Spring 2006 Course Guide

• Advising
• Programs in German
• Freshman Seminars
• Language Courses
• Business German
• Literature and Culture
• Courses Taught in English
• Graduate Seminars
• CGS Courses
• Yiddish Courses
• Dutch Courses
• Swedish Courses

 

Programs in German

• Major in German: Choose from a wide variety of courses in language, business German language, culture, literature, and history. You can be confident that you will leave our program fluent in the language and at ease in the cultures and traditions of the German speaking countries
• Major in German Studies: This versatile program offers you fluency in the language, culture, and literature, in addition to enabling you to select five courses related to your German interests in other School of Arts and Science departments. An efficient way to double major and to prepare for graduate school or an international career.
• Double Major in German and Your Major of Choice: You are already in the Wharton School, International Relations, Computer Science, History, or Political Science. If you want to make yourself really competitive, then consider adding German as a double major. This could be just the edge you need.
• Minor in German: You have satisfied your language requirement, but elect to keep up your German with some advanced language courses. To obtain a minor only requires 6 credits beyond GRMN 104 and most of your courses satisfy other college requirements.
• Certificate in German Language Study: Students can receive a Certificate by completing 3 courses taught in German in addition to passing proficiency. Students must receive a minimum of a B+ average in the three courses, and may not take the courses on a pass/fail basis.
• Study abroad programs in Germany: The above mentioned options can readily be combined with Penn’s study abroad programs in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich. Do not forget these programs afford you Penn credit for the courses that you take. You will satisfy courses in your major, double major or minor as you become more fluent in the Germanic language via total immersion in one of three of Europe’s most exciting cities.
• European Studies Minor: European Studies at Penn is an interdisciplinary minor and an ideal addition to the study of many disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. It supplements majors in history, political science, sociology, and art history as well as in French, German, English, Spanish, Italian and Slavic languages. It is designed to give students access to
  • an understanding of Europe as a historical and cultural entity and its world leadership in business, politics, and culture; a great variety of countries, cultures, and languages whose interaction with each other and the United States is an essential part of transatlantic culture; the institutions of a new Europe -- Union, Council on Europe, European Court -- reflecting the largest experiment in building a global system of governance in history. The minor in European Studies is designed to intensify interdisciplinary studies by integrating the humanities and social sciences and prepare students to live and work in Europe .
  • For more information, please visit: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/europeanstudies/
    
  
  

Freshman Seminars

GRMN 009 Double Trouble
Fulfills the College Writing Requirement
301 MW 3:30 - 5 pm V. Byrd
The doppelgänger or double motif abounds in nineteenth and twentieth century Gothic literature and film. These works can thrill, horrify, and entertain, as well as stimulate critical reflection by their viewers and readers. In this course we will write about how these psychological, suspenseful, and sexual aspects of character doubling offer a wide variety of interpretations and critical readings, including investigations of identity, technology, voyeurism, desire, and relationships with others. We will read and view works by representative authors and directors, including E.T.A. Hoffmann, Kleist, Storm, Poe, Dostoyevsky, Freud, Hitchcock, Bergman, and Lynch. Course requirements will include active and meaningful participation and peer review, as well as journal and essay writing. Students will submit a portfolio of their written work at the end of the semester. All texts will be read in translation.

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Language Courses

GRMN 101 (GRMN 501) Elementary German I
001 MWF 1 - 2 pm TR 1:30 - 2:30 pm D. James
Designed for the beginning student with no previous knowledge of German. German 101, as the first course in the first-year series, focuses on the development of language competencies in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. By the end of the semester students will be able to engage in simple conversations about familiar things, know greetings and everyday expressions, they will be able to count and tell time, and negate sentences in day-to-day contexts. Furthermore, students will be able to speak about events that happened in the immediate past and express plans for the future. In addition, students will have developed reading strategies that allow them to glean information from simple newspaper and magazine articles and short literary texts. Because cultural knowledge is one of the foci of German 101, students will learn much about practical life in Germany and will explore German-speaking cultures on the Internet.

