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

Contact the Advising.

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

Contact the Advising.

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 40.

Preparatory Subject Matter
Choose 0-27 units:0-27
Elementary German
Elementary German
Elementary German
Intermediate German
Intermediate German
Intermediate German
OR the equivalent.
Preparatory Subject Matter Subtotal0-27
Depth Subject Matter
Core Subject Matter20
Choose five courses taught in German from the following:
Survey of German Literature, 800-1800
Survey of German Literature, 1800-Present
Writing Skills in German
Translation
The Modern German Language
Business German
Survey of German Culture
The Medieval Period in German Literature
Literature of the Classical Age
Major Movements in German Literature
Short Fiction: 1880-1914
Major Writers in German
Postwar Women Writers
German Lyric Poetry
The German Novelle
The German Drama
Language Through Media
Multiculturalism in German Literature
Electives20
Choose three courses from the list below:
Courses counted in the Core Subject Matter cannot fulfill this requirement.
Survey of German Literature, 800-1800
Survey of German Literature, 1800-Present
Writing Skills in German
Translation
The Modern German Language
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
Contemporary German Culture
From German Fiction to German Film
Reformation & Baroque
Survey of German Culture
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
The Holocaust & its Literary Representation
New German Cinema
Language Through Media
Marx, Nietzsche, Freud
Nazi & Fascist Cinema: Film & other Visual Media
Multiculturalism in German Literature
Classic Weimar Cinema
The Age of Bismarck
Choose two additional courses from above (a) or from the list below:
Courses counted in the Core Subject Matter cannot fulfill this requirement.
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
and 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 Mozart
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
West European Politics: German Politics
The 40 upper division total units may include units earned in the Education Abroad Program.
Depth Subject Matter Subtotal40
Total Units40-67