GERM 303(F) German Studies 1900-1938
This course surveys the major social and literary movements of Germany
from the turn of the century to the rise of the Nazis. We will study various
phenomena associated with modernism-urban institutions like the
department store and the cinema (Hessel, Benjamin), expressionist poetry
(Trakl, Lasker-Schüler), generational conflict via Kafka's alienated sons,
Jews in Germany (Klemperer), the patriotic fervor of World War One and
its aftermath (Toller, Jünger), Dadaism (Schwitters), the Weimar Republic,
inflation and the big crash (Fallada), Nazi ideology and propaganda tactics
(Riefenstahl, Speer). Wherever possible, we will read journalism, diary
entries or letters that give us insight into daily life during this highly
fractured period of tumultuous political and social changes. Readings in
German.
Requirements: active class participation, midterm, oral report, two short
exercises, final exam
Prerequisites: German 201 or German 202. No enrollment limit (expected:
8).