Aims
The module learning aims are
- to read and understand the selected primary texts studied in the original German;
- to read and understand the selected theoretical texts, where necessary, in the original German and also to deal with theoretical texts in English;
- to develop an understanding of German-Jewish literature in the twentieth century and how it reflects on the historical and sociopolitical phenomena that influenced German-Jewish experience in that period;
- to develop an understanding of how we might define German-Jewish writing;
- to develop skills of research and critical analysis of primary and secondary literature in essay work that is well-structured and correctly referenced in coherent English;
- to develop skills of research and critical analysis for oral presentation in class;
- to develop group-work skills in class discussion
.
Content
This course introduces students to German-Jewish literature of the 20th century. It offers a broad historical perspective on the socio-cultural positioning of the German-Jewish subject, focusing on the experiences of exclusion and marginality that characterise the ‘conditio judaica’ (the Jewish condition). Utilising a group of texts that articulate pivotal moments of upheaval, change or crisis in German-Jewish experience of the 20th century, the course provides students with a focused overview of this period up to the contemporary. Franz Kafka’s letter to his father (1919) addresses the consequences of the German-Jewish drive for assimilation that gained momentum in the latter half of the 19th century. Peter Weiss’s autobiographical novel Fluchtpunkt (1965) describes the experience of exile in Sweden during the Second World War. Rafael Seligmann’s novella Rubinsteins Versteigerung (1989) epitomises the paradox of being a German-Jew in Germany after the Holocaust. Barbara Honigmann’s autobiographical sketches in Damals, dann und danach (1999) reflect the continuing dislocation, linguistic and spatial, of contemporary German-Jewish subjects. Her work also provides insight into the experience of German-Jewish women and Jewish life in the GDR. Thematic points of emphasis throughout the course are: dominant and marginal cultures, assimilation, exile, the language of Jewish self-hatred, anti-Semitism, and generational change. A further question for discussion concerns how we might define German-Jewish writing.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to
read and understand the selected primary texts studied in the original German;
critically engage with and evaluate the selected primary texts and the relevant secondary literature;
demonstrate a clear understanding of the specific literary or linguistic topic and its cultural, historical, theoretical and/or linguistic contexts;
present their critical analysis of the primary (literary or linguistic) material in a well-structured and correctly referenced essay in coherent English (or German, where required).
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GRU23131 Zeitgenössische österreichische Literatur) |
(5 ECTS credits) |
MT |
Minimum level: German B1 |
2 pw |
Dr Caitriona Leahy (cleahy@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
MT:
Revision Week: Submission of continuous assessment journal – 100%
|
Description
Aims
- develop an understanding of some major issues in 20th century Austrian literature
- develop competence in and strategies for reading texts in their national / historical context
- develop an appreciation of poststructuralist writing and reading
Content
This module provides an introduction to contemporary Austrian literature by focussing on 3 broadly defined issues: social and political power (Mitterer); coming to terms with national history (Hackl); and contemporary society (Rabinovici).
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to
- read and understand the selected primary texts studied in the original German;
- critically engage with and evaluate the selected primary texts and the relevant secondary literature;
- demonstrate a clear understanding of the specific literary or linguistic topic and its cultural, historical, theoretical and/or linguistic contexts;
- present their critical analysis of the primary (literary or linguistic) material in a well-structured and correctly referenced essay in coherent English (or German, where required).
|
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GR2344 Repräsentationen des Kriegs) |
(5 ECTS credits) |
HT |
Minimum level: German B1 |
2 pw |
Dr Clemens Ruthner (ruthnerc@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
HT:
HT:
Revision Week: Essay (100%) - 2500 words – Due Wed 12.00
Description
|
Aims
This module aims at teaching the critical narratological analysis of historical literary texts dealing with ‘real’ wars to create a better understanding of history and the way literature ‘works’ when it comes to the representation of organized state violence in history (from the 30 Years’ War in the 17th c. to the Yugoslav Sucession Wars in the 1990s, with a special focus on WW1).
