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Slideshow

Fall 2023 German Courses

Language, Culture and Society I

GRMN 3010

Dr. Heide Crawford
MWF 1:50-2:40
213 Joe Brown Hall

This introductory cultural studies course will familiarize you with central social, cultural, economic, historical, and political issues of the 20th and early 21st centuries pertinent to the development of modern Germany. German 3010 is designed to provide a transition from the beginning and intermediate German language courses to the more specialized upper-level courses that we hope you will soon be taking. While teaching historical and cultural content, the course aims to make you a more competent and proficient speaker and writer of German. This class hones all your language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) while simultaneously teaching cultural content. It is a gateway course structured to prepare you for higher-level German classes.
Not open to students with credit in GRMN 3015.
Prerequisite: GRMN 2002

Language, Business, Engineering, and Society

GRMN 3015

Dr. Heide Crawford
MWF 11:30-12:20
217 Joe Brown Hall

In this course, you will learn about central social, cultural, economic, political and technological issues of the 20th and early 21st centuries pertinent to the development of modern Germany as a leader in international business, engineering and technology. You will also learn specifics about German university culture, including course enrollment, which is especially relevant for students who plan to study abroad art a German university. While teaching cultural and scientific content, the course simultaneously aims to make students more competent and proficient speakers and writers of German. You will continue to hone your listening and reading skills as we watch videos and read articles on German companies, German business culture, and technological developments in Germany from online news websites such as Deutsche WelleBild der WissenschaftNatur and others. This course also includes grammar review and vocabulary development. As a semester-long project, you will research German companies and you will learn to compose a German résumé.
Not open to students with credit in GRMN 3010
Prerequisite: GRMN 2002

Language, Culture, and Society II

GRMN 3020

Dr. Berna Gueneli
Tu/Th 12:45-2:00
269 MLC

This content-based course aims to enhance students’ knowledge of contemporary (Post-wall) German culture and to improve their German language skills though class, small group and partner discussions; working with texts of various genres; essay writing; vocabulary expansion; as well as grammar review and refinement.  The course is organized around topics related to national identity, current issues and events, and popular culture in Post-Wall Germany (Die Wende and the Berlin Republic; Reimagining the Past [the GDR & the Third Reich]; Xenophobia, Racism, and Multiethnicity; Refugees & the Media). Materials will include, among other things, web-based readings, films, and examples of German literature and visual culture. Readings also include a grammar and vocabulary book for self-study and coursework to advance and refine our linguistic skills. 
Taught in German
Prerequisite: GRMN 3010 or GRMN 3015

Advanced German Conversation and Composition

GRMN 4001

Dr. Alex Sager
Tu/Th 12:45-2:00
213 Joe Brown Hall

This course refines your command of spoken and written German. The focus is on developing a more sophisticated range of vocabulary and verbal expression, and on gaining more ease with the finer points of German grammar and style in speaking and writing. We will be using contemporary German media (films, television series, podcasts, and short literary texts) to investigate, discuss, and write about aspects of contemporary German social and cultural life, for example cultural differences and integration; social class; lifestyle choices; and relationship issues.
Taught in German.
Prerequisite: GRMN 3020

The German-American Experience

GRMN 4200

Dr. Joshua Bousquette
Tu/Th 2:20-3:35
251 MLC

This course serves as an introduction to the literature, language, and experience of the German-Americans of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It therefore presents a broad overview of such works, which will be considered not only as literature, but also regarding the context in which they were written. The themes of the course concern the following: contemporary politics, travel accounts, and commentaries. Over the course of the semester, the so-called "double-life" of the individual will serve as a red thread; often the German-Americans found themselves somewhere between the two various and different countries, languages, and cultures.
Taught in German. 
Prerequisite: GRMN 3010 or GRMN 3015
Satisfies the Franklin College Multicultural Requirement

German Political Songwriting

GRMN 4510

Dr. Jan Uelzmann
Tu/Th 11:10-12:25
213 Joe Brown Hall

This class provides an overview on political songs written in Germany between 1945 during the German division, reunification, and into the new millennium. The compactness of the form of song, the combination of lyrics and music, the public image of artists, as well as the history of reception and performance of certain songs, all allow for a unique perspective on the everyday history and popular culture of a period and political system. In the course of the semester, we will discuss artists and their songs which address topics such as identity, migration, political dissent and resistance, generational conflict, revolution, sexual liberation, gender and race. This class will help you refine your skills and proficiencies in speaking and writing through working with authentic German texts from different cultural domains. 
Taught in German.
Satisfies Franklin College's fine arts/philosophy/religion requirement.
Prerequisite: GRMN 3010 or GRMN 3015

Contemporary Issues in German Business and Politics: Current Events

GRMN 4810

Dr. Heide Crawford
MWF 10:20-11:10
213 Joe Brown Hall

What is going on in German society right now?  What can we learn about German culture through its media? How does Germany represent itself in its media?  Which domestic and international issues are being addressed currently in the German media and why are these issues important to Germans and relevant for the US? In this discussion-oriented class, we will read and discuss news articles in print and online, we will listen to current news broadcasts, podcasts, and we will view videos that address a variety of current events topics in politics, business, and culture that are being addressed in the German media. Our goal in this class is to use and develop our German speaking, listening, reading and writing skills as we learn about and discuss these current events topics in class.
Taught in German.
Prerequisite: GRMN 3020

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