GRMN 102 Elementary German II
001 MTWRF 11 am - 12 pm K. Wallach
002 MTWRF 12 - 1 pm E. Shrader Hauze
003 MTWRF 3 - 4 pm S. Habibowic
This course is a continuation of GRMN 101 and is designed to strengthen and expand students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing competencies and to deepen an understanding of German-speaking cultures. By the end of the course students will be able to handle a variety of day-to-day needs in a German-speaking setting and engage in simple conversations about personally significant topics. Students can expect to be able to order food and beverages, purchase things, and to be familiar with the German university system, the Arts, media, and current social topics. Students will begin to be able to talk about the past and the future, make comparisons, describe people and things in increasing detail, make travel plans that include other European countries, and make reservations in hotels and youth hostels. By the end of the course students will be able to talk about their studies and about their dreams for the future. In addition, students will develop reading strategies that should allow them to understand the general meaning of articles, and short literary texts. Furthermore, students will feel more able to understand information when hearing German speakers talking about familiar topics. Cultural knowledge remains among one of the foci of German 102, and students will continue to be exposed to authentic materials.

GRMN 103 Intermediate German I
001 MTRF 12 - 1 pm C. Lynn
002 MTRF 11 am - 12 pm C. Lynn
This course is designed to improve students’ writing and speaking competencies, to increase vocabulary, to deepen grammar usage, and to help develop effective reading and listening strategies in German across literary genres and media as students interpret and analyze cultural, political, and historical moments in German-speaking countries and compare them with their own cultural practices. This course is organized around content- based modules and prepares students well for GRMN 104 and a minor or major in German.

GRMN 104 Intermediate German II
001 MTRF 11 am - 12 pm M. Belcher
002 MTRF 12 - 1 pm D. James
003 MF 1 - 2 pm TR 1:30 - 2:30 pm S. Habibowic
Expands students’ writing and speaking competencies in German, increases vocabulary, and helps students practice effective reading and listening strategies. Our in-class discussions are based on weekly readings of literary and non-literary texts to facilitate exchange of information, ideas, reactions, and opinions. In addition, the readings provide cultural and historical background information. The review of grammar will not be the primary focus of the course. Students will, however, expand and deepen their knowledge of grammar through specific grammar exercises. Students will conclude the basic-language program at PENN by reading an abridged and glossed version of an authentic literary text; Max Frisch Homo Faber, offering the opportunity to practice and deepen reading knowledge and to sensitize cultural and historical awareness of German-speaking countries.

GRMN 107 Accelerated Intermediate German
001 MWF 10 - 11 am, TR 10:30 am - 12 pm S. Schlichting-Artur
This course is intensive and is intended for dedicated, highly self-motivated students who will take responsibility for their learning and creation of meaning with their peers. This accelerated course is designed to improve students’ writing and speaking competencies, to increase vocabulary, to deepen grammar usage, and to help develop effective reading and listening strategies in German across literary genres and media as students interpret and analyze cultural, political, and historical moments in German-speaking countries and compare them with their own cultural practices. This course is organized around content- based modules. Students conclude the basic-language program at PENN by reading an abridged and glossed version of an authentic literary text offering the opportunity to practice and deepen reading knowledge and to sensitize cultural and historical awareness of German-speaking countries.

GRMN 180 German in Residence
301 TBA M. Belcher
This is a 1/2 credit course for students living in the Modern Language House.

GRMN 215 Conversation and Composition
Prerequisite(s): GRMN 104 or the equivalent. Required for the major, also carries credit for the minor in German.
001 MWF 12 - 1 pm G. Grozdanic
Offers students the opportunity to improve significantly written and spoken discourse strategies and to raise language competence to an academic register. In addition, the course familiarizes students with several reading strategies. Students write several essays, weekly reaction pieces, lead discussions, and create short in-class presentations. During the second half of the semester, students create a common course web site in connection with their readings of an authentic literary text. In collaborative group work, students create the contents for different components: biography, text analyses, historical background, geography and didactizations emphasizing integrated skills and discourse competence. Their work is posted to a web site, which in turn, is incorporated in the 4 th-semester syllabus, where students use the peer-generated information and comprehension checks for their understanding of an abridged version of the authentic literary text.

Please visit the Homo.Cyber project at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/german/215/

 Business German

GRMN 220 Business German: A Micro Perspective
Foreign Languages Across Curriculum (FLAC)
Prerequisite(s): GRMN 215 or equivalent. Course taught in German.
001 MWF 11 am - 12 pm D. James
This course is designed to enhance your speaking, reading and writing skills, in addition to helping you build a strong foundation in business vocabulary. Course objectives include acquiring skills in cross cultural communication, teamwork, business management, and creating a business plan. German grammar will be covered on a need be basis. This course will prepare you to perform and contribute while in a German-speaking business environment.