Content
After a series of mini-lectures on methoidology and the literary history of war a number of important war texts from German literature will be read and iscussed in class, accompanied by short student presentations.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to
- read and understand the selected primary texts studied in the original German;
- critically engage with and evaluate the selected primary texts and the relevant secondary literature;
- demonstrate a clear understanding of the specific literary or linguistic topic and its cultural, historical, theoretical and/or linguistic contexts;
- present their critical analysis of the primary (literary or linguistic) material in a well-structured and correctly referenced essay in coherent English (or German, where required).
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GRU23122 Slow Travel and Literary Walks in German Literature: From Heine to Sebald) |
(5 ECTS credits) |
HT |
Minimum level: German B1 |
2 pw |
Dr Peter Arnds (arndsp@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
|
Revision Week: Essay (100%) - 2500 words – Due Wed 12.00
|
Description
|
Aims
1) improved Spoken and written German skills;
2) an understanding of
- the philosophy of walking and slow travel
- the significance of walking in German culture;
- the relationship between slow forms of travel in Germany and
a) gender
b) ecology
c) social responsibility
d) other cultures
Content
Aristotle once called those residing outside the polis the idiotes. To his mind someone not being inside the community and holding a political office was not really human. Embarking from this thought of political engagement tied to a Dasein (Gr. pelein > polis) within the community, this seminar aims to analyse slow travel and walking in particular in German literature to reveal the tension between the solitary walker distancing himself from the community with its social and political responsibilities, thus seemingly distancing themselves from history itself according to Frédéric Gros, while at the same time actually engaging more strongly with the global community and its contemporary concerns relating to the environment, politics, and to what Anne Fuchs called the Schmerzensspuren of the past.
The solitary walker on the margins of society is in the unique position to display an augmented sense of social responsibility due to the fact of being more intensely engaged with environmental and political concerns during the walk. This seminar examines the philosophical links between solitary walking in contemporary German literature and social responsibility. It argues that with the slowing down of physical mobility, with the walker’s self-marginalization and constant crossing of boundaries the very act of walking increases political alertness, reflection, a tendency also to protest. We analyse these benefits of walking away from the community/polis for a closer engagement with it and a revelation of what unites the human community rather than divides it through a cross reading between these literary walks and several theories of walking, nomadism, and marginalization of the individual (Michel de Certeau’s The Practice of Everyday Life, Frédéric Gros’ Philosophy of Walking, Ernst Jünger’s Der Waldgang, Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust, Gilles Deleuze’s/Felix Guattari’s Mille Plateaux, Lewis Hyde’s Trickster makes the Myth).
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to
- read and understand the selected primary texts studied in the original German;
- critically engage with and evaluate the selected primary texts and the relevant secondary literature;
- demonstrate a clear understanding of the specific literary or linguistic topic and its cultural, historical, theoretical and/or linguistic contexts;
- present their critical analysis of the primary (literary or linguistic) material in a well-structured and correctly referenced essay in coherent English (or German, where required).
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GRU3300Y German Language 3) |
(5 ECTS credits) |
MT & HT
- MT - GRU33001
- HT - GRU33002
|
Minimum level: German B1/B2; please meet with module co-ordinator before enrolling |
3 pw |
Dr Daragh Downes (downesda@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
|
Oral end of year exam (25%)
Written end of year exam: 2 hours (75%)
|
Description
|
Aims
To develop analytical, critical and descriptive skills in a variety of text types.
To develop narrative, descriptive and rhetorically appropriate skills in writing.
Content
The principal emphasis in this module is on the comprehension and analysis of advanced rhetorical and discursive texts and the production of related text types.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
- conduct an advanced stylistic analysis of different text types
- respond appropriately in writing to journalistic texts
- reproduce set text types using the appropriate style and register
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GR3402 German Language 3) Michaelmas Term half-module = GR3002 (5 ECTS) Hilary Term half-module = GR3004 (5 ECTS) |
(10 ECTS credits) |
MT/HT |
Minimum level: German B1/B2; please meet with module co-ordinator before enrolling |
3 pw |
Dr Caitriona Leahy (cleahy@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
Continuous assessment:
In-class test week 12 MT (20%)
Oral exam at the end of HT (20%)
Written end of year exam: 2 hours (60%) |
Content
The principal emphasis in this module is on the comprehension and analysis of advanced rhetorical and discursive texts and the production of related text types.
