German Studies in Berlin

PREREQUISITES

German 103 or exemption (based on the German placement examination or AP credit). Please contact the director if there are any questions.

 

COURSE OF STUDY:  18 CREDITS

Students will be asked to meet the requirements for the following courses, which meet on a MWTh schedule to accommodate occasional travel on the weekends. Successful completion of the German language course will satisfy the College language requirement.  All courses count towards the German major and the Certificate of Advanced Study in German.

GERMAN 205: Intermediate Composition and Conversation (6 Credits)
This course, taught by a native speaker, focuses on students’ reading, writing, and speaking abilities.  The class format features mainly discussions with grammar exercises interspersed as needed. Students write frequent papers and correct these papers themselves.
Instructor: Local faculty

GERMAN 254: The World's a Stage - Theater in Berlin (6 Credits, AL)
This course is structured around the theater productions of the fall 2013 season in Berlin.  The class will read six to eight plays from different literary and historical periods, study their historical and literary context, and also see them performed in the theater.
Instructor: Sigi Leonhard

GERM 275: Berlin Field Studies (4 Credits, S/Cr/NC)
Students will choose a topic related to German culture/ politics on which they work throughout the term. The main objectives of the course are for students to speak and write in German, and to interact with native speakers and the culture at large. Possible topics are the museum culture, the significance of soccer in German society, the music scene in Berlin, a personal history project (interviews with Berliners), gay Berlin, and the role of Germany within Europe. Students will meet  first as a group, then individually to discuss and improve on their work, before presenting it to the class.
Instructor: Sigi Leonhard

GERM 290: Independent Reading (2 credits, S/Cr/NC)
In preparation for the term in Berlin, students read several stories and a selection of pieces on German history. They will earn credit for this part of the program by taking a quiz during the first week of the term in Berlin.
Instructor: Sigi Leonhard

LEARNING GOALS

• To achieve greater proficiency and fluency in German
• To develop a basic understanding of German drama from the 18th to the 21st century, and to become familiar with the theater culture in Berlin
• To acquire a more in-depth understanding of the historical significance of Berlin within Germany's and Europe's history
• To complete a larger academic or artistic project that emerges from our work in Berlin

EXCURSIONS

Cultural activities such as theater and museum visits, several day-trips to places such as Potsdam, as well as weekend trips to places like Hamburg, Weimar or Vienna will supplement course work.