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Courses Taught in English

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Literature and Culture

GRMN 216 Introduction to Literature
301 MWF 3 - 4 pm C. Frei
General Requirement III: May be counted towards the General Requirement in Arts & Letters
Prerequisite(s): GRMN 104 or the equivalent. Required for the major, also carries credit for the minor in German. Develops students' basic skills of literary interpretation. Exposure to various reading techniques (e.g. close reading, reading for plot, etc.) and to literary terminology and its application. Readings will include selections from prose, drama and lyric poetry.

GRMN 359 The Fall of the Berlin Wall  
001 TR 1:30 - 3 pm K. Machtans
All readings and discussions will be conducted in German.
Sixteen years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Wende and the Wiedervereinigung are still primary themes in contemporary German culture. In this course we will familiarize ourselves with the political events that lead to the Fall of the Berlin Wall and, one year later, to the so-called Wiedervereinigung. We will examine the representation of Wende and Wiedervereinigung in recent German literature and films. Special attention will be given to works which deal with Ostalgie (nostalgia for the former East Germany) and a group of young authors who approach the East German past from an ‘idealistic’ perspective. Primary readings will include Jana Hensels Zonenkinder, Claudia Ruschs Meine freie deutsche Jugend, Peter Schneiders Extreme Mittellage as well as authors like Monika Maron and Günter Grass. The following films will enhance our ability to assess the cutting-edge German art scene: Wolfgang Becker’s Good bye, Lenin, Sebastian Peterson’s Helden wie wir and Hannes Stöhr’s Berlin is in Germany. This material will be supplemented by excerpts from German periodicals and Ostalgie TV-Shows.

GRMN 373 Dancing on the Volcano: Modern German Writers Confront Evil
Distribution III: Arts & Letters. Prerequisite(s): GRMN 215 or equivalent.
001 TR 12 - 1:30 pm F. Trommler
This course will discuss some of the most fascinating texts of German literature that reflect Germany's precarious history in the 20th century with two world wars and Nazi totalitarianism. Central is the individual's reaction to a situation of danger or threat and the ability to preserve dignity and identity. Readings will include shorter pieces and plays by Kafka, Brecht, Boell, Stefan Zweig, Wolf, Weiss, Jurek Becker and others.
Through this course, students will be able to improve their reading and speaking abilities in German on an advanced level.

GRMN 395 Senior Colloquium
301 tba C. MacLeod
Permission needed from Department
This course is intended for students completing their senior thesis for the German Major.

GRMN 399 Independent Study
000 See department for section numbers Staff
Permission needed from Department

GRMN 499 Independent Study
000 See department for section numbers Staff
Permission needed from Department

 

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Graduate Seminars

GRMN 507 Elementary Middle-High German
301 MWF 1 - 2 pm A. Speyer
Designed to familiarize the student with the principal elements of Middle High German grammar and to develop skills in reading and translating a major work of the twelfth century. Limited text interpretation.

GRMN 517 (EDUC 673/ROML 691) Technology and Foreign Language Teaching
401 MW 4:30 - 6 pm C. Frei / K. McMahon
This course focuses on the evaluation, design and development of multimedia in foreign language teaching and seeks to spotlight intersections of pedagogy and technology. Emphases are on the evaluation and production of effective multimedia-based materials and the pedagogical concerns raised by their implementation.

In workshops, you will learn to use video-, image-, and sound-editing software applications. In weekly lectures, you will examine current trends and issues in pedagogically sound applications of technology.

We will focus our discussions mainly on the efficacy of Web-based design and development.

You will design and produce an instructional project including different media such as text, image/graphics, sound, and video and create an on-line teaching portfolio as your final project.

GRMN 532 German Literature 18th Century to the Present
301 MW 10 - 11:30 am S. Richter
A continuation of GRMN 531, this course examines literary developments from the Enlightenment to the present.

GRMN 545 (PSCI 480) Imperial Germany Nietzsche - Weber - canceled
401 M 3 - 6 pm E. Kennedy

GRMN 553 (COML 581/RELS 508) Hermeneutics
401 W 2 - 5 pm S. Dunning
Theory of interpretation and the construction of meaning. Focus is usually on a text by Hegel or Gadamer. May be repeated for credit.

