German, Bachelor of Arts College of Letters & Science

The German major explores in depth the literature and language, the culture, history, politics, and commerce of the German-speaking world (primarily Germany, Austria and Switzerland). The key to the major lies in the careful balance between solid core requirements and the possibility to explore German subject areas through the lens of other disciplines, such as music, art, philosophy, history, and economics.

The Program

The department offers courses that highlight literary figures, movements and themes. These courses form the core of upper division literature electives, but we also offer courses that discuss contemporary culture, history, politics, and commerce in German-speaking countries. Regardless of emphasis, students will find maximum practice in spoken and written German as well as in listening comprehension in all upper division courses offered in German.

Career Alternatives

Completion of the major prepares students for graduate study in German or for career opportunities in international fields ranging from employment in business and government to careers in the fine arts and sciences. Also, it permits admission to professional schools such as law and medicine.

Honors & Honors Program

The honors program consists of two quarters of research (194H) terminating in an honors thesis. For details consult the undergraduate major advisor. Graduation with high or highest honors requires participation in the honors program.

Prerequisite Credit

Credit normally will not be given on the lower division level for a course that is the prerequisite of a course already successfully completed.

Major Advisor

Consult the Department Office.

Graduate Study

The Department offers programs of study and research leading to the M.A. degree and to the Ph.D. degree in German Literature. Additional degree options for a designated emphasis are available through departmental affiliations with the programs in Social Theory & Comparative History, Critical Theory, Feminist Theory & Research, and Second Language Acquisition. Detailed information may be obtained by writing to the Department Chairperson or the Graduate Advisor.

Graduate Advisor

Jaimey Fisher

The major requirements below are in addition to meeting University Requirements & College Requirements; unless otherwise noted. The minimum number of units required for the German Bachelor of Arts major is 44.

Preparatory Subject Matter
Elementary German
Choose 0-15 units:0-15
Elementary German
Elementary German
Elementary German
or the equivalent
Intermediate German
Choose 0-12 units:0-12
Intermediate German
Intermediate German
Intermediate German
Preparatory Subject Matter Subtotal0-27
Depth Subject Matter
GER 101ASurvey of German Literature, 800-18004
GER 101BSurvey of German Literature, 1800-Present4
GER 103Writing Skills in German4
GER 118EContemporary German Culture4
or GER 120 Survey of German Culture
Choose four courses from upper division offerings taught in German:16
Translation
The Modern German Language
Business German
Advanced Business German (Discontinued)
The Medieval Period in German Literature
Reformation & Baroque
Literature of the Classical Age
Major Movements in German Literature
Short Fiction: 1880-1914
Modern German Literature
Major Writers in German
Postwar Women Writers
German Lyric Poetry
The German Novelle
The German Drama
Topics in German Intellectual History
Language Through Media
Love in the Middle Ages (Discontinued)
Multiculturalism in German Literature
The Age of Bismarck
Choose three additional upper division courses from:12
Topics in German Literature
Goethe's Faust
From Marlene Dietrich to Run, Lola Run: German Women & Film
German Literature Since 1945
Readings in Jewish Writing & Thought in German Culture
After the Catastrophe: Jews & Jewish Life in Post-1945 Germany
Vienna at the Turn of the 20th Century (The End of the Habsburg Empire)
Weimar Culture: Defeat, the Roaring Twenties, the Rise of Nazism
Germany Under the Third Reich
From German Fiction to German Film
The Holocaust & its Literary Representation
New German Cinema
Marx, Nietzsche, Freud
Love in the Middle Ages (Discontinued)
Multiculturalism in German Literature
Classic Weimar Cinema
The Age of Bismarck
Field Work in German
Honors Program
Honors Program
Tutoring in German
Directed Group Study
Courses in other disciplines that focus on German history, thought, and culture, upon approval of the major advisor.
Electives
Electives include, but are not limited to:
Art of the Middle Ages: Gothic
Gender & Interpretation in the Renaissance
Thematic & Structural Study of Literature
Introduction to Critical Theoretical Approaches to Literature & Culture
Critical Reading & Analysis
Modern Jewish Writers
World Economic History Since the Industrial Revolution
World Economic History Since the Industrial Revolution
Comparative Economic Systems
International Microeconomics
International Macroeconomics
International Economic Relations
New German Cinema
Classic Weimar Cinema
Postwar German Cinema
History of the Holocaust
and The Memory of the Holocaust
History of Germany, 1450 to 1789
and History of Germany since 1789
The Musical World of Beethoven
The Musical World of J. S. Bach
The Musical World of an 18th-Century Composer
Spinoza & Leibniz
Kant
Topics in the History of Political Thought
History of Political Theory: Late Modern
International Relations in Western Europe
Note: Many of the above electives from other disciplines have prerequisites. The total of 44 upper division units may include units earned in the Education Abroad Program.
Depth Subject Matter Subtotal44
Total Units44-71