German Majors and Minors
Requirements for Major in German
Students in the German program study the German language and learn about the social and cultural history of the German-speaking world. Courses at the 100- and 200-level focus on acquiring a basic proficiency in German, an understanding of German culture and an insight into how language and culture are connected.
The upper-level courses are interdisciplinary in scope and focus on different areas of German cultural studies and intellectual history. Their intent is to provide students with a greater understanding of multicultural issues past and present, as well as an awareness of German literary and social history.
A major in German is an excellent preparation for students considering graduate school in a number of different fields, including but not limited to German, history and political science, as well as for international careers, which will draw on students’ ability to read, write and speak German as well as their understanding of and ability to interact with German culture.
The specific requirements for the major are:
- A minimum of eight units at the 201-level or higher, including 301.
- A maximum of one unit of Advanced Placement credit can count toward the major.
- All courses for the major must be taken for a numerical grade.
- Residence in language-learning housing for at least one semester and successful completion of Modern Languages and Cultures 110.
Off-campus study in an approved study abroad program is highly recommended for this major. If individual situations prevent this, it is recommended that the student speak with the department chair.
Requirements for Minor in German
- A minimum of six units at the 201-level or higher, including 301.
- A maximum of one unit of Advanced Placement credit can count toward the minor.
- All courses for the minor must be taken for a numerical grade.
- Residence in language-learning housing for at least one semester and successful completion of Modern Languages and Cultures 110.
Requirements for Major in German Language and Culture for the Professions
As the world continues to become increasingly diverse across traditional borders and cultural boundaries, there will be more demand in the workplace and for communities to effectively negotiate otherness--different ways of living lives--which will directly impact professional practices.
Knowledge of a modern language and culture will continue to grow in importance as a foundation for functioning successfully in a global economy across many professions. This track in German is intended for those students who are pursuing preprofessional studies in fields such as economics and management, communication studies, science or public policy, among others, or for those students who are pursuing more traditional liberal arts fields and wish to add a practical component to their education. This track will provide a combination of preprofessional courses in the target language and cultural courses in order to prepare students for working in a culturally diverse world and economy. Students will be expected to attain high linguistic competence.
Qualified students may choose a “fast track” language program at an approved summer institution domestically or language/internship program abroad during the summer after their freshman year. To qualify for this special program a student must complete an interview to be conducted by the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. For information about College policies on transfer credit, see the section of this catalog entitled General Academic Regulations.
The specific requirements for the major are:
- A minimum of nine units, including: Modern Languages and Cultures 105; German 201, 202, 301, or equivalent; German 303; a seminar (German 401, 1/2 unit); and the remaining units selected from 300- or 400-level German courses . The seminar must be taken after all other requirements have been met or in the final semester of completion of the major requirements.
- An internship abroad or a documented internship-like experience abroad that has been approved by the MLAC Department.
- A maximum of one unit of Advanced Placement credit can count toward the major.
- Residence in language-learning housing for at least one semester and successful completion of Modern Languages and Cultures 110.
Requirements for Minor in German Language and Culture for the Professions
- A minimum of six units, including: Modern Languages and Cultures 105; German 201, 202, 301, or equivalent; German 303; and the remaining unit selected from 300- or 400- level German courses.
- An internship abroad or a documented internship-like experience abroad that has been approved by the MLAC Department.
- A maximum of one unit of Advanced Placement credit can count toward the minor.
- Residence in language-learning housing for at least one semester and successful completion of Modern Languages and Cultures 110.
Requirements for Major in German with Secondary or K-12 Education Certification
- A minimum of eight units at the 300-level, including: 301 and 302; one unit from historical and cultural studies sequence (306, 307, 350); one unit from text and cultural production sequence (312, 316, 355); and one unit from German ethnic and environmental studies sequence (310, 314). (See detailed description of requirements for major at beginning of Modern Languages and Cultures section.)
- Education 338 or 339 (see Education Department), and Education 371 (K-12).
- A maximum of one unit of Advanced Placement credit can count toward a major.
- All courses for the major must be taken for a numerical grade.
- Study abroad in an approved off-campus program.
- Residence in language-learning housing for at least one semester and successful completion of Modern Languages and Cultures 110.
- Completion of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) examination at an "Advanced Low" level of proficiency (or higher). Students should consult closely with the Modern Languages and Cultures Department and consider taking this examination directly after the study abroad experience.
- Completion of all other requirements for teacher certification.
Requirements for Minor with Secondary Education Certification
- A minimum of six units at the 300-level or higher, including: 301 and 302; one unit from historical and cultural studies sequence (306, 307, 350); one unit from text and cultural production sequence (312, 316, 355); and one unit from German ethnic and environmental studies sequence (310, 314). (See detailed description of requirements for major at beginning of Modern Languages and Cultures section.)
- Education 338 or 339.
- A maximum of one unit of Advanced Placement credit can count toward the major.
- All courses for the minor must be taken for a numerical grade.
- Residence in language-learning housing for at least one semester and successful completion of Modern Languages and Cultures 110.
- Completion of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) examination at an "Advanced Low" level of proficiency (or higher). Students should consult closely with the Modern Languages and Cultures Department and consider taking this examination directly after the study abroad experience.
- Completion of all other requirements for teacher certification.
