Courses
Courses taught in German are listed in Path Class Search with the prefix “GE.” German Studies classes taught in English are listed with the prefix “GEST.”
Courses offered every semester
GE 10101 – Beginning German I
An introduction to spoken and written German, as well as to the culture of the German-speaking world. Aims at the acquisition of basic structures, vocabulary, and sound systems. For students with no or little previous study of the language. 4 credits; meets 3 days a week.
GE 10102 – Beginning German II
Continuation of the introductory course to spoken and written German. Open to students who have completed GE 10101 or have placed into the course via online placement exam. 4 credits; meets 3 days a week.
GE 20201 – Intermediate German I
A course that develops the communicative abilities acquired in Beginning German I and II and provides a more in-depth introduction to the culture of the German-speaking world. Open to students who have completed GE 10102 or have placed into the course via online placement exam. 3 credits.
GE 20202 – Intermediate German II
A thematic class in which students work toward greater fluency, accuracy, and complexity of expression, while simultaneously gaining an appreciation for the role of German culture in the larger world. Serves as the first course that can be counted towards a major or minor in German. Course theme chosen by the instructor. Open to students who have completed GE 20201 or have placed into the course via online placement exam. 3 credits.
Courses offered every Fall
GE 30303 – German before Germany
In this course, students will learn to challenge the easy association of "German" with the contemporary country of Germany by considering the extraordinary diversity of what "German" meant before the modern country was founded. Students will examine German-speaking Central Europe from the Middle Ages until the beginnings of modern Germany, focusing primarily on literary works in their historical context. The course's historical outlook gives students the tools to critically examine today's discourses of national identity, race, and German tradition by understanding how the meaning of "German" has transformed over time. 3 credits.
GE 30305 – Contemporary Germany: Society, Politics, and Culture
This course introduces students to the society, politics, and culture of contemporary Germany. The main focus is on Germany after 1989, but analysis extends back as far as 1945 and includes comparisons to other German-speaking countries as well as the United States. Topics include social values, government and media, as well as issues currently in the news. Students also develop interpretative skills by applying them to recent films and literary works. Open to students who have completed GE 20202 or have placed into the course via online placement exam. 3 credits.
Courses offered every Spring
GE 30304 – German Literary and Cultural Tradition(s)
This course offers an overview of major developments in the literary and cultural history of the German-speaking world. The course explores significant figures and works of literature, the visual arts, music, and philosophy as well as their interrelationship and historical context. Students read, discuss, and analyze selected texts in German representing all genres, and become familiar with fundamental techniques of interpretation. Open to students who have completed GE 20202 or have placed into the course via online placement exam. 3 credits.
Fall 2025 courses taught in German
GE 43203 – Challenges to the Self, Society and the Sacred: German Prose Masterpieces (Mark Roche)
German literature, which is deeply interwoven with philosophy and religion, offers abundant challenges to our understanding of self, society, and the sacred. Together we will analyze prose works that offer students a range of genres and styles. Three or four works will be chosen from among the following: Hölderlin’s Hyperion, a novel of despair and reconciliation that is both lyrical and philosophical; Heine’s brilliant and witty essay Zur Geschichte der Religion und Philosophie in Deutschland; Büchner’s absorbing novella fragment Lenz; Stifter’s gripping and perplexing tale Abdias; Storm’s dramatically compelling frame narrative Der Schimmelreiter; Theodore Fontane’s Effi Briest, a beautiful novel of character that indirectly confronts the social norms of late nineteenth-century Prussia; and Kafka’s Der Prozess, a work that interweaves comedy, horror, and complexity. We will spend considerable time on literary aspects of the works and will engage in comparison and contrast of diverse themes, including identity crises, concepts of social critique and historical change, and challenges to our understanding of God. Taught in German. 3 credits.
Fall 2025 courses taught in English
GEST 13186 - Literature and War (Vittorio Hosle)
This course introduces German literature and culture while also serving as an introduction to the seminar method of instruction. The course is writing-intensive, with emphasis given to improving students' writing skills through the careful analysis of specific texts. Counts for USEM, WKAL and LIT.
GEST 333022 – Literature of the Holocaust (Tobias Boes)
An introduction to the ways in which the Holocaust has been remembered and examined through literature, from early survivor narratives to second-generation works and the recent culture wars in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Contingent upon funding, the course will include a study tour to Berlin and to Auschwitz, where we will visit memorials and documentation sites, speak to representatives of Jewish organizations, and get a better sense for the continuities of Jewish life in Central Europe throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Authors covered might include Primo Levi, Elie Wiesel, Ruth Klüger, Art Spiegelman and Helen Epstein, while theorists covered could include Hannah Arendt, Raoul Hilberg, Shoshana Felman, Marianne Hirsch, and Michael Rothberg. Counts for WKAL and LIT.
Previously Offered Electives
Generally, courses with 4xxxx course numbers are taught in the target language. Courses with 3xxxx course numbers and below are taught in English. Detailed class descriptions can be accessed via the ClassSearch tool on InsideND.
Spring 2025
GE 30102 - Film Festivals
GE 30465 - Modern Germany since 1871
GE 33020 - Medieval Women's Mysticism
GE 33023 - Epic in the Heart of Europe: Medieval German Narrative
Fall 2024
GE 20410 - German History through Film
GE 30464 - German History, 1740-1870
GE 33021 - The Early Holy roman Empire
GE 43205 - Comedy, Tragedy, Inverted World: Masterpieces of German Drama
Spring 2024
GE 23620 - The Death of God. Atheism in Modern European Culture and Thought
GE 30112 - Germany and the Environment
GE 33027 - Germans in the Americas
GE 43204 - Social Engagement in German Literature and Film
Fall 2023
GE 20453 - Self-deception, Life-lies and Sincerity
GE 30008 - Medieval Violence
GE 33245 - Great War and Modern Memory
Spring 2023
GE 30109 – Jews in European Middle Ages
GE 30214 – The Holocaust and its Legacies
GE 33023 – Medieval German Epic
GE 43000 – Imagined Futures German Sci-Fi
Fall 2022
GE 30010 – Sinners, Saints, & Sorceresses
GE 30011 – Weimar Republic/Rise of Hitler
GE 30207 – Intro to Gothic Language
GE 33021 – The Early Holy Roman Empire
GE 40324 – Germany’s Interwar Years
Spring 2022
GE 20430 – Existentialist Themes
GE 30112 – Germany and the Environment
GE 30214 – The Holocaust and its Legacies
GE 30401 – Nazi Germany, Nazi Europe
GE 33205 – Europe & the Migration Crisis
GE 43203 – Self, Society and the Sacred
Fall 2021
GE 20452 – Philosophy & Narrative
GE 30008 – Medieval Violence
GE 30465 – Modern Germany since 1871
GE 43300 – Seminar in German Studies