GRMN 641 Drama of the 19th Century
301 R 2 - 4 pm F. Trommler
A study of the German drama after Goethe and Schiller, with special emphasis on the response of such authors as Kleist, Buechner, Grillparzer, and Hebbel to the classical drama. Discussions of theories and techniques (Freytag, Szondi). Readings also include Nestroy, Hauptmann, and Schnitzler.

GRMN 664 (HIST 620) Topics in European History
- European Integration
401 W 2 - 5 pm R. Granieri
Defining Europe's boundaries has never been a simple issue, and that question gained added significance after 1945, when the decline of Europe from its position of global dominance inspired a revival of plans for European political and economic integration. This seminar will survey the latest scholarship on the political, economic, social, and cultural implications of European integration in historical perspective, addressing questions such as the shape of European institutions, the role of the nation state, the place of Europe within the Atlantic Community, the role of Europe in the Cold War, and the future of the European Union.

GRMN 665 (ENGL 730/ FREN 654/ MUSC 654/ COML 658)
Early Modern Seminar – Novelties and the Novel (1680-1730)
401 T 2 - 4 pm B. Wiggin / J. DeJean
At the turn of the eighteenth century, the novel established itself throughout Europe as the pre-eminent literary genre. It was seen above all as a radically new literary form, a novelty. At the same time as the novel was becoming prominent, many other kinds of novelties such as coffee and chocolate first became part of the European landscape. At the same moment the fashion industry was born when high fashion was first marketed to a broad public. And perhaps the ultimate novelty in this story was the novel’s gender bias: it was the only form in literary history to have been produced massively by women. This seminar will explore the ways in which histories of the novel and of contemporary novelties such as coffee and high fashion were intertwined. We will pay particular attention to another contemporary genre, the newspaper, whose rise in the early modern period was essential to the marketing of novelties. We will also focus on the process of translation by means of which the novel spread rapidly through England, France, and Germany.


GRMN 678 Realism: Literature and Theory
301 W 3 - 5 pm L. Weissberg
What is "realism"? What does it mean to depict the world as a "realist" writer or artist? This seminar will consider these questions and concentrate on German literature and art of the second half of the nineteenth century. It will focus on writers such as Stifter, Storm, Raabe, and Fontane; but also on Stifter's drawings and paintings, visual artists such as Menzel, and the vogue of historical painting. Finally, the seminar will consider the role of early photography in the development of the notion of "realism." Secondary literature will include studies by Michael Fried, Linda Nochlin, and others.

GRMN 692 (ARTH 692 / 292 / FILM 208) Women and Film
401 TR 9 - 10:30 am K. Beckman
mandatory film screenings will be held on Thursdays 5 - 7:30 pm
This course will introduce students to the work of mainstream and experimental women filmmakers from around the world. As we examine films from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries, we will consider how a counter-history of women's cinema alters more conventional versions of the medium's history, whether gender is a useful category of analysis for film studies, how women filmmakers have responded to each others' work, and how other markers of identity like race and class complicate utopian narratives of "sisters in cinema."

GRMN 990 Masters Thesis
000 see department for section numbers Staff
Permission need from Department

GRMN 995 Dissertation
000 see department for section numbers Staff
Permission need from Department

GRMN 999 Independent Study
000 see department for section numbers Staff
Permission need from Department

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CGS Courses

GRMN 102 Elementary German II
601 MW 6:30 - 8:45 pm D. Dixon
This course is a continuation of GRMN 101 and is designed to strengthen and expand students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing competencies and to deepen an understanding of German-speaking cultures. By the end of the course students will be able to handle a variety of day-to-day needs in a German-speaking setting and engage in simple conversations about personally significant topics. Students can expect to be able to order food and beverages, purchase things, and to be familiar with the German university system, the Arts, media, and current social topics. Students will begin to be able to talk about the past and the future, make comparisons, describe people and things in increasing detail, make travel plans that include other European countries, and make reservations in hotels and youth hostels. By the end of the course students will be able to talk about their studies and about their dreams for the future. In addition, students will develop reading strategies that should allow them to understand the general meaning of articles, and short literary texts. Furthermore, students will feel more able to understand information when hearing German speakers talking about familiar topics. Cultural knowledge remains among one of the foci of German 102, and students will continue to be exposed to authentic materials.

