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FALL 2024 COURSE OFFERINGS (+ SUMMER 2024)
GRMN 101: BEGINNER'S GERMANAt the 100 level, our students cultivate tools and habits for acquiring basic proficiency in communication within culturally significant contexts. We #MSUGerman instructors approach language teaching with an integrated framework which emphasizes vocabulary and basic grammar, but for the most part cultural competency and interpersonal confidence in communicating. Along the way, you will make friends and exchange laughs! Curious about German? Try out a course! Or, check out our Instagram for weekly stories and language facts, @MSU_German.
ps: GRMN 101 open to all! If the course is closed, you can let our Business Operations Manager + your instructor know you would like to be placed on a wait list. Also: If you are not fully certain of which level will feel best for you, try one out and then feel free to switch up or down in the first week of classes! We are all quite flexible. |
GRMN 102: IN-PERSON, OR, ONLINE (BOTH ARE OFFERED)GRMN 102 picks up where GRMN 101 left off. In this course, students continue to cultivate tools and habits for acquiring basic proficiency in communication within culturally significant contexts, moving into past tense, conjunctions and longer sentences/more ways of expressing yourself. Don't forget to check out our Instagram for weekly stories and language facts, @MSU_German.
For the first time, we are offering in-person and online for GRMN 102D in the Fall semester. If you prefer one or the other and it is full, please let your instructor know. For overrides, you may also confirm your language background with your instructor and let them know you wish to add but need an override. They can help place the request to Pete or Lisa for you. (either one works, but you need to get the instructor's confirmation first) Questions or Override? Contact: [email protected] or [email protected] |
GRMN 201D/202D: INTERMEDIATE GERMANGRMN 201/202 students expand cultural knowledge and functional vocabulary through intermediate-level readings and discussions. In this course, we like to increase the emphasis on written communication by interacting with a series of carefully selected readings (and viewings) in German culture, civilization and literature. This helps provide the basis for writing essays and reports and developing advanced language skills. This course is co-convened so certain students with more of a background in German might best place into GRMN 202, while other students have just completed GRMN 102 and instead wish to transfer into GRMN 201. The course content/theme remains the same. The activities and outcomes will vary within the course itself.
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GRMN 301: GERMAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, MEDIAGerman 301 will provide practice of oral and written expression of German language, media and culture. This course is structured around consistent themes, which serves a two-fold purpose. First, students will be introduced to iconic German media and cultural themes. Second, students will engage with German language through key representations of media and culture, training and strengthening oral, written, vocabulary and grammar skills. The goal behind this advanced language course is to increase confidence in understanding and engaging with German media and intercultural competency. Parallel to class discussion, students will review pertinent grammatical structures. This course officially kicks MSU German's new upper level 300 series and will count towards the Minor or Major language requirement. All contents & discussions are auf Deutsch.
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 440IH: German(s) & the World
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GRMN 491: German(s) & Yellowstone“German(s) and Yellowstone” re-investigates the history of European encounters with the American West as well as ecocritical traditions in our nearby surroundings. By assessing key interconnections of German Studies, Indigenous traditions, environmental histories, and media cultures, GRMN 491 students will critically ponder our place and positions here in Montana. To do so, we will look back in time at genres like landscape painting, portraiture, poetry, and travelogues, which helped shape the early German imagination of Yellowstone and the American West. We will also look to our present and future as scholars and citizens who are able to engage with Yellowstone as an ethnographic site. Students will examine discourses, texts, and media that have influenced our campus as well as our understanding of the deeper histories and cultures that continue to influence Yellowstone.
