles. Readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 216.

This course explores the vibrant world of medieval and early modern performance and theater. Students will discover how religious and secular plays were a formative component of marking time and creating community through their integration into liturgical practice, with Jews performing Purim plays and Christians staging plays at Christmas, during Carnival and Lent, and Easter. They will encounter entire cities transformed into public spaces of performance, often political and for days at a time.

This course examines the historical conditions governing the emergence of radical thought in the nineteenth century with an emphasis on the German context. It will analyze some of the boldest thought experiments of the period--whether conservative or revolutionary, ideologically right or left--by following an intellectual itinerary from Hegel to Marx. We will then interrogate the consequences of this trajectory for contemporary theory and culture.

Investigation of the interconnectedness of turn-of-the-century arts, philosophy, and psychoanalysis with focus on Berlin and Vienna. Works by Hauptmann, Wedekind, Schnitzler, Freud, Schoenberg, Hofmannsthal, Hofmannsthal/Strauss, Rilke, and T. Mann. Class discussions and lectures in English Reading in English (German optional).

Explores Nietzsche on literature, and Hesse's and Mann's literary thematization of Nietzsche's philosophy. Emphasis on conceptions of character, myth, music, and language, and Nietzsche's cultural and moral critique and its reevaluation in light of the 20th century political crises. Taught in English; some readings in German for qualified students.

This course explores canonical German literary texts written between 1945 and 2000 that wrestle with the historical transformation of German guilt for world war and genocide into suffering and trauma.

Examines exciting new directions in German and Austrian cinema from the past 20 years. By analyzing weekly films, students develop skills in film analysis and criticism; read reviews, interviews, and film-theoretical texts; write a film review; and produce a critical essay. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English. Students may not receive credit for both GERM 367 and 467. Previously offered as CMPL 267/GERM 267.

This English-language seminar introduces students to over 150 years of LGBTQ+ repression and liberation in German-speaking Europe, from the prohibition of same-sex acts in 1871 to the present, through the lens of German literature and film. Readings and class discussions in English. Previously offered as GERM 282.

This course aims to capture the spirit of the city as students engage in multiple texts from the 19th and 20th centuries representative of the city's literary, cultural, and visual history. The texts range from Theodor Fontane's bourgeoisie in Mitte to the Turkish-German minority in Kreuzberg. In addition to reading literary texts, students will also watch films and music videos, and discuss art and architecture.

Explores the practice in East Germany of adapting earlier literatures and setting contemporary narratives in distant times. East German authors used cultural heritage as a screen for utopian sentiments and for pursuing the relationships between everyday life, historical conditions, and political circumstances. Readings and discussions in English.

This course enables a student to earn a maximum of three credit hours for a faculty-supervised internship directly related to the study of German literature or culture, or that uses the German language in day-to-day conduct of business in a German-speaking environment.

Development of phonology and morphosyntax from ancient times to present. Political, social, and literary forces influencing the language.

LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Introduction to formal analysis of German grammar (phonology, morphophonemics, prosodics, morphology, syntax) within the framework of generative grammar.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic analysis of Early New High German texts, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax. On demand.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic analysis of Old High German texts, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax; comparison of the various dialects with other older dialects of Germanic. On demand.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic study of biblical texts (Heliand, Genesis) in Old Saxon, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax; comparison with Old English, Old High German, and other Germanic dialects. On demand.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic analysis of Old Norse (Old Icelandic) texts, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax; comparison with other older dialects of Germanic. On demand.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Continuation of GERM 514. On demand.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Reading and linguistic analysis of Gothic biblical texts, with study of phonology, morphology, and syntax; comparison with other older dialects of Germanic. On demand.

LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Study of stylistic theories and practices in literature and linguistics, analysis of a large variety of texts, written exercises, training in the use of stylistic devices.

LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Major topics in sociolinguistics: development of the German language, traditional dialects, variation in contemporary speech, German as a minority language (Alsace, Belgium), German outside of Germany (Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein).

LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Special problems will be selected for intensive investigation. Subject matter of the course will be adapted to the particular interests of the students and instructor.

This course offers a survey of structuralist, poststructuralist, and posthumanist thought. It examines in particular how these forms of thought address the ethical, political, ecological, aesthetic and existential challenges of the present.

This research-intensive seminar for advanced undergraduates covers the history of the Frankfurt School and the scope of its theory for contemporary social, political, and cultural analysis. Taught in English; some readings in German for qualified students. Students must have junior or senior standing or have permission of the instructor. This 500-level course has no prerequisites. Because of the complexity of the texts, students should have at least sophomore and prior classroom experience with philosophical texts.