GRMN 104 Intermediate German II
601 MW 6:30 - 8:15 pm Staff
Expands students’ writing and speaking competencies in German, increases vocabulary, and helps students practice effective reading and listening strategies. Our in-class discussions are based on weekly readings of literary and non-literary texts to facilitate exchange of information, ideas, reactions, and opinions. In addition, the readings provide cultural and historical background information. The review of grammar will not be the primary focus of the course. Students will, however, expand and deepen their knowledge of grammar through specific grammar exercises. Students will conclude the basic-language program at PENN by reading an abridged and glossed version of an authentic literary text; Max Frisch Homo Faber, offering the opportunity to practice and deepen reading knowledge and to sensitize cultural and historical awareness of German-speaking countries.

GRMN 256 (COML 241/FILM 352/RELS 236) The Devil's Pact in Literature, Music and Film
General Requirement III: Arts & Letters
601 T 6 - 9 pm S. Richter
For centuries the pact with the devil has signified humankind's desire to surpass the limits of human knowledge and power. From the age of Martin Luther to the time of Mick Jagger, from Marlowe and Goethe to key Hollywood films, the legend of the devil's pact continues to be useful for exploring our fascination with forbidden powers.

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Yiddish Courses

GRMN 402 (JWST 032) Beginning Yiddish II
401 TR 12 - 1:30 pm K. Hellerstein
Prerequisite(s): GRMN 401 or permission of the instructor. In this course, you can continue to develop basic reading, writing and speaking skills. Discover treasures of Yiddish culture: songs, literature, folklore, and films.

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Dutch Courses & Studies

DTCH 104 (DTCH 504) Intermediate Dutch II
401 MW 5 - 6:30 pm R. Naborn
Prerequisite(s): Dutch 103 or equivalent. Continuation of Dutch 103. A fourth semester Dutch language course.


DTCH 399 Independent Study
000 see department for section numbers R. Naborn
Permission needed from Department

DTCH 473 (ARTH 473/HIST 407/RELS 415) Dutch Art, Religion & History
Baroque Painting in Northern Europe
401 TR 10:30 am - 12 pm L. Silver / Peters
Emphasis on the "Golden Age" of painting traditions of Holland and Flanders from the outset of the Dutch Revolt in the 1560s to the French invasions around 1670. Principal artists include: Pieter and Jan Brueghel, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goltzuis, Hals, Rembrandt, Ruisdael, Vermeer, and Steen. Attention to the rise of pictoral genres: landscape, still life, tavern scenes, portraiture, as well as relationship of art to the rise of Absolutist rulers, religious conflicts, and the Thirty Years War.

DTCH 504 (DTCH 104) Intermediate Dutch II
401 MW 5 - 6:30 pm R. Naborn
Prerequisite(s): Dutch 103/503 or equivalent. Continuation of Dutch 103/503. A fourth semester Dutch language course.

DTCH 999 Independent Study
000 see department for section numbers R. Naborn
Permission needed from Department

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Swedish Courses

SCND 102 (SCND 502) Elementary Swedish II
401 MWF 11 am - 12 pm K. Williams
Continuation of SCND 101/501. This is a two-semester course designed to teach beginning skills in Swedish reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, writing, and conversation. Swedish social development will also be examined in relation to its cultural milieu. A trip to Gloria Dei Old Swedes Church in Philadelphia for their Luciafest will be included on a December weekend, a visit to a Swedish film during the Philadelphia Film festival will take place in late April, and other events as announced.


SCND 399 Independent Study
000 TBA K. Williams
See Dept. for Section Numbers
Permission needed from Department

SCND 502 (SCND 102) Elementary Swedish II
401 MWF 11 am - 12 pm K. Williams
Continuation of SCND 101/501. This is a two-semester course designed to teach beginning skills in Swedish reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, writing, and conversation. Swedish social development will also be examined in relation to its cultural milieu. A trip to Gloria Dei Old Swedes Church in Philadelphia for their Luciafest will be included on a December weekend, a visit to a Swedish film during the Philadelphia Film festival will take place in late April, and other events as announced.

SCND 999 Independent Study
000 TBA K. Williams
See Dept. for Section Numbers
Permission needed from Department