Jeder Kurs besteht aus maximal 28 Sitzungen zu jeweils 75 Minuten. Für Anfragen verwenden Sie bitte das Kontaktformular.

German Humor

Students will be sent home after week 1. Everyone knows that Germans have no sense of humor. Just kidding. They do. And we will explore some of the ways in which it is expressed. The four main areas we will look at are full-length comedy films (Loriot, Gerhard Polt); stand-up comedy (Bülent Ceylan, Pigor und Eichhorn); op-ed cartoons on current affairs, both national and international (Behrendt, Greser und Lenz); and satirical cartoon books about National Socialism (Walter Moers). In addition to close textual and visual analyses we will explore the often controversial reception of these works, thus gaining an appreciation of the formation of public audiences and of particular sensitivities with regard to content (class, race, region, ideology) and language (political correctness, dialects, jargon).

Literary Translation

The first part of the course examines theoretical approaches to translation and contemporary cultural and political functions of literary translation. The second part consists of intra-lingual translations, that is, translation from one genre, register, variant, dialect, or sociolect of English into another. The third part of the course is workshop-style: student participants develop their own translation projects and present challenges and successes to class.

1989/1990

This course examines German political culture and cultural politics in 1989 and in 2009. We zoom in on the year 1989 and follow the events on an almost day-by-day basis, through the lens of both contemporary accounts (speeches, images, videos) and later analyses. We ask whether events from the so-called “Fall” of the Wall up to reunification were unexpected, without alternative, and successful. We will then trace the subsequent career of a number of ideas, people and books into the 90s and 2000s.

Introduction to German Literature

This course explores highlights of German literature from Goethe to Heiner Müller that have contributed to the formation of a German intellectual and cultural identity. It examines works of German writers of poetry, prose, drama, and essays, many of whom represent internationally accepted standards of artistic excellence.

German for Academic Research

This course introduces students to the German language for the purpose of developing reading and translation skills necessary for pursuing academic research. It covers the foundations of German with a focus on grammatical rules and structures, translation, and reading skills such as determining meaning from context. Selected readings in theory of translation and techniques will be offered intermittently. The course moves at a very rapid pace. Initially, it will be based on exercises in the textbook. Further along, more time will be devoted to materials that students provide (e.g., articles that they would like to use for their research).

Business German: Global Contexts

This is a specialized language course about current German economic and business debates and events, about Germany’s position in the global marketplace and on ensuing intercultural business encounters. Topics include the state of Germany’s industry and energy resources, environmental concerns, foreign trade, taxes, and the social safety net. Discussions will be based on an examination of Germany’s model of a “social market economy” and the compatibility of that model with current trends in globalization.