This interdisciplinary course will survey German theories of nature and ecology; Indigenous and European artists; environmental histories of representation and legacies of Xenophobia and Colonialism. To that end, “German(s) and Yellowstone” casts an historical, interdisciplinary gaze on natural and constructed spaces both figuratively in German discourses as well as literally in Yellowstone as they changed over time. "German(s) and Yellowstone" synthesizes place-based learning, visual history, and archival approaches to Yellowstone as a subject matter and space. Exchanges community members will help generate and guide class conversation, while also forging new dialogues with our community. In addition, we will revisit photographic sites early German-American artists like Charles Bierstadt selected for photographic indexing of Yellowstone. Finally, we will organize field site visits in Yellowstone allow students to deliver self-designed nature tours and gain archival experience working with German-language contents. *This course is designed for German-speakers and non-German-speakers alike. Learning Outcomes At the end of this course, students will able to:
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Summer 2024
Summer Session 2: Online courses that count towards a German Minor or Major
Registration Questions?Click here for a rundown of the Spring 2024 + Summer 2024 online offerings
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Spring 2024
GRMN 102: Beginner German, the next chapter...GRMN 102 picks up where GRMN 101 left off. In this course, students continue to cultivate tools and habits for acquiring basic proficiency in communication within culturally significant contexts, moving into past tense, conjunctions and longer sentences/more ways of expressing yourself. We #MSUGerman instructors approach language teaching with an integrated framework which emphasizes vocabulary and basic grammar, but for the most part cultural competency and interpersonal confidence in communicating. Curious about German? Try out a course! Or, check out our Instagram for weekly stories and language facts, @MSU_German.
Questions or Override? Contact: [email protected] or [email protected] |
GRMN 101 OnlineThis online offering offsets the in-person Beginner German every semester. This means students have flexibility to enter into the German course system where they are at, and where it best fits their schedule. The online option provides additional flexibility for student with busy schedules. This course is open to all, however, it is a first come first serve option with a focus on Liberal Studies students.
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GRMN 201/202: Intermediate GermanGRMN 201/202 students expand cultural knowledge and functional vocabulary through intermediate-level readings and discussions. In this course, we like to increase the emphasis on written communication by interacting with a series of carefully selected readings (and viewings) in German culture, civilization and literature. This year's theme will be the Alps, as GRMN 202 students are eligible to participate in the MSU German Alp trip in the spring! Accordingly, one section of this course will occasionally connect up with GRMN 450 students for interrelated thematic activities, while focusing on different linguistic proficiencies.
*This course is blended and covers students more comfortable with beginning to work their way into Intermediate German contexts, while also offering students who have more familiarity or experience an opportunity to strengthen their skills. |
GRMN 304: Advanced German and DramaGerman 304 is structured around thematic “Stationen” designed to strengthen proficiencies in writing, reading, speaking and listening. One Station features the drama, Der Besuch der alten Dame, from Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. This text marks the first full-length literary work for most students and provides opportunity to build literary interpretation skills in German. Alongside guided reading activities, students participate in a series of dynamic responses to the text including reenactments, illustrations, and reading journals. As an upper level German-language course, GRMN 304 enhances linguistic competencies and cultural nuances.
Learning Objectives
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355IH: German Visual CulturesGRMN 355 frames how students engage with German visual culture through an investigation of media such as cinema, photography, art, and graffiti. Histories of vision and visuality have long left their mark on German surfaces and beyond. But by tracing media practices of the late 19th century up through the present, students in GRMN 355 will reimagine how genres like documentary film, portraiture, and tagging have emerged from longer traditions of ethnography, if not also contemporary discourses around notions of seeing in and of itself. In addition to visually examining content, this course surveys theories of visual culture, highlights artistic movements, and questions histories of representation, which engage with legacies of racism, xenophobia and colonialism. All texts in the course will be provided in English translation with a voluntary Blended German component; discussion of course contents will be in English.
Learning Objectives At the end of this course students will be able to:
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GRMN 450R: Muses and MountainsGRMN 450R will thematically 'follow in the footsteps' of one of Germany’s most famous writers and avid scientists, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Throughout the Spring semester (2024) students will discover art, science, engineering, and nature on a figurative journey from north to south through the Alps and ending in Italy's "Süd-Tirol" region. During the semester, students will register for either GRMN 202 or GRMN 450 and participate in a co-led course centered on building linguistic, cultural, and logistical skills which will be helpful in Europe. Linguistic skills will build towards and arrive at Intermediate language proficiency that will allow students to communicate and troubleshoot a variety of situations abroad. Cultural skills will include an interdisciplinary capacities to engage with engineering sites, literary texts, scientific labs, and artworks in museums. Logistic skills help get students from a to b, whether on train, plane, or zu Fuss. GRMN 450 students will propose and conduct research on a theme that connects up to the course.
