GERST 4100

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  • Schedule of Classes - February 7, 2022 7:27PM EST
  • Course Catalog - February 7, 2022 7:14PM EST

GERST 4100
The Seminar

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2021-2022.

Topic: Hope in German Literature and Thought: Hope is an appeal to better futures. What creative strategies and critical thought does German literature make available for engaging hope in hard times in meaningful ways? From 17th-century mysticism to "concrete utopia" to Black German activism in contemporary Berlin, this course will examine a range of styles, aspirations, and concepts with which German literature from different historical periods configures hope in transformational relation to crises including war, disease, poverty, discrimination, dictatorship, exile, and more. Literary readings will involve work by authors reaching from Goethe, Lessing, Hebel, the Grimm Brothers, and Bettina von Arnim to Aichinger, Bachmann, Braun, Wolf, Klüger, Ayim, Otoo, Erpenbeck, Tawada, and Wenzel; some film and philosophy will also be discussed. Student research will further investigate diverse and complex relationships between German literature and hope in hard times.

When Offered Fall.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: standard German proficiency as required for this level, any German course at the 3200-3499-level or equivalent.

Distribution Category (LA-AS, ALC-AS)
Language Requirement Satisfies Option 1.

Comments Taught in German. The Seminar is a requirement of the German Studies major, but is open to all students who have met the prerequisites. The course has a research component, including poster presentations of all final projects, and is taught each fall by a faculty member in the Department of German Studies on a topic of their expertise.

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • Topic: Hope in German Literature and Thought

  •  4218 GERST 4100   SEM 101

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  • Instruction Mode: In Person
    Taught in German. Satisfies Option 1. Prerequisites: standard German proficiency as required for this level: any German course at the 3200-3499-level or equivalent. The Seminar is a requirement of the German Studies major, but is open to all students who have met the prerequisites. The course has a research component, including poster presentations of all final projects, and is taught each fall by a faculty member in the Department of German Studies on a topic of their expertise.