This course explores German-Jewish writing before and after the Holocaust, focusing on the social and political position of Jews as a minority in German-speaking countries and how those are manifest in their writing and relation to the German language. Previously offered as GERM 466/JWST 466.

This philosophical Approaches course investigates the rich European intellectual foundations on which 20th-century youth culture erected its triumvirate of sex, drugs, and rock music. Previously offered as GERM 280.

Intellectual history is the examination of ideas and thinkers as they emerge and become significant in particular cultural and historical contexts. This course will focus on German intellectuals and explore their ideas and concepts as a springboard for us to challenge our own frameworks of understanding. Taught in English.

In this course we will follow the narrative of one of the most recent cinematic explorations of the topic of time - the German Netflix series "Dark" (2017-2020) - into the great depths of theories and imaginations of time. The discussion of the series will be accompanied and supported by an introduction to the philosophy of time.

This seminar provides students across the humanities with an overview of the historical and cultural relevance of German media theories. We will discuss the distinction between "art" and "medium", the role of technology and techniques, as well as the interaction of media theory and practice with politics. Films with English subtitles; readings and discussions in English. Previously offered as CMPL 479/GERM 479.

In this course we will engage with different theories around how migration affects societies by taking the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) as a case study. Since its founding in 1945, the FRG has seen several waves of migration. In this class we will read several theoretical texts and two novels to consider how Germany has been shaped by migration.

LING 101 recommended for undergraduates.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. With GERM 602, a two-semester sequence designed as preparation for the reading knowledge examination for higher degrees in the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, etc.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Continuation of GERM 601.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. LING 101 recommended for undergraduates. Analysis of phonological, morphological, and syntactic development from Indo-European to the older stages of Germanic dialects.

This course is designed for new learners and heritage speakers of BCS who wish to develop elementary proficiency in four major language competencies: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It introduces key linguistic and sociocultural aspects of contemporary BCS and will be a valuable asset to students looking to reconnect with their family heritage, visit the region or simply get acquainted with this major Slavic language and its history.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction in BCS 401. Course emphasizes speaking, listening, reading, writing in a cultural context. Students enhance their basic vocabulary and grammar and will regularly communicate in the target language about everyday topics. Previously offered as SECR 402.

The second year of BCS instruction will continue to build grammar and communication skills for intermediate-low and heritage speakers. We will revisit and review many of the grammar concepts from the previous year while gradually incorporating new vocabulary and developing cultural competencies through a variety of authentic sources in the target language (comics, films, music, and others). In addition to in-class presentations, students will frequently work in pairs and collaborate on small projects.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction started in BCS 403. Previously offered as SECR 404.

Advanced readings and discussion in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian on humanities and social science topics. Previously offered as SECR 405.

Advanced readings and discussion in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian on humanities and social science topics. Continuation of BCS 405. Previously offered as SECR 406.

Introduction to South Slavic literatures and cultures with an emphasis on 19th- through 21st-century prose. Taught in English. Some readings in target language for qualified students. Previously offered as SECR 411.

Study of topics in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and other South Slavic literatures and cultures not currently covered in any other course. The specific topic will be announced in advance. Taught in English. Some readings in target language for qualified students. Previously offered as SECR 490.

This course examines Czech film and literature against the backdrop of key historical, political, and cultural events of the 20th century. Films with English subtitles. Readings and discussions in English.

Proficiency-based instruction at the elementary level that develops the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing). In addition to mastering basic vocabulary and grammar, students will communicate in Czech about everyday topics.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction in CZCH 401. Course emphasizes speaking, listening, reading, writing in a cultural context. Students enhance their basic vocabulary and grammar and will regularly communicate in Czech about everyday topics.

Continuation of proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Czech.

Continuation of proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Czech.

Advanced readings and discussion in Czech in humanities and social science topics.

Advanced readings and discussion in Czech in humanities and social science topics, continued.

Introduction to Czech literature with an emphasis on 19th- and 20th-century prose. Taught in English. Some readings in Czech for qualified students.

This course traces Milan Kundera's literary path from his communist poetic youth to his present postmodern Francophilia. His work will be compared with those authors he considers his predecessors and influences in European literature. Taught in English. Some readings in Czech for qualified students.

Study of topics in Czech and/or Slovak literature and culture not currently covered in any other course. The specific topic will be announced in advance. Taught in English. Some readings in Czech for qualified students.

Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern Hungarian.

Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern Hungarian, continued.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Hungarian.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Hungarian, continued.

Advanced readings and discussion in Hungarian in humanities and social science topics.

Advanced readings and discussion in Hungarian in humanities and social science topics, continued.

Introduction to the phonology, morphology, and syntax of modern standard Hungarian, with emphasis on some of its distinctive typological features.

An introduction to Hungarian literature of the last five centuries through a selection of works in English translation, with supporting background materials including films (with English subtitles). Taught in English; some readings in Hungarian for qualified students.

Study of topics in Hungarian literature and culture not currently covered in any other course. The specific topic will be announced in advance. Taught in English; some readings in Hungarian for qualified students.

Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern Macedonian.

Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern Macedonian, continued.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Macedonian.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Macedonian, continued.

Advanced reading and discussion in Macedonian in humanities and social science topics.

Advanced reading and discussion in Macedonian in humanities and social science topics, continued.

An overview of Polish cinema from the 1950s into the 21st century. Includes films of Kieslowski, Munk, Polanski, Wajda, and others. Films with English subtitles. Readings and discussions in English.

Proficiency-based instruction at the elementary level that develops the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing). In addition to mastering basic vocabulary and grammar, students will communicate in Polish about everyday topics.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction in PLSH 401. Course emphasizes speaking, listening, reading, writing in a cultural context. Students enhance their basic vocabulary and grammar and will regularly communicate in Polish about everyday topics.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in elementary Polish.

Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in elementary Polish, continued.

Advanced readings and discussion in Polish on humanities and social science topics.

Advanced readings and discussion in Polish on humanities and social science topics, continued.

An overview of the major literary, cultural and social movements in 19th-century Poland (Romanticism, Positivism and Young Poland) as they relate to Europe more broadly. All readings and discussions in English; readings available in Polish for qualified students.

An overview of the literary and cultural movements in 20th and 21st century Poland as they relate to major historical changes of the century (World War I and World War II, Communism, Post-communism, accession to the European Union). All readings and discussions in English; readings available in Polish for qualified students.

Study of topics in Polish literature and culture not currently covered in any other course. The specific topic will be announced in advance. Taught in English. Some readings in Polish for qualified students.

Essential basics of Russian for everyday conversations. Lays foundation for development of four language skills (speaking, writing, listening, and reading) indispensable for communication on everyday topics in a variety of contexts. Fosters interaction through acquisition of essential communicative and conversational strategies. Introduces learners to structure of contemporary standard Russian through culturally relevant materials.

Further basics of Russian for everyday conversations. Continues to lay the foundation for development of four language skills (speaking, writing, listening, and reading) indispensable for communication on everyday topics in a variety of situational contexts. Fosters further interaction through acquisition of essential communicative and conversational strategies active in contemporary standard Russian through culturally relevant materials.

Transitional skills for fluent speaking, writing, listening, and reading for intermediate learners. Furthers learners' competency for communication on everyday topics. Prepares learners for communication on subjects beyond their immediate needs. Expands interactive skillset necessary to maintain conversations and present individual opinions using complex structures. Employs adapted and non-adapted learning materials to promote mastery of contemporary standard Russian.

Skills for fluent speaking, writing, listening, and reading for intermediate-to-advanced learners. Develops and deepens learners' mastery of contemporary standard Russian. Stresses communication, individual expression, and fosters cultural sensitivity through systematic expansion of learners' ability to conduct conversations in contemporary standard Russian on a widening variety of culturally relevant subjects.

Reading and discussion of great works of 19th century Russian literature (Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov). Readings and lectures in English.

An introduction to the Russian fairy tale with attention to its roots in Russian folklore, its influence on Russian culture, and its connections with American folk and popular culture. Lectures and readings in English.

The study of mystery and suspense in Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. Readings and class discussions in English.

A survey of the themes of love, sex, and marriage as they developed in Russian literature and culture from the Bolshevik Revolution to Perestroika. Readings and class discussions in English.

This course will focus on key works of Russian and Soviet science fiction. Readings and discussions in English.

An introduction to the Russian short story, focusing on the topic of love in all its intriguing aspects. The readings include works from the 18th century to the 20th. Taught in English. Previously offered as RUSS 460.

A survey of fascinating history of Hollywood stereotypes of Russian villainy from Elizabethan England to Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, Ivan Drago, and Xenia Onnatop. What do these theatrical buffoons, cartoon-movie monsters, and cinematic seductresses tell us about Russia -- and about ourselves as consumers of stereotypes? Readings and discussions in English.