Then, we will literally hit the road and cross the Alps in May 2024. This faculty-led travel abroad adventure features and explores the rich historical traditions that span energy dams & nature parks, gondola cable cars, castle designs, roof designs, flora/fauna, and the Romantic and Modern imaginaries that ushered in much of the contemporary landscapes, mindsets, and geopolitical realities of today's Alp cultures. In addition, we take a look back in time at some of the earliest cultural traces on the European continent... Our finale visit will occur in Bolzano where one of the oldest human specimens lies: Ötzi. By contrasting age-old human imprints with more contemporary phenomena in the Alps, this course allows students a deeper perspective on the longer genealogy of the Alps and its intersections with human cultures. |
HSTR 364: Global Habsburgs (aka: Modern Austria)HSTR 364 explores notions and representations of “empire” in one of the most long-lasting monarchies in European history—the Habsburgs. This is a history course, taught in English. It will comparatively examine territories, cultures, languages and literatures that impacted the Habsburg Empire, and that were shaped by it. At each historical stage, students will question and assess the perception of empire, from those who belonged and those who were marginalized.
*This course counts towards a Minor or Major in GRMN. Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course, students will able to:
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Fall 2023
GRMN 201-202:
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GRMN 303: German through CinemaGerman 303 pauses over scenes, internal monologues, external spats, and other visual, acoustic, environmental, and medial strategies that inhabit or sometimes inhibit German cinema. The goal of this course is less geared towards introducing students to German cinema and more towards using cinema to engage German language and cultural constructs and concepts. GRMN 303 is an Advanced Level course which showcases how cinema (and Netflix, Youtube, and other sources) can be viewed as another entry point into the German language learning journey. Students will gain confidence in spoken, written, listening, acting, and directing skills(!).
Questions about 303? Email Pete at [email protected]. |
GRMN 315: Love, Sorrow & the Romantic SpiritGRMN 315. Whoa! This is by no means a mere survey of German literature but instead a tumultuous 'Sturm & Drang' rollercoaster through poetic passions, political prose, and prophetic (com)positions.
*This course is 100 Pro (%) auf Deutsch. But don't let that stop you. We welcome Intermediate + beyond levels to come dig into the Spirit, Sorrow, and Love of the German Romantic Era. It doesn't disappoint. You'll have to see it, read it, experience it to believe it. Come get to know Novalis, die Droste, and others who helped make this time period special, historical, romantic. Bis dann! (wie gesagt ist der Kurs 100% auf Deutsch, aber auch wie gesagt ist er wirklich offen gedacht. Das heißt: DU schaffst das mit Mittelstufe-Kenntnissen! Einfach vorbei schauen und sehen, wie das geht..) |
GRMN 360IH: Murder, Myth, Magic. The German Fairy TaleGRMN 360IH. You read that right. This "IH" CORE offering is hot. It's so hot that we are opening it up for all students, including you: New students to MSU!
