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.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Subtotal | 0-27 | |
| Depth Subject Matter | ||
| GER 101A | Survey of German Literature, 800-1800 | 4 |
| GER 101B | Survey of German Literature, 1800-Present | 4 |
| GER 103 | Writing Skills in German | 4 |
| GER 118E | Contemporary German Culture | 4 |
| 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 | ||
or ECN 110BY | 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 Subtotal | 44 | |
| Total Units | 44-71 | |