German Studies

Courses Taught

• FYS 131-3 What’s in a Name? Cultural Naming Trends
  Exploration of what names and naming traditions suggest about many aspects of identity, from gender and age to national, ethnic, or religious background. Topics include names in songs, celebrity names, name changing, pseudonyms, code names, character names in literature and film, social/career advancement, and name-based prejudice and discrimination. Much of the course focuses on cultural texts from the U.S. and Europe (literature, film, TV, podcasts, popular music, historical examples).
• GER 231 German Film, Gender, and Culture Before the Nazis
  Cultural approach to studying the 1920s and early 1930s before the Nazi Party’s rise to power, with a focus on Weimar film, photography, and art. Different texts and media forms offer insight into urbanization, post-war trauma, political unrest, revolution, inflation, new sexual freedoms, and other aspects of the encounter with modernity. Topics include cafés, cabarets, hotels, fashion, journalism, jazz, avant-garde movements, as well as the experiences of women, LGBTQ individuals, Jews, and other minority groups. Conducted in English. GER 231 and CIMS 231 are cross-listed.
• GER 235 The Holocaust through Film
  Study of representations of the Holocaust across film genres and in other media. Both the events of the 1930s-1940s (Nazi persecution, ghettos, camps, killing centers) and the field of Holocaust memory and representation are a central focus. Topics include: documentary films, propaganda, resistance/protest, humor/comedy, commodification, trials, revenge fantasies, and stories told and untold. Films are in a number of languages (English, German, Polish, Hebrew, Hungarian, French, Italian, etc.). Course conducted in English. CIMS 235 and GER 235 are cross-listed.
• GER 265 Antisemitism and Jewish Responses in Lit and Film
  Exploration of antisemitic representations of Jews in European and American literature and film, as well as responses to specific works and figures by Jewish writers and filmmakers. Topics include Shylock; Fagin; Nazi propaganda; how names and surgery work to render someone Jewish or non-Jewish; the Jewish American Princess and Jewish Mother stereotypes; twenty-first-century stories; and the difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism. Conducted in English. GER 265 and IDS 264 are cross-listed.
• GER 285 European Jews: History, Holocaust, Future
  Introduction to modern European Jewish history (1780-present). Topics include medieval ghettos, emancipation, assimilation, antisemitism, racism, persecution, Zionism and Israel, refugees and displaced persons, and European Jewish communities after 1945. Four weeks of the course focus on the Holocaust: survivor testimony, Jewish responses to the Holocaust, and representations of the Holocaust in film and Jewish literature. The course also explores present and future options for twenty-first-century European Jewish communities. Conducted in English.
• GER 300 German Studies Seminar
  Counterpart to the German Studies capstone course. Designed for non-majors or majors who are not seniors. Intensive engagement with one approach to studying German culture. Topics vary by year. Conducted in German. Prerequisite: GER 302
• GER 312 German Cultural History from Faust to Fascism
  Examines issues in German cultural history from the Enlightenment through World War II. An endeavor in interdisciplinary cultural studies, this course examines social, political, philosophical, and artistic traditions for the two centuries under consideration. It engages a variety of documents: manifestos, literary and journalistic texts, paintings, films, scholarly articles, etc. It explores broader social and cultural trends, conflicts, and debates, many of which continue to shape Germany today. Conducted in German.
• GER 345 German Visual Culture and Graphic Novels
  Exploration of printed words and images from the late 19th century to the present, including literary illustrations, illustrated periodicals, art with written text, posters, photobooks, early comics, and graphic novels. Topics include images as forms of propaganda and resistance; images in and of divided Germany; and representations of events in German history. Recent graphic novels demonstrate how images can tell stories of the Nazi past, Afro-German history, Turkish-German experiences, and women’s lives. Conducted in German. Prerequisite: GER 302 or permission of instructor.
• GER 351 The German-Jewish Experience
  Exploration of the history, literature, and culture of Jews in German-speaking lands. With a focus on topics including emancipation, acculturation, religion, race, women and gender, identity, anti-Semitism, and Zionism, this course also considers the impact of East European Jews and Yiddish on German culture. Texts examined range from memoirs and fiction to film, music, and art. Conducted in English; additional German component available for German majors and minors. Counts toward major/minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and minor in Judaic Studies. Fulfills Conceptualizing Diversity and Interdisciplinary curricular requirements.
• GER 400 Senior Seminar
  Capstone course for German majors. Intensive study of selected aspects of German culture. Students begin working with instructor at the end of their Junior year to choose individual senior thesis topics. The course culminates in a written thesis and public presentation of the thesis. Conducted in German.