This course is 100% in English (with German breakout options). Think you know your folklore already? Come & find out. Perhaps yes, but quite likely there is more to the story.. (if not storytellers..) than one might first assume! We can't wait to connect you up to the mythologies, myths, and magical intersections of German folklore traditions. If you have any questions about this, or your curiosity has been piqued, you are not alone. Join into the mix of scholarship + general wonder surrounding the theme/genre/tradition that is the German fairy tale! And: This course is an upper level course. Regardless, it is designed for everyone to participate. |
HSTR 391: Holocaust in Memory & FilmHSTR 391 undertakes the important historical task of engaging with the Holocaust in memory and film. While the Holocaust was largely first imagined and engineered in 1930s Nazi Germany, it impacted most of Europe if not the world and continues to stand as a crucial warning against the horrors of Fascism and Genocide for societies today. Following the end of World War II, filmmakers began to approach the subject matter of the Holocaust in an effort to come to terms with the tragedy and commemorate the victims. Documentary films, feature films, and even animated films all sought to honor the story and history. Yet, this did not come without challenges of its own. The politics of representation, truth, and mediation have all come to inform what is today a vibrant intellectual field of memory cultures and film history in European studies. By turning our attention to some of the key questions that surround the memory and European films of the Holocaust, both on the screen and in museums, this course asks students to contemplate and contribute to the ongoing discourse of remembrance and representation in German history and cinema studies. This course is online, taught in English, Summer Session 2. *eligible for GRMN Minor/Major credits
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HSTR 367: Nazi Art & PropagandaHSTR 367 assesses the ways in which art and propaganda underwrote and challenged Nazi ideological platforms. This course traces significant historical turning points that bolstered ideologies and politics in the Third Reich by connecting political transformations of art with propagandastic visions of the Nazi party. From Leni Riefenstahl to the Degenerate Art exhibit, students will weigh images and structures against Nazi party rhetoric in order to assess how (mis)information and ideology shaped art and left their political mark on German history. This course is online, taught in English, Summer Session 2. *eligible for Minor/Major credits
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Spring 2023
GRMN 302: Advanced German Media and CultureGerman 302 will provide practice of oral and written expression of German language, media and culture via graffiti, memes, literature and art. This course is structured around 8 themes, which helps students engage with German language through key representations culture, while training and strengthening oral, written, vocabulary and grammar skills. The goal behind this advanced language course is to increase confidence in understanding and engaging with German media and intercultural competency. This course officially kicks MSU German's new upper level 300 series and will count towards any Minor or Major upper level language requirement. All contents & discussions are auf Deutsch.
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 350: The Mountain Sublime in the German ImaginationExplore the magic of mountain and outdoor culture from a historical German perspective. Great literature, romantic art, spiritual journeys and ancient myths inform our understanding of natural landscapes, mountain films and famous expeditions. Traverse Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain and the sacred groves of the Germanic mythical tree, ponder Herman Hesse and Siddhartha's tree of awakening. Interpret Marlen Haushofer's The Wall a dystopia and utopia in a visceral depiction of learning to survive by herself in a pristine Austrian mountain valley. Questions or Override? [email protected]
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GRMN 450 Aesthetics of Resistance: Protest & Terror in the FRG“Aesthetics of Resistance: Protest & Terror in the FRG” interrogates historical events, literary forms, and visual cultures which inscribed West Germany’s Global Sixties and the subsequent extremist movements such as the Red Army Faction (aka: Baader-Meinhof Gang). GRMN 450 students will survey contemporary texts, films, and debates, ranging from political poetry to documentary cinema and Frankfurt School theory. They will also spend time working with archival materials, which will help frame their final research project. Texts & films will be both in German and English, as will discussions. GRMN 450 is open to all who are interested in histories of protest. You will need an override to register. Questions or Override? [email protected]
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HSTR 491 "German Disinformation" (co-convened with HSTR 491 "Chinese Propaganda")HSTR 491, “German Disinformation,” traces histories and consequences of falsehoods from Reformation to Reunification. The course will ask students to scrutinize cultural fact and fiction through the myths, hearsay, and science. Turning to key genres of communication such as storytelling or public health campaigns, students will assess how prejudices or stereotypes co-opt deeper-seated psychologies of the masses which, in turn, impacted the emergence of antisemitism, homophobia, colonialism in the German tradition. This course is 100% taught in English and aligned with HSTR 491, “Propaganda in Modern China,” taught by Prof. Maggie Greene in order to gain a more comparative global perspective on histories of disinformation. Override or Questions? [email protected]
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Fall 2022
Fall 2022, Registration Message: Link here
Fall 2022, Downloadable PDF Description | |
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GRMN 322: Survey of German CinemaWhat is a German national cinema? Students explore German imagination beyond borders, critically engaging with the search for a national identity. The course examines the history of German speaking and transnational film production between 1895 and 2022. GRMN 322 is open to students from all majors and will be conducted in English with optional German-language breakouts.