Aims
to develop analytical, critical and descriptive skills in a variety of text types
to develop narrative, descriptive and rhetorically appropriate skills in writing and translating
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
- conduct an advanced stylistic analysis of different text types
- respond appropriately in writing to journalistic texts
- reproduce set text types using the appropriate style and register
- translate journalistic and literary text types
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GR3012 German Literary History 2) Michaelmas Term half-module = GR3003 (5 ECTS) Hilary Term half-module = GR3013 (5 ECTS) |
(10 ECTS credits) |
MT/HT |
Minimum level: German B1/B2 |
2 pw |
Professor Mary Cosgrove (cosgroma@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
|
For those taking 10 ECTS:
HT:
1. Monday Week 8: Essay – 2500 words – 50%
2. End-of-year exam – 2 hours – 50%
MT 5 ECTS module only (GRU33011):
Revision Week: Essay (100%) - 2500 words – Due Wed 12.00
HT 5 ECTS module only (GRU33012):
End-of-year exam – 2 hours (100%)
|
Aims
To survey key epochs, developments and concepts, and a range of significant texts, in German literature from the late 18th century to the present.
Content
The module treats German classicism, romanticism, realism, naturalism, expressionism, 'neue Sachlichkeit',
literature 1933-45 and since 1945 by examining key concepts, developments and texts from the relevant epochs.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to
- discuss the developments, trends and themes of German literary history since the 18th century and deploy the relevant critical terms appropriately.
- describe how German literary history relates to the development of modern Germany in this period.
- process the acquired knowledge and apply this critically to the writing of extended analytical essays.
|
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GRU3301Y German Language 4) Michaelmas Term half-module = GRU33011(5 ECTS) Hilary Term half-module = GRU33012 (5 ECTS) |
(10 ECTS credits) |
MT/HT |
Minimum level: German B2; please meet with module co-ordinator before enrolling |
3 pw |
Ms Katrin Eberbach (eberback@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
End of year written exam, 2 hours, 60%
End of year oral examination, 20 min, 40%
To pass this module, students must receive a mark of at least 40 overall in GR4001 and 40 in the GR4001 written paper.
|
Aims
This module is designed to develop advanced oral and written rhetorical skills in the L2.
It also aims to consolidate existing written, oral and aural German language skills through systematic revision of grammatical structures and to
encourage the further development of communicative and cultural competence.
Content
The module develops advanced rhetorical skills in the L2 focus on analysis and production of a range of both written and oral/aural text types,
including editorials, speeches, interviews, ‘Erörterungen’, ‘Kommentare’ and ‘Glossen’.
Methods of Student Teaching and Learning
- Contact teaching (small group teaching)
- Directed learning (group work, homework)
- Experiential learning (presentations)
- Self-directed learning (private study)
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module should be able to:
- understand and analyse the stylistic and rhetorical strategies which characterize complex written and oral text types;
- to filter information and to differentiate between fact and opinion as well as between relevant and irrelevant information in complex oral and written texts;
- produce stylistically appropriate Erörterungen, Kommentare and Glossen on contemporary social, economic, political, literary themes in idiomatic and accurate German;
- give oral presentations at an advanced level in idiomatic and accurate German, using the appropriate register, on contemporary social, economic, political, and literary themes;
- demonstrate a confident use of media such as PowerPoint during presentations and integrate all aspects of communication including gestures, facial expressions, body language;
- to communicate at an advanced level in terms of accuracy, fluency and expression in the L2 in a variety of situations such as discussions, negotiations and interviews;
- demonstrate a sound knowledge and mastery of complex grammar and syntax including indirect speech, hypotaxis, conjunctions, modal particles, in spoken and written German.
|
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GRU44012 Translation) |
(5 ECTS credits) |
HT |
Minimum level: German B2 |
2 pw |
Professor Mary Cosgrove (cosgroma@tcd.ie)/
Dr Caitriona Leahy (cleahy@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
HT:
1. Friday Week 11: Take home written exam, submit Monday week 12, 20%
2. Exam 2 hours, 80%
Aims
Though not translator training as such, the module aims to sensitise participants to issues and techniques for advanced German-English translation
and increase language awareness and linguistic creativity generally. It presupposes a good level of German and English competence accumulated from wide reading and
language practice. The necessity of good English style is stressed. The central productive skill of accurate translation of short extracts presupposes good reading and
comprehension skills. Because of emphasis on practical work via weekly student presentations, discussion of translation theory is limited, though discussion of the texts
and translations / translation rationale will provide some scope to step back and reflect on the processes involved.
