Courses & Requirements

GER-101: Elementary German I (4.00)

Emphasis on speaking and understanding spoken German, with a sound basis of grammar. Reading and discussion of simple texts. All students with one or more years of German in high school are required to take the placement test.

Course requisites: Take GER-101L

GER-101L: Elementary German I Lab (0.00)

Course requisites: Take GER-101

GER-102: Elementary German II (4.00)

Continuation of 101. All students with one or more years of German in high school are required to take the placement test.

Course requisites: 101 Take GER-102L

GER-200: Global Study Tours in German (2.00)

Global study tours usually include an on-campus course focused on a specific topic within the context of a particular country, which is followed by an in-country experience. Prerequisites and corequisites vary depending on the selected Global Study Tour topic and country. Permission is required, and special fees are required for the international travel component. Contact the Center for Global Learning for more information.

GER-201: Intermediate German I (4.00)

Practice in spoken German, accompanied by grammar review. Reading and discussion of literary texts. All students with one or more years of German in high school are required to take the placement test.

Course requisites: 102

GER-202: Intermediate German II (4.00)

Continuation of 201. All students with one or more years of German in high school are required to take the placement test.

Course requisites: 201

GER-210: Adv Professional Writing and Speaking I (4.00)

ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL WRITING & SPEAKING I--Students in this course will practice writing and speaking in various professional and career contexts related to German-speaking cultures. Students will learn to describe, analyze, summarize, and prioritize information about a range of disciplines and professional work environments. Throughout the course students will engage with contemporary news articles, films, and literary texts that communicate the cultural framework for careers in German-speaking countries. Additionally, students will learn and practice language and cultural conventions relevant for job applications, job interviews, and multiple career-related situations. Students hone their skills through writing and speaking activities. At the end of the course, students will apply and market their competencies and skills by using variety of discourses and sociocultural registers of German, thus enabling them to communicate their fit, background, and potential to future interview/hiring committees.

Course requisites: GER-202

GER-211: Conversation (2.00)

Theoretical and practical aspects of German pronunciation with intensive drills. Does not fulfill the language requirement for the international relations relations major.

Course requisites: GER-102

GER-212: Intercultural Competence for the Professions (2.00)

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE FOR THE PROFESSIONS: This course introduces students to a series of specific cultural conventions, attitudes, and practices that shape professional settings in German-speaking countries. This course will draw on current online texts and films, on insights provided by speakers and visitors from German, Swiss, and Austrian cultural and corporate entities in Atlanta, and on the first-hand experiences of the Fulbright Teaching Assistant who offers the course.

Course requisites: GER-102

GER-220: Introduction to German Cultural Studies (4.00)

This course introduces students to theories and methods that facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to German cultural texts, ranging from literature to music and to visual arts. Taught in English.

GER-222: Introduction to German Literature (4.00)

This course introduces students to crucial periods, genres, and authors from ca. 1800 to the present.

GER-324: Adv Professional Writing & Speaking II Professional Contexts (4.00)

ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL WRITING & SPEAKING II--This course is designed to enable students to achieve an advanced level of fluency in the German language and to enhance their intercultural competencies for a wide range of potential future career fields. Specifically, students will learn how to navigate intercultural settings through four distinct communicative genres in the target language and culture: developing a descriptive marketing concept for a city in a German-speaking country; writing a review of a contemporary cultural event (a film, a play, a book, etc.); writing a summary of a political debate; giving a speech on a wide array of topics, and creating a podcast or video version of one of the prior projects. Students will compare how culturally different views and attitudes towards their chosen topics requires not only different vocabulary, but different registers, themes, stylistic and structural considerations. Developing and practicing these competencies provides students with a hands-on framework for connecting their liberal arts learning with a range of career fields. By writing, curating, speaking, and recording at least one project for each of the four distinct communicative areas students will leave this course with an intercultural toolkit that can be readily adapted for internship and job applications.