Themes: Expressionist and Experimental Films of Weimar Germany (1919-1933); Films made under the Nazis (1933-45); Exhiled directors and Hollywood Productions (Noir and Medodrama 1930-1945); Post-War Popular Cinema (Heimatfilme and Soviet Westerns); Films of the Critically Acclaimed New German Cinema of the 1970's and 80's; East German Cinema; Iconic Films set in Post Unification Berlin; and Turkish German Cinema. We also discuss Historical Dramas and Ostalgie films of the 2000's as well as Art House and Transnational Contemporary Cinema. Learning Outcomes By the end of the course, students will be able to:
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GRMN 453: German Literary Worlds & Worldly LiteraturesGRMN 453 orients ourselves in and through German-language literary landscapes and other European literatures. This course will utilize translations of English and German & is open to all.
Motifs will include translation, adaptation, transnational mobilities, and literary traditions in & around German-speaking Europe. But we will also specifically examine connections + responses to Ukraine both historically and today. GRMN 453 questions what it means to write, read, and engage with contemporary European literary worlds in 2022. Writers will include Chantal-Fleur Sandjon, Abini Zöllner, Yurii Andrukhovych, Yoko Tawada, Lesya Ukrainka, Gogol, and you. If you are interested in gaining an understanding of European voices and perspectives via literature, including those from Ukraine, come read, write, and engage with us this fall. You will need an override to register – email: [email protected]. Learning Objectives By the end of this course students will be able to:
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Spring 2022
GRMN 422IH: Text and CinemaThis course examines the relationship between writing and cinema by focusing on representation of the Weimar Republic in Berlin, Germany, between 1919 and 1933. This seminar will explore the philosophy, texts, and films of and about the era. We closely read the iconic novel of the Weimar era, Berlin, Alexanderplatz (Alfred Döblin, 1929) and watch the filmed adaptation, made by director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (14 part mini series, 1980). We will delve into contemporary noir, in the Gereon Rath Mystery Series as well as the Netflix adaptation: Babylon Berlin and the accompanying graphic novel.
“How can studying film adaptation allow us to better understand what it is that literature does, and vice versa?” You’ll see that this is a very contentious issue, so expect to read lots of different points of view and to engage in weekly discussions, and to examine our selected adaptation for a final project. The course is designed as a seminar with substantial weekly reading, discussions (with student prepared questions), and two formal writing assignments. At the end of this course students will be able to:
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GRMN 304: German in Cultural ContextGerman 304 is structured around thematic “Stationen” designed to strengthen proficiencies in writing, reading, speaking and listening. One Station features the drama, Der Besuch der alten Dame, from Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. This text marks the first full-length literary work for most students and provides opportunity to build literary interpretation skills in German. Alongside guided reading activities, students participate in a series of dynamic responses to the text including reenactments, illustrations, and reading journals. As an upper level German-language course, GRMN 304 enhances linguistic competencies and cultural nuances.
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 391: Weimar Publics, Counterpublics, and the Rise of FascismThis course will examine the rise of fascism from Weimar Germany up to the Third Reich. In the first part of the course, students examine events, decrees, propaganda, and artistic responses that supported fascism through its beginnings in post-War Germany, 1919-1933. The second part focuses on efforts to normalize totalitarianism as a method of governance and suppression in the early 1930s before turning to the consequences thereafter. Throughout the course, students hone skills in analyzing contemporary eye-witness testimonies, images, literature, and videos, each of which contribute to the ongoing historicization of fascism in European and World history. GRMN 391 is cross-listed with HSTR 362 and will be taught primarily in English with some German sub-units.
