Bachelors of Arts in German Studies

The Department of German Studies offers students a wide range of opportunities to explore the literature and culture of German-speaking countries, whether as part of their general education, a major in German Studies, a double major, or a German minor involving another discipline, or as preparation for graduate school or an international professional career. Courses are offered in German as well as in English; subjects range from medieval to contemporary literature and from film and visual culture to intellectual history, music, history of psychology, and feminist, gender, and sexuality studies. The course offerings in German begin with GERST 1210–GERST 1220, GERST 1230 (introductory language level). Students then continue with intermediate-level courses, which provide further grounding in the language and in German literature and cultural studies. GERST 2060 - German in Business Culture provides instruction for German in the culture of business, leading to certification. On the advanced level (3000-level or above), we offer thematically oriented courses that include intensive language work (3000–3209); literature and culture study courses in German, including GERST 4100 - The Seminar; and seminars of interdisciplinary interest taught in English. Addressing a broad spectrum of topics in German culture, our courses appeal to German majors, minors, and other qualified students alike. The department’s offerings in English begin literature (e.g., the fairy tale and Romantic consciousness or 20th-century writers such as Kafka, Hesse, Mann, Brecht), theorists such as Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, issues in mass culture and modernity, problems of German national identity/ies, and cinema and society. Courses in German and English at the 3000- and 4000-levels explore such topics as the Faust legend, aesthetics from Kant to Heidegger, city topographies, Freud and his legacy, opera from Mozart to Strauss, the German novel, literature and philosophy, political theory and cinema, the Frankfurt School, migration and globalization, and feminist theory. It may be possible to arrange a German section for courses taught in English, either informally or formally (for credit). Students are encouraged to discuss this possibility with instructors.