Course requisites: GER-202

GER-330: Topics in German Film (4.00)

TOPICS IN GERMAN FILM--Survey of selected historical, formal, and aesthetic developments in German cinema from silent films to the present, including topics such as mountain films, propaganda and feature films of the National Socialist period, and auteur films. Taught in English. May retake for credit with permission of German Studies department. Description for "'TRASHED'-DOCUMENTARY FILMS AS VISUAL NARRATIVES FROM AND ABOUT THE ANTHROPOCENE"--This course takes a critical look as to how the documentary genre communicates information about (un)sustainable practices and promotes activism in the areas of politics, public health, and energy production. The course enables students to engage with a series of German/Austrian/Swiss documentaries such as Garbage in the Garden of Eden (Akin), Our Daily Bread (Geyrhalter), Plastic Planet (Boote), and Taste the Waste (Thurm) and comparative US and other English-language documentaries. The course examines the function and effectiveness of documentaries in environmentalist discourses. Students will be able to apply their insights in presentations as well as in a team-based project that requires them to produce their own short documentary about an environmental topic with local/regional relevance. (Taught in English. German Majors/Minors will watch films and read texts in original German language and work on German-language assignments.)

Description for "ENTERTAINING THE NAZIS!? GERMAN MOVIES BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945"--National Socialist cinema usually is discussed in the context of propaganda films such as Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will or Veit Harlan's Jew Süss, which support the perception that Hitler's regime exercised total economic and political control over Germany's media. There were, however, more than 1,000 feature-length films produced between 1933 and 1945, many of which do not seem to fit into the propaganda category. How are we to understand and read these films? Are they part of "Nazi Cinema," if that term is applicable? Can films be carriers of subversive messages in totalitarian societies, and if so, how do we decipher these messages? In our course we will pursue these questions by watching a number of films produced between 1933 and 1945. In addition, we will read articles and books by historians and film scholars in order to gain a better understanding of how the interpretations of these films changed from the 1940s to the 2000s.

GER-340: The History, Literature and Culture of Afro-Germans (4.00)

THE HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND CULTURE OF AFRO-GERMANS--This course focuses on the history, literature and culture of people of African descent living in German-speaking countries and on discourses of German identity. Cross-listed with AS-340.

Description when topic is "'OTHER GERMANS' AFRICAN DIASPORA IN GERMAN-SPEAKING EUROPE". This course investigates the long and multifaceted history and culture of the African diaspora in the German-speaking countries, including the influence of African science and culture in 18th-century Germany, the German-African/African-American connections during colonialist times, African peoples' marginalisation and persecution under National Socialism, the experience of African-American soldiers as post-World-War II occupation troops, and black Germans as members of 20th/21st-century re-unified Germany. Taught in English. (German Majors/Minors will have opportunities to apply language skills by working with German-language texts/films and some writing in German.)

GER-351: Topics in Contemp German Life & Thought (4.00)

This course explores selected topics and debates in contemporary Germany, ranging from German reunification to environmental politics, gender discourses, and immigration policies. Cross-listed with WS-351.

Course requisites: GER-202 or higher

GER-360: Advanced German Literature (4.00)

Students engage in-depth with a specific literary period, author, or genre in the literature of the German-speaking cultures-for example, German Turkish Literature. GER-360 may be repeated for credit when the topic varies.

Course requisites: GER-222 or permission of instructor

GER-410: Directed Reading (1.00)

Supervised to meet the needs of individual students.

GER-440: Directed Research (4.00)

Directed research courses are open to junior and senior majors to work with a faculty member on a project related to a particular field of intellectual or artistic interest, or to non-majors who demonstrate sufficient preparation in the discipline. Applications are available in the Office of Academic Advising and must be returned to the assistant dean of the college for approval. A 440 course carries 4 semester-hours credit.

GER-450: Credit Internship (4.00)

Approved internship in German language, culture, and/or studies.

GER-480: Advanced Topics in German Cultural Studies (4.00)

Senior course in the German Studies major. Course provides an in-depth focus on a particular topic and prepares students for the final project in the German Studies major.

Course requisites: Completion of all 300-level coures required for the major

GER-490: Senior Thesis (4.00)

A senior thesis in the student's major gives superior students the opportunity to write a thesis about a project related to a particular field of intellectual or artistic interest. Interested students should obtain thesis guidelines (available in the Office of Academic Advising) and apply in writing to the appropriate department chair or program chair. A 490 course carries 4 semester hours of credit.