German Courses
Courses
101 Elementary German (1)
Note: Students who have taken more than one year of German in high school must take the placement test before enrolling in this course. Introduction to German language and culture through the contextualized study of grammatical concepts and vocabulary. Study and practice in the four language skills--listening, reading, writing and speaking--necessary for the interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes of communication. Conducted primarily in German. Tutorials with native speakers are required. Myers.
102 Elementary German, continued (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 101 or equivalent.
Continuation of German 101. Expansion of vocabulary, work with more complex grammatical structures. Tutorials with native speakers are required. Myers.
187, 188, 189 Selected Topics (1/4, 1/2, 1)
An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
201 Intermediate German (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 102 or equivalent.
Continuation of the study of German language and culture through the contextualized study of grammatical concepts and vocabulary. Continues the development of the four basic skills necessary for the interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes of communication. Authentic tapes and texts are the foundation of the teaching materials. Conducted in German. Tutorials with native speakers are required. Myers.
202 Intermediate German, continued (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 201 or equivalent.
Continuation of German 201. Practice with more sophisticated dialogues, reading of unedited short stories, poems and other authentic materials. Conducted in German. Tutorials with native speakers are required. Myers.
287, 288, 289 Selected Topics (1/4, 1/2, 1)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
301 German Conversation and Composition (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 202 or equivalent.
Development of speaking, listening and writing skills; selective review of complex grammatical structures. Practice speaking about everyday situations in different ways (e.g., role play, dialogues, skits, oral reports); use of audio tapes. Writing of exercises and compositions with emphasis on correctness of expression, stylistic appropriateness and idiomatic usage. Learning of specialized vocabulary and idioms; writing of different types (e.g., dialogues, letters, journals, essays). Myers.
302 German Conversation and Composition, continued (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or equivalent.
Continuation of practice in speaking, listening and writing skills; selective review of complex grammatical structures. Practice speaking about everyday situations in different ways (e.g., role play, dialogues, skits, oral reports); use of audio tapes. Writing of exercises and compositions with emphasis on correctness of expression, stylistic appropriateness and idiomatic usage. Learning of specialized vocabulary and idioms; writing of different types (e.g., dialogues, letters, journals, essays). Myers.
303 German Language and Culture for the Professions (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Intended to improve students’ communicative skills in German and provide knowledge for the professions. Covers aspects of the German business world such as banking, marketing and organizational structures. Assignments include development of marketing strategies and development of a business plan for a start-up venture. Myers.
306 German Cultural History: From Germania to Nation State (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Introduces pivotal moments and figures in German cultural history from the Roman Empire to the creation of the first German nation-state in 1871. Provides a deeper understanding of German-speaking culture and society as well as the constructed nature of all forms of national identity. Myers.
307 German Cultural History: Empire, Stunde Null, Reunification (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Explores the radical transformations in German society and culture from the late Wilhelminian era to reunification at the end of the twentieth century through the combination of historical texts, literature, film and “eyewitness” documentation. Situates German cultural history in the larger context of world history. Offered every third year. Myers.
308 Crime Stories and the Nazi Past (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Begins with a brief literary exploration of Christian morals and ethics that developed after the Reformation, then turns to the Romantic fascination with good and evil. Explores early twentieth-century examples of pseudo-crime stories to address such questions as why the German crime fiction tradition emerged so late relative to the British, French or American traditions, or why the “hard-boiled school” only began in Germany during the 1980s. Closes with several detective novels that illustrate how Germans after World War II have sought to come to terms with the Nazi past. Myers.
314 Multiculturalism in Germany (World War II to present) (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or permission of instructor.
Explores how German society has become multiculturally constructed since World War II--from the Holocaust aftermath to current sociocultural debates about the role and treatment of women of color, the large Turkish immigrant population, and Islam and Islamic nationalism in Germany--through the study of various discourses (fiction, essay, speeches, poetry, film, TV news) representing these issues. Studies how perceptions of ethnic difference have evolved in Germany and have become intertwined with social and political debates of the day. Conducted in German. Myers.
316 Crisis in Language: A Literary Survey (1890-1945) (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or 302 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Includes a selection of German works from different genres (plays, short fiction, poetry, theoretical texts) and films from the era 1890-1945. Focuses on each work as a cultural representation of the historical context in which it was written or produced, exploring how each was engaged with the social, political and cultural transformations of the era (e.g., social Darwinism, crisis of narration and language, bourgeois morals, the individual and society, the role of the artist, the Third Reich). Myers.
356 German Film (1)
Expected level of proficiency: German 301 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
The historical contextualization of German films beginning during the early part of the twentieth century through the post-1989 era. Explores various themes in a specific national setting, while linking to important cultural, political and social issues beyond Germany: (1) the increasing degradation and isolation of the worker in capitalistic society and the breakdown of social class models; (2) emergence of Fascist ideology and the culpability of all Germans for its disaster; (3) the German attempt to come to terms with the past after World War II, but also as Germany sought to reunify after 1989. Through outside readings and in-class discussions considers how all of these films illustrate important German and European, as well as global, social and cultural historical transformations. Myers.
387, 388, 389 Selected Topics (1/4, 1/2, 1)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
391, 392 Internship (1/2, 1)
Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.
398 Practicum (1/2)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Experience in language teaching in the classroom or with individual students under the close supervision of a regular instructor. Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.
401, 402 Seminar (1/2, 1)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Special topics in languages, literature or civilization for advanced students. Conducted in German. Staff.
411, 412 Directed Study (1/2, 1)
Prerequisite: Permission of department chair. Staff.
