Topics in German Literature and Culture

Course Number: 82-426

This repeatable course explores the culture of the German-speaking nations through a thematic or conceptual focus. Students critically analyze authentic documents, for example, historical, biographical, and literary texts, as well as film and works of the visual arts while improving and expanding their language skills.

SPRING 2025: The German Zero Hour—Eighty Years Later

The spring of 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, the so-called German Zero Hour. This course, conducted entirely in German, commemorates the anniversary of this event and offers a deep dive into the end of Adolf Hitler's "Third Reich" and the period of devastation and rebuilding that followed immediately afterwards, when Germany lay in ruins and was divided up among four occupying powers. How does a country rebuild after such devastation? We will be watching some of the key films associated with this period and also reading some of the most famous works from the period. Students will get considerable practice speaking, writing, reading and hearing the German language. Key course requirements include seven film write-ups in response to the films we will be seeing, a final course project and a brief final reflection written in German.

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Units: 9