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.

Spring 2027 courses taught in German

GE 40649 – Comedy, Jokes, and Satire in the German-Speaking World (Mark Roche)

Contrary to the popular stereotype that German culture lacks a sense of humor, the German-speaking world possesses a rich, sharp, and often overlooked comic tradition—ranging from playful comedy to cutting-edge satire and witty political jokes. We will read and discuss plays, short stories, and poetry by canonical writers, including Lessing, Heine, Büchner, Hofmannsthal, Lasker-Schüler, and Brecht. We will analyze the provocative photomontages of John Heartfield and modern cinematic comedy from Fatih Akın. Participants will examine dozens of authentic German jokes targeting life under the Third Reich, in East Germany, and today. The analyses will be supported by brief excerpts on jokes by Freud and on comic theory from Hegel, Schiller, Cohen, and Tucholsky. Additionally, the course will analyze the religious, historical, and political conditions under which the comic surfaces and flourishes, ultimately evaluating both what makes the German-speaking world laugh and why it matters. Taught in German. 3 credits. 

Spring 2027 courses taught in English

GEST 20610 – Enemies of Democracy? Nihilism and Authority in German Thought (Felix Steilen)

This course introduces students to modern German thought through a question that remains urgent today: why do societies turn away from freedom and democracy and toward authority, conformity, or political extremism? We will read thinkers who questioned democratic ideals, explored the appeal of authority, or sought to understand the conditions under which democratic societies can fail. What is nihilism? Why does it arise, and why can it become politically powerful? Does authoritarianism depend on authoritarian or cynical citizens? What makes people willing to surrender judgment to leaders, institutions, or ideologies? We will encounter canonical as well as lesser-known thinkers, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Rosa Luxemburg, Sigmund Freud, Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Martin Heidegger, Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss and Martin Buber. The central premise of the course is that these figures illuminate both the history of the West and questions that remain urgent in the present. We will investigate themes of civilizational decline, the ethos of Nazism, dialogic truth, authority in the family and the foundations of political life through close reading, historical contextualization and collective interpretation. 3 credits. Fulfills WKSP.

GEST 30465 – Modern Germany since 1871 (Mark Kettler)

This course examines modern Germany from national unification in 1871 to the recent unification of the two Germanies and beyond. We will investigate cultural, political, and social dimensions of Germany's dynamic role in Europe and in the world. Topics include Bismarck and the founding of the Second Reich, World War I and the legacy of defeat, challenge and authority in the Weimar Republic, the National Socialist revolution, war and Holocaust, collapse of the Third Reich, conflict and accommodation in East and West Germany, and unification and its aftermath. Class format will combine lectures with discussion of readings from political, social, literary, and diplomatic sources. 3 credits. Fulfills WKHI.

Previously Offered Electives

Generally, courses with 4XXXX course numbers are taught in the target language. Before Fall 2025, courses with 3XXXX course numbers and below were taught in English. Beginning in Fall 2025, courses taught in English use the GEST course prefix. Detailed class descriptions can be accessed via the ClassSearch tool on InsideND.

Fall 2026

GE - Conversational German

GEST - The Holocaust and its Legacies in Contemporary Politics

Spring 2026

GEST 20220 - Nature and Freedom from Kant to Hegel

GEST 20410 - German History Through Film

GEST 20510 - The Global Game: The FIFA World Cup as a Political and Cultural Force

GEST 30401 - Nazi Germany, Nazi Europe

GEST 33205 - Europe Confronts the Refugee Challenge

GEST 43181 - Kant's Critique of Pure Reason

GEST 43204 - German Philosophy in the Twentieth Century

GEST 43429 - Radical Politics: Anarchism and Socialism

Fall 2025

GEST 33022 - Literature of the Holocaust 

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