Undergraduate Courses

Fall 2025

Language Courses

GER 100Y1 (GER) Introduction to German

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101 (online)	MW 9-11	H. Robinson
L0201	MW 11-1	V. Shewfelt
L0301	MW 4-6	M. Weber
L0401	TR 11-1	T. Schaad
L0501	TR 9-11	E. Boran
L0601	TR 4-6	A. Flicker
L5101	MW 6-8	A. Flicker
L5201 (online)	TR 6-8	A. Vivone

This introductory German course is for students with no prior knowledge of the language. It is a year course divided into two sections. Based on a communicative and task-based approach, it is designed to develop proficiency in oral and written communication skills while providing students with knowledge and understanding of the societies and cultures of German-speaking countries. Students will develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through a variety of stimulating off- and on-line activities, both during live meetings and on the reliable online platform accompanying the textbook. Topics cover areas such as introducing and talking about oneself, shopping, telling time and recounting a day, family life, describing and renting an apartment, travel, health and fitness or studying abroad. Vocabulary will be presented in the context of culturally significant issues. Additionally, the course will provide students with a foundation in a number of basic grammatical structures and concepts. Live online sessions will be devoted mostly to communicative and interactive exercises. In addition to preparation at home, regularly participating in and attending the online sessions is paramount in order to successfully complete the course.

GER 200Y1 (GER) Intermediate German I

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	MW 9-11	M. Harutyunan
L0201	TR 9-11	A. Flicker
L5101 (online)	MW 6-8	L. Lackner

This intermediate German language course builds on skills acquired in beginner’s German. It is a year course divided into two sections and is designed to provide students with genuine communication experiences while reviewing and further developing participants’ linguistic and cultural competencies. Students will have a chance to practice and enhance their German speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills by engaging with a variety of texts and media during live classes, as well as on the reliable online platform accompanying the textbook. The themes in the textbook provide a springboard for various online activities, assignments, and vocabulary building tasks. All class readings, videos, projects, and presentations will explore historical, social, political, and popular topics while aspects of Germanic and North American cultures are being compared. Learning strategies and self-assessment are part of every chapter, allowing for differentiation among various types of learners. Students will further practice grammatical structures and acquire vocabulary that will allow them to express opinions, agreements, and disagreements in communicative situations encountered in work, school, and travel. By learning about German, Austrian, and Swiss cities featured in the textbook and supporting materials, students will get to explore regional differences in German-speaking countries. Regular online meetings will be devoted mostly to communicative and interactive exercises and group work. In order to successfully participate in these activities, independent work and preparation are paramount.

GER 300Y1 (GER) Intermediate German II

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	MW 11-1	F. Geddes
L0201	TR 4-6	F. Roessler
L5101	TR 6-8	R. Laszlo

This intermediate German language course builds on GER200Y. It is a year course divided into two sections and focuses on effective oral and written expression, hearing and reading comprehension, in-depth review of grammar as well as the study of more complex structures. Through engagement with a variety of readings, videos, and films on important historical, cultural, social, and political topics in German-speaking countries, students will have the opportunity to practice grammar and vocabulary in embedded and culturally relevant contexts. The aim of this course is to equip students with the skills to understand extended speech, to read articles on contemporary problems, to describe personal experiences and to explain viewpoints on topical issues in speech and in writing. The textbook offers engaging culture topics, authentic readings, contextualized grammar and a reliable online platform. Regular online meetings will be devoted to communicative and interactive exercises and group work. In order to successfully participate in these activities, independent work and preparation are paramount.

GER 400HF (GER) Advanced German I

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	TR 1-3	E. Boran

This course is aimed at students with a high level of competence in German. Building on material covered in GER 100/200/300, it offers advanced studies of German language, including text-based analysis and with a focus on improving communication skills. It includes a systematic review and expansion of grammar and stylistics, and additional emphasis lies on vocabulary building. The course is partly based on newspaper articles, literary texts, films and websites.

GER 261HF (YID) Elementary Yiddish

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	M 10-12	M. Borden

This course introduces Yiddish language, literature, music, theater, and cinema through interactive multi-media seminars, designed to build proficiency in reading, writing and comprehending. No prior knowledge of Yiddish is required.

GER360HF (YID) Intermediate Yiddish

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T 11-1	H. Wickham

The course conducted in Yiddish offers a review of basic grammar, stylistics, study of short literary texts.

Topic Courses

GER150HF (ENG) Introduction to German Culture
*Open to students in all disciplines. No knowledge of German required.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	W 11-1	H.-S. Kim

Are you curious about German culture? What comes to your mind when you think of things German? Beer and sausages, high-performance cars, the Black Forest, or a mania for efficiency? This course moves beyond these cultural stereotypes and offers a kaleidoscopic view of German culture in its varied manifestations, be it in the form of cultural artifacts, great works of literature, family histories, or big ideas. We will explore world-shaping ideas and inventions from the Reformation and the Gutenberg Press to Bauhaus and modern industrial design, the connection between the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales and their nation-building efforts, German fantasies about Indigenous North America and the longing for untouched nature, and personal narratives that grapple with the Nazi past and divided Germany. Ideal for students from across the disciplines, the course invites you to think critically about what constitutes German culture while expanding your cross-cultural understanding and global perspective.

