German Majors

2024 - 2025 Catalog

German major leading to BA degree

A major in German leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree requires at least 34 credits as follows:

1. GERM 262 (or equivalent)

2. GERM 311, 312

3. GERM 347 or 349

4. One course each from three of the following four areas (9 credits total):

a. Medieval: GERM 318
b. 19th century: GERM 313, 315
c. 20th and 21st centuries: GERM 314, 316
d. Performing German: GERM 332

5. At least three credits from GERM 304, 305, or a substitute approved by the department head

6. The remaining credits may be taken in English or German, from departmental course offerings, approved cognate courses (see list), or approved study abroad courses in German, with no more than six credits in any one discipline.

7. Students must pass an oral and written proficiency examination conducted by the department before or during their last long term prior to graduation. An optional one-credit course, GERM 401, Composition Practice, is offered each winter term to help students prepare for the written examination.

  1. Required course
    • GERM 262 - Intermediate German II
      FDRFL World Language Foundation
      Credits4
      PrerequisiteGERM 261

      Emphasis on listening comprehension and speaking, as well as reading and writing. The course also offers the student some acquaintance with German literature and culture.

    • or equivalent.

  2. Required courses

    3.  

    • GERM 311 - Advanced German
      Credits3
      PrerequisiteGERM 262 or GERM 300 placement

      Following a study of German phonology and the components of advanced German grammar, the course emphasizes spoken German, accompanied by written exercises.

    • GERM 312 - Advanced German
      Credits3
      PrerequisiteGERM 311

      A continuing course of advanced German with emphasis on the written language through composition and a study of stylistics. Advanced conversational material is drawn from topics relevant to contemporary life in the German-speaking world.

  3. Take one course from:
    • GERM 347 - The Age of Goethe: Sentimentalism to Sturm und Drang
      FDRHL Literature Distribution
      Credits3
      PrerequisiteGERM 312

      A study of dramatic, expository, narrative, and poetic works by the young Goethe, Schiller, and their contemporaries. While emphasizing the historical and sociopolitical context of this aesthetically revolutionary period, this course examines Germany's turn toward Sentimentalism that culminates in the Sturm und Drang movement. Regular expository writing in German and performing in debates or scenes are required. Conducted in German.

    • GERM 349 - The Age of Goethe: German Classicism
      FDRHL Literature Distribution
      Credits3
      PrerequisiteGERM 312

      A course that examines the influence of Greece on German theoretical, dramatic, and poetic works by the mature Goethe, Schiller, and their contemporaries, especially Hölderlin and Kleist. By investigating the extent to which German writers embraced or rejected Winckelmann's stoic vision of Greek art and culture, this course aims to refine our understanding of German Classicism. Regular expository writing in German and performing in debates or scenes are required. Conducted in German.

  4. One course each from three of the following four areas (9 credits total):
    • Medieval
      • GERM 318 - German Medieval and Renaissance Literature
        FDRHL Literature Distribution
        Credits3
        PrerequisiteGERM 262

        An examination of selected works and a study of literary history through the 16th century. Medieval literary readings include the Hildebrandslied, Nibelungenlied, Parzival, and Tristan, as well as the Minnesang. Consideration is also given to the history of the German literary language during the period covered. Conducted in German.

    • 19th century
      • GERM 313 - German Literature, 1800-1850
        FDRHL Literature Distribution
        Credits3-4
        PrerequisiteGERM 262

        This course is an introduction to German literature through close reading, analysis, and discussion of key German texts written from the early- to mid-19th century. Students become familiar with the development, characteristics, and themes of German literature in this period as well as methods and terms of literary criticism and interpretation (in both English and German). Conducted in German.

      • GERM 315 - German Literature, 1850-1900
        FDRHL Literature Distribution
        Credits3
        PrerequisiteGERM 262

        Realism, Poetic Realism, and Naturalism. Grillparzer, Fontane, Keller, Storm, Meyer, and Hauptmann are among the authors read; study of the ballad as a literary form. Conducted in German.

    • 20th and 21st centuries
      • GERM 314 - German Literature, 1900-1945
        FDRHL Literature Distribution
        Credits3
        PrerequisiteGERM 262

        Readings in German fiction, essays, drama and poetry from the end of Naturalism through World War II. Mann, Kafka, Hesse, Rilke, Wedekind and Brecht are among the authors treated. Conducted in German.

      • GERM 316 - German Literature, 1945 to Present
        FDRHL Literature Distribution
        Credits3
        PrerequisiteGERM 262 or GERM 263

        Readings in German fiction, essays, drama and poetry from the end of World War II to the present. Böll, Grass, Seghers, Dürrrenmatt, Frisch, Wolf and Strauss among the authors treated. Conducted in German.

    • Performing German
      • GERM 332 - Performing German
        FDRHA Fine Arts Distribution
        Credits3
        PrerequisiteGERM 261 or GERM 261 placement

        Writing, memorization, rehearsing and public performance of plays in German.

  5. Take three credits

    6. At least three credits from GERM 303, 304, or a substitute approved by the department head

    • GERM 304 - Layered Berlin
      Credits4
      PrerequisiteGERM 262 or equivalent. Not open to students who have completed GERM 264

      Spring Term Abroad course.  This intensive language course offers students an extended period of direct exposure to the language, culture, and people of Germany. Students immerse themselves in the culturally rich environs of Berlin, improving their language skills through extensive and innovative language instruction and literary study. Students also gain greater understanding of German history and contemporary culture through lectures by native authorities and tours of museums and churches, and through their contact with their host families as well as native German university students.

    • GERM 305 - Traces of Empire: Exploring the Cultural Centers of Austria and Hungary
      Credits4
      PrerequisiteGERM 262

      A four-week advanced language and culture class based in Graz, Austria, with a particular focus on the multi-national, polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire and its impact on modern Austria's multi-ethnic, multi-cultural identity. Language and culture classes take place in the University of Graz's language center, Treffpunkt Sprachen. Afternoon discussion classes focus on Austrian culture, supported by readings from the texts, film screenings, and visits to important sites and events in Graz and its environs. During excursions to Vienna and Budapest, we compare the two rival imperial capitals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, visit the opera houses and national art collections, and consider both the function of art in forging national - and imperial - identity, and the role of power in the construction of taste.

  6. Remaining credits

    7. The remaining credits may be taken in English or German, from departmental course offerings, approved cognate courses (see list), or approved study abroad courses in German, with no more than six credits in any one discipline.

  7. Proficiency exam

    8. Students must pass an oral and written proficiency examination conducted by the department before or during their last long term prior to graduation. An optional one-credit course, GERM 401:Composition Practice, is offered each winter term to help students prepare for the written examination.