German Undergraduate Winter Courses

Winter 2024

GER 2. Elementary German.

Continuation of German 1.

 

GER 2G. German for Graduate Students.

Gisela Kommerell

Course is a continuation of German 1G, using the same approach, with reading texts on a more complex level.

 

GER 5. Intermediate German.

Continuation of German 4.

GER 35/ C LIT 35. Making of the Modern World.

Sybille Kramer

Description and analysis of decisive events contributing to the world we are inhabiting. Various themes presented: City planning, war and industrial warfare, technology and media- technology, ideologies of modernity, and modern master theories. 

GER 101B. Advanced German.

Evelyn Reder / Kelsey White

Speaking, listening, reading, and writing on an advanced level, while exploring contemporary German culture. Systematic review of grammar material. Additional focus on vocabulary building. Written and oral discussions based on newspaper articles, literary texts, German films, and websites. Topics will vary by quarter.

 

GER 105C. Advanced German Conversation.

Gisela Kommerell

Emphasizes interactional strategies needed for communication in German, while also giving intermediate and advanced students the opportunity to discuss a wide variety of topics. Not open to students with native fluency in German.

 

GER 107A. History of Culture

Anna Pajak

Careful and close readings from the cultural history of German speaking countries. Materials, which may be revised each academic year, include documents from literature, philosophy, art, music, architecture, science, politics, and law. Taught in German.

 

GER 113. Special Topics in German Literature

Wolf Kittler

Prerequisite: German 6 and 101A-B-C.

In-depth study of special topics in literary texts of German-speaking traditions. Topics will vary by instructor. Topics may include: "Science in German Literature," "Literature and human rights," "Animals in literature," "Literature and the environment." Taught in German.

 

GER 152. Digital Humanities Practice

Fabian Offert

In the 21st century, scholars have increasingly turned to computational methods for the analysis of large corpora of art and literature. While early methods of "distant reading" and "distant viewing" could be realized with off-the-shelf software, contemporary research in the digital humanities requires technical skills beyond ready-made tools. This course provides an introduction to computer programming for the humanities, including, but not limited to concepts from natural language processing, computer vision, and machine learning.

 

German 155: Critical Artificial Intelligence

Fabian Offert

Artificial intelligence now affects nearly all aspects of human life and knowledge production, from labor to language, and from fundamental physics to the arts. The pivotal role of the humanities lies in the critical analysis of the specific cultural techniques emerging from this technical revolution: new methods of language processing, image production, scientific reasoning, and social control require new critical and historical approaches. This course provides an introduction to the history and theory of artificial intelligence from the perspective of the humanities. Participants will acquire the skills to analyze and understand the design and construction of machine learning systems, and their philosophical and political implications.

 

German 179C/ C LIT 179C: Mediatechnology

Wolf Kittler

Telegraph, telephone, phonograph, and film are techniques that have engendered new forms of representation, communication, and thinking. Course studies the impact of these transformations in literature and on literature. Taught in English.