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 450: Contemporary Populisms“Contemporary Populisms” examines pressing issues in German culture today. With the recent rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party and outpouring of protests and counter-protests, populism is surging in Germany on the right and the left. This course tackles some of the issues at stake like hate speech, the politics of remembrance, climate change, and refugees. Rather than addressing these issues through conventional text or term paper, we will instead employ the medium of podcasting, which expands the boundaries of the physical classroom and allows us to engage with the cultural frictions that are changing the face of today’s Germany and beyond.
To that end, this course is co-convened with an American Studies graduate seminar that will explore similar questions in the USA. By comparing and contrasting underlying transatlantic tensions, “Contemporary Populisms” trains students to critically listen and speak about topics that range from documentary films from Mo Asumang and Thilo Mischke; podcasts from Katrin Bennhold; texts and street texts from Theodore Adorno, Barbara., Herakut, and Irmela Mensah-Schramm; tracks from Die Ärzte and more. The course culminates with a class podcast that showcases the interdisciplinary avenues we ventured down to grapple with populism in Germany today. This course will be taught primarily in German with occasional English overlaps. Learning Objectives
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Fall 2021
GRMN 303:
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GRMN 491:
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GRMN 440:
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Spring 2021
GRMN 302: Contemporary German Media, Culture, LanguageGerman 302 hones in on contemporary German language media and culture: first reading, listening, and watching the news and then producing news stories about contemporary events in and around German-speaking cultures. GRMN 302 is part of MSU German's new upper level 300 series (GRMN 301-304) and will count towards the Minor or Major language requirement. Students can take any of these courses at any point in time with consent of instructor or the equivalent of GRMN 202. All contents & discussions are auf Deutsch.
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 355IH: German Visual Culture“Screen, Street, Canvas” frames how students engage with German visual culture through an investigation of media such as cinema, photography, art, and graffiti. Histories of vision and visuality have long left their mark on German surfaces and beyond. But by tracing media practices of the late 19th century up through the present, students in GRMN 355 will reimagine how genres like documentary film, portraiture, and tagging have emerged from longer traditions of ethnography, if not also contemporary discourses around notions of seeing in and of itself. In addition to visually examining content, this course surveys theories of visual culture, highlights artistic movements, and questions histories of representation, which engage with legacies of racism, xenophobia and colonialism. All texts in the course will be provided in English translation with a voluntary Blended German component; discussion of course contents will be in English.
Learning Objectives At the end of this course students will be able to:
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GRMN 450: The Habsburgs and their Global HistoriesGRMN 450 explores notions and representations of “empire” in one of the most long-lasting monarchies in European history—the Habsburgs. This interdisciplinary course (co-convened with HSTR 364) will comparatively examine territories, cultures, languages and literatures that impacted the Habsburg Empire. At each historical stage, students will question and assess the perception of empire, from those who belonged and those who were marginalized. To help with this endeavor students will read classical literary works from Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Joseph Roth, and Stefan Zweig.
Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course, students will able to:
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Fall 2020
GRMN 353: Cold War BerlinThis course covers the period from 1945 to the time of rapid change following the fall of the wall in 1989. Together, we will investigate a wide variety of historical sources, authentic footage, films, literature, cultural events and the visual arts from East and West Berlin to gain an understanding of the cultural differences and undercurrents that led to the dramatic political events of the era. The class welcomes non-German speakers and German students: M/W will be in English, Friday class will be split into English and German discussion groups.
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 301: German Language, Media & Culture IGerman 301 will provide practice of oral and written expression of German language, media and culture. This course is structured around 8 themes, which serves a two-fold purpose. First, students will be introduced to iconic German media and cultural themes. Second, students will engage with German language through key representations of media and culture, training and strengthening oral, written, vocabulary and grammar skills. The goal behind this advanced language course is to increase confidence in understanding and engaging with German media and intercultural competency. Parallel to class discussion, students will review pertinent grammatical structures. This course officially kicks MSU German's new upper level 300 series and will count towards the Minor or Major language requirement. All contents & discussions are auf Deutsch.