Content
The module focuses on practical advanced German/English translation of texts from different registers (journalism, scholarship, literature etc.).
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module stream, students should be able to
demonstrate a high degree of German comprehension (including knowledge of the cultural context);
comprehend and translate advanced texts in the relevant text types into clear, correct English;
render these texts at a satisfactory level of accuracy, consistency and appropriateness of register and expression.
present group translation work to the class, discussing and explaining translation rationale and strategy.
|
| Module Code & Name |
ECTs credits |
Duration and semester |
Prerequisite Subjects |
Contact Hours |
Contact Details |
(GRU4405Y Kunst nach Auschwitz
Michaelmas Term half-module = GRU44051
) |
(10 ECTS credits) |
MT & HT |
Minimum level: German B2 |
2 pw |
Dr Caitriona Leahy (cleahy@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
Revision week:
Essay 1 – 50% – 2500 words due Wed 12.00
Aims
This module aims to give students a broad understanding of the ways in which the holocaust has been represented in various art forms, including fiction, autobiography and the visual arts, and of the philosophical underpinning of these representations.
Content
The module will focus on the close reading and discussion of key works of literature ‘after Auschwitz’ and the comparative analysis of modes of representation in other art forms. This reading will be situated in the context of philosophical and historical explorations of the nature of witnessing.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module stream, students should be able to
- read and understand selected complex primary texts in the original German;
- demonstrate a detailed critical knowledge of the primary texts studied in the course and of the relevant secondary literature;
- display a deeper understanding of the specific literary or linguistic topic and its cultural, historical, theoretical and/or linguistic contexts;
- present a critical analysis of the primary (literary or linguistic) material in a well-structured, correctly referenced essay in coherent English (or German, where required).
|
GRU4406Y Rilke
Michaelmas Term half-module = GRU44061 |
(10 ECTS credits) |
MT & HT |
Minimum level: German B2 |
2 pw |
Dr Daragh Downes (downesda@tcd.ie) |
Assessment
2 x 2500 word essays (due Wed Revision Week MT and HT)
GRU44061: Essay – 100% – 2500 words due end MT Wed Revision Week 12.00
Aims
Through intensive and extensive engagement with Rilke’s texts, across a variety of genres, to
- offer a stimulating conspectus of this key Modernist writer’s oeuvre;
- help students cultivate a meaningful appreciation of the biographical, historical and socio-cultural contexts from which Rilke’s work emerges;
- facilitate students’ exploration of a multiplicity of sophisticated literary-critical reading strategies;
- bring students into productive dialogue with the relevant critical literature.
Content
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) gehört zu den weltweit renommiertesten deutschsprachigen Schriftstellern aller Zeiten. Es fiele einem schwer, sich die europäische Moderne ohne das Oeuvre dieser Figur von außerordentlicher Sensibilität, Intensität und Tiefe vorzustellen.
Dieses Modul bietet uns die Gelegenheit, uns intensiv sowie extensiv mit Rilkes unvergleichlichen Gedichten und Prosaschriften (Fiktion, Essays) zu beschäftigen, darunter Das Stundenbuch (1899-1903), Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge (1910) und die Duineser Elegien (1922).
Das alles unternehmen wir anhand der 2013 vom Anaconda Verlag herausgebrachten einbändigen Ausgabe der gesammelten Werke.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module stream, students should be able to
- read and understand selected complex primary texts in the original German
;
- demonstrate a detailed critical knowledge of the primary texts studied in the course and of the relevant secondary literature;
- display a deeper understanding of the specific literary topic and its cultural, historical, theoretical and/or linguistic contexts;
present a critical analysis of the primary (literary or linguistic) material in a well-structured, correctly referenced essay in coherent English (or German, where required).
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