Survey of masterpieces of Russian literature in the context of their transcultural cinematic adaptations. Lectures and readings in English.

Permission of the instructor. Directed readings in Russian on topics in literature and linguistics not normally covered in scheduled courses.

Intermediate-to-advanced communication, conversation, composition, phonetics, and grammar in contemporary cultural context. Meets the needs of learners looking to expand their practical knowledge of contemporary standard Russian in the context of present-day culture, while developing active applied skills pertaining to comprehension, production of, and communication in Russian.

Hones skills necessary for advanced communication, conversation, and composition. Presents phonetics and grammar in contemporary cultural context. Learners expand their practical knowledge of contemporary standard Russian in the context of present-day culture, while developing applied skills pertaining to comprehension, production of, and communication in Russian actively using authentic cultural materials.

Develops and maintains advanced skills for speaking, writing, listening, and reading in contemporary standard Russian in a variety of communicative situations. Assists advanced learners in solving a wide range of communicative tasks with the aid of unadapted authentic cultural materials.

Prepares advanced learners of contemporary standard Russian for communication with educated native speakers of the language in the area of their professional competence. Furthers interactive skills for speaking, writing, listening, and reading in a variety of communicative situations pertaining to the learners' professional expertise.

Reading and discussion of selected authors in Russian aimed at improving reading skill and preparing the student for higher level work in Russian literature. Readings and class discussions in Russian. Course previously offered as RUSS 250.

A survey of the major novels and stories of 19th century Russian fiction, which have entered the canon of world classics and redefined the idea of literature. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

Examines "The Absurd" in Russian literature and culture as it developed from 19th century to the present. Through works by important Russian writers and representative films students encounter facets of "The Russian Absurd" viewed as literary, cultural, and social phenomena. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

As Russia became a laboratory for sociopolitical experiments of global significance, its culture reflected on the most spectacular of its aspirations and failures. Course surveys 20th-century literary, musical and cinematic artifacts that emerged to affect the world profoundly. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

Study of major works of Dostoevsky and a survey of contemporary literary and cultural trends relevant to his creative career. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

Study of major works of Chekhov and survey of contemporary literary and cultural trends relevant to his creative career. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

Study of major works of N. V. Gogol and a survey of contemporary authors and literary trends relevant to his creative career. Lectures and seminar discussions. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita (1955) became a global phenomenon due to its unflinching portrayal of pedophilia. This course will delve deeper into the novel's moral complexity, its international context, and its reflection in mass culture, including movies by Stanley Kubrick (1962) and Adrian Lyne (1997). Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

Study of the major works of Tolstoy and a survey of contemporary authors and literary trends relevant to his creative career. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

This course delves into the scintillating literary, visual, musical, and cinematic culture created by Jewish universalists seeking to build their new secular identity under the aegis of the Soviet Communist experiment in the aftermath of the 1917 Bolshevik coup. Surveys the works of Isaac Babel, Eduard Bagritsky, Marc Chagall, Sergey Eisenstein, Ilya Ehrenburg, Masha Gessen, Vasily Grossman, Osip Mandelshtam, and others. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students; films with English subtitles. Honors version available.

Using Alexievich as our beacon, we will explore the writers behind the term "Russian Women's Prose": Valeria Narbikova, Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Tatyana Tolstaya, and Lyudmila Ulitskaya. The course will delve into gender identity and body politics as they manifest themselves in the literary texts of lasting aesthetic quality and social relevance. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

Study of topics in Russian literature and culture not currently covered in any other course. The specific topic will be announced in advance. Taught in English. Some readings in Russian for qualified students.

RUSS 515 provides advanced learners with opportunities to develop linguo-cultural skills necessary to practice their profession in Russian. While engaged in academic discourse in contemporary standard Russian, learners research topics in their academic majors, prepare and give presentations and lead discussions focusing on their areas of professional competence. In addition to student-centered segments, the course comprises instructor-led discussions of current affairs and academic subjects. Readings, viewing materials, and discussions in Russian.

A continuation of RUSS 515, RUSS 516 develops and maintains the linguo-cultural skills of advanced-to-professional learners by preparing them for professional study-abroad experiences at Russophone institutions of higher learning. A seminar-style course with rotating instructors, it engages learners in contemplation, research, and discussion of subjects within the instructor's professional expertise. Readings, viewing materials, and discussions in Russian.