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 101, 102 + 201/202
Our language courses don't just teach linguistic skills; we do life skills! The best part about our courses is our community and our engagement in German-speaking culture. In our courses, you meet friends, gain opportunities to connect with fellow students + Bozeman community members. Plus we work through scenarios that come in handy in life: including conversation strategies, critical reading/watching/listening activities, and digital, intercultural & professional competencies. Sign up today to learn or improve your German; walk away tomorrow with a ready-to-use MSU German skill set. Ask us anytime about grants, scholarships, internships, volunteer positions, and study abroads: those are our favorite topics.
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GRMN 315: The Revolutionary Drama
This course re-assesses how German plays thematized political revolutions, thereby creating one of the more profound genres in the literary canon: the 19th century revolutionary drama. Through a close analysis of dramas from Friedrich Schiller to Georg Büchner, we will look at the literary devices, characters and plot twists that characterized the birth(s) of a movement. This course will be taught in English and in German. While we will have at least one German-language breakout per week, this course is designed for an English audience and will center around English translations (with German optional). We welcome all global language and culture focused students to this course and to our discussions.
Learning Objectives
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Summer 2020
This summer we will be offering 2 courses, both available for upper level GRMN credit!
Both are fully online courses.
Both taught in the 2nd session.
Both taught in English for a broad audience.
See MSU's summer registration site for more information.
Both are fully online courses.
Both taught in the 2nd session.
Both taught in English for a broad audience.
See MSU's summer registration site for more information.
GRMN 440IH: Existential Angst in German Philosophy & Literature
This course examines the origins of angst and aphorisms in times of crisis and how they relate to today. From Friedrich Nietzsche to Theodor W. Adorno, the existential thinking and angst have shaped German literary and philosophical traditions. Come explore this history of ideas and times of past crisis.
Questions? Email: [email protected]. GRMN 440IH is an online summer course offered in the 2nd session. It will be taught in English and is open to all students. |
HSTR 491: The Art of Nazi Propaganda“The Art of Nazi Propaganda” assesses the ways in which art and propaganda underwrote and challenged Nazi ideological platforms. By connecting artistic transformations in painting, sculpture, architecture, and cinema with propagandastic visions of the Nazi party, this course traces significant historical turning points that bolstered ideologies and politics in the Third Reich. From Leni Riefenstahl’s films to the infamous 1937 Degenerate Art exhibit, students will weigh images and structures against Nazi party rhetoric in order to assess how truth, power, and ideology took shape in art and left their political mark on German history. Questions? Email: [email protected]
HSTR 491 is an online summer course offered in the 2nd session. It will be also available for upper level GRMN credit. Taught in English. |
Spring 2020
GRMN 391: Austria AbroadThis course will examine the history and cultural legacy of the Habsburg Empire, one of Europe’s most storied monarchies. Following a blended pre-departure course at MSU this spring, students will visit iconic sites such as the Art History Museum, Schönbrunn Palace, Hundertwasser Haus, Devan Castle, and more. Why Habsburg now? Today, Austria tends to get overlooked politically, culturally, and linguistically by its larger neighbor, Germany, which lays claim to having the largest economy in Europe; and yet, Austria’s history outweighs its contemporary status as a small, scenic country in the E.U. Turning back just 200 years ago, the Habsburg Empire’s vibrant, complex trade networks intersected languages, populations, and cultures across central Europe. GRMN 391 delves into this history at MSU and again in Europe in two unique former Habsburg cities: Vienna & Bratislava. Open to all MSU students!
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 350: Issues of German Cinema
What is German Culture and Civilization? How has it changed over time? By looking at the various ways these questions played out in cinematic contexts both on and off the screen, GRMN 350 takes stock of Germany's cultural history in the 20th Century. Students will have time to contemplate over celebrated films and film-makers as well as famous scenes and techniques, which served an influential role in shaping Germany's understanding of culture and civilization. GRMN 350 compares and contrasts the "Sein und Schein" (essence & appearance) of cultural identities through the lens of German film history. All contents and course discussions are in English; German speakers/readers will have an opportunity for German breakout sessions throughout the semester.
Learning Objectives
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GRMN 450: Weimar Publics & CounterpublicsThis course will examine the rise of fascism from Weimar Germany up to the Third Reich. In the first part of the course, students will examine events, decrees, and propaganda that supported or resisted fascism through its beginnings in post-War Germany, 1919-1933. By tracing the roots of fascism in Weimar and Nazi Germany, students will hone skills in analyzing contemporary eye-witness testimonies, images, and videos, each of which contributes to the ongoing historicization of fascism in European and World history. Students will also read a variety of scholarship on this era, which has served to clarify and confound historical discourses.
Learning Objectives
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Fall 2019
GRMN 360IH: Murder, Magic, & MythologyCourse Description
This course analyses the meaning and function of mythology by taking a look at its lasting influence on literature. We will focus on certain elements of mythologies, folklore and fairy tales that reappear in the German literary tradition (and beyond) over time. We will explore myths, tales and literature from other historical periods and trace the transformation of specific tropes as they travel through time. Learning Objectives
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GRMN 453: German Literature, TodayCourse Description
This course familiarizes students with contemporary German-language literature through an exploration of motifs such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, transnational mobilities, and cultural identities. Turning to well-known authors such as Nobel Prize winner Herta Müller, Saša Stanišiç, and Yoko Tawada, students will immerse themselves in recent literary traditions of authors and question what it means to write and read contemporary German literature today. The texts in the course will be made available in English translation with some German original; discussion of the works will be in English every Monday and Wednesday. Fridays are reserved for German discussions. Those who are unable to participate will be given an alternative assignment. Learning Objectives
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GRMN 304: German in Cultural Context
Course Background:
German 304 will provide extensive practice of spoken and written expression. Each week will focus on one thematic topic (“Station” + theme) stemming from the textbook Stationen. Students will then read Der Besuch der alten Dame, a drama from Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. This text will mark the first full-length literary work for most students and provide them opportunity to increase comprehension as well as interpretation skills. In addition to guided reading activities, students will participate in a series of dynamic responses to the text including reenactments, illustrations, and reading journals. This course is designed to enhance linguistic competencies and provide students with a more concise understanding of German speaking cultures. Learning Objectives · Strengthen Intermediate level proficiency in German on the ACTFL scale · Develop Advanced level proficiency in German on the ACTFL scale · Identify and discuss cultural, social, and political topics related to German-speaking countries · Interpret full-length literary work in German |
Spring 2019
German 491 / History 362
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German 450
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Fall 2018
German 440
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GRMN 420
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Ongoing
GRMN 301-304 (Advanced)GRMN 300 courses (301-304) are interchangeable advanced courses that fulfill the requirement for Minor and/or Major at MSU. Each course offers a different thematic approach to upper-level German, ranging from cultural-focused units to media- and literary-focused units. While the courses vary in theme, they each provide extensive practice of oral and written expression as well as engage in topics surrounding language and literatures in German-speaking cultures. Parallel to the class discussion, we will review pertinent grammatical structures as needed to allow students clear comprehension and the ability to use these structures with confidence. Our advanced 300 level courses are designed to enhance your German capabilities and provide you with confidence using and understanding the language; these courses are therefore conducted auf Deutsch.
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German 200s (Intermediate)At the 200 level, we seek to expand cultural knowledge and functional vocabulary through intermediate-level readings and discussions. We increase the emphasis on written communication by interacting with a series of carefully selected readings (and viewings) in German culture, civilization and literature. These help provide the basis for writing essays and reports and developing advanced language skills.
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German 100s (Beginner)An elementary level course designed to help students acquire basic proficiency in communication within culturally significant contexts. We use an integrated approach to teaching language skills which emphasize vocabulary acquisition, some basic grammar, and for the most part cultural competency and interpersonal confidence in communicating.
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