GER 194HF (ENG) Our Vampires, Ourselves
*FYF (First-Year-Foundation) seminars exclusively for first-year students

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	F 11-1	E. Boran

Vampires are among the most fascinating figures of popular culture. Since Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) – and, in fact, well before that – they have been haunting the human imagination in various shapes and forms. But, of course, vampires have existed much longer than that – first in folktales and later, well before Stoker’s ominous Count, in German poetry. This course examines the figure of the vampire as a potent cultural metaphor showing how every age embraces the vampires it needs and gets the vampires it deserves. The goal is to teach students to reflect critically and independently on issues of self and society and to develop a structured approach to critical thinking in general. While focusing on what may be called the “Stoker paradigm”, we will go far beyond the portrayal of vampires as the absolute other. Students will have the opportunity to research individual topics to be presented in class.

GER 290HF (ENG) Global Issues – German Contexts
*Open to students in all disciplines. No knowledge of German required.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	W 4-6	S. Soldovieri

Why did Walmart’s attempt to break into the German market go down in flames? What factors have turned soccer clubs like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund into global brands? How has globalization impacted traditional German culture and what is unique about the German and European experience of globalization?

The course explores the contemporary character of globalization patterns and problems in German contexts and prepares students for future academic and professional opportunities in Germany and beyond. The course is highly recommended as preparation for students interested in participating in iPRAKTIKUM, the Department of German’s internationalization and experiential Learning program, which provides exciting placements in Germany and the GTA. It also fulfills a requirement for the U of T’s Global Scholar Certificate.

GER 310HF (GER) Contemporary German Culture & Media
*Pre-requisite: GER 200Y or Placement Test.

Section	Time	Instructor
L5101	F 11-1	T. Hof

This course provides students with the opportunity to encounter more advanced texts focusing on modern German culture, as expressed through a variety of media. It examines a range of issues that have changed the way we look at culture, as well as the impact of these changes on national identity. It offers a diverse view of German life based on reading selections from literary works, memoirs, newspaper reports, commentaries, and interdisciplinary materials which highlight important cultural movements.

GER 345HF (ENG) Nietzsche
*Open to students in all disciplines. No knowledge of German required.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T 3-5 (Tutorials: R 1-2 & 2-3)	W. Goetschel

Notorious for The Will to Power, a book he did not write but his sister put together from a stash of notes, Nietzsche presents the exemplary enfant terrible of modern philosophy. Provocation and inspiration alike, his interventions continue to be an enduring challenge to modern thought. This course examines the central ideas of his philosophy and their epistemological, cultural, and political significance.

GER 367HF (ENG) Topics in Yiddish/German Jewish Literature and Culture
*Open to students in all disciplines. Taught in English.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101 (online)	M 1-3	M. Borden

GER 426HF (ENG) Medieval Language and Culture
*Pre-requisite: GER300Y/GER205H or Placement Test.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	F 10-12	M. Stock

Delve into the fascinating cultures of medieval Germany! The course is an introduction to the German language and literature of the Middle Ages. Look no further if you want to know more about queens in power, knights and chivalry, or the origins of Romantic love in Europe. The course also provides some introduction to German language history. We learn to read the original medieval German language. In addition, part of the course is devoted to all aspects of medieval German culture, including its rich manuscript culture. We tackle foundational texts such as the first German love songs and one of the most famous medieval narrative texts in the German language, Hartmann von Aue’s Erec (late twelfth century). No previous exposure to medieval culture or language required!

Spring 2025

Language Courses

GER 100Y1/101HS* (GER) Introduction to German
*Enrolment in GER101HS is restricted to students who have been placed into the course through the Placement Test.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101 (online)	MW 9-11	S. Gargova
L0201	MW 11-1	E. Auten
L0301	MW4-6	T. Humeniuk
L0401	TR 11-1	S. Mostafa
L0501	TR 9-11	E. Boran
L0601	TR 4-6	V. Shewfelt
L5101	MW 6-8	T. Humeniuk
L5201 (online)	TR 6-8	L. Lackner

GER 200Y1/201HS* (GER) Intermediate German I
*Enrolment in GER201HS is restricted to students who have been placed into the course through the Placement Test.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	MW 9-11	R. Laszlo
L0201	TR 9-11	L. Lackner
L5101 (online)	MW 6-8	S. Gargova

GER 300Y1/301HS* (GER) Intermediate German II
*Enrolment in GER301HS is restricted to students who have been placed into the course through the Placement Test.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	MW 10-12	F. Geddes
L0201	TR 4-6	L. Reitz
L5101	TR 6-8	R. Laszlo

GER 401HS (GER) Advanced German 2

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	TR 9-11	F. Geddes

GER 262HS (YID) Elementary Yiddish 2

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	M 10-12/W 10-11	J. Hermant

This course is the continuation of GER261H1, Elementary Yiddish 1. While learning the language the course will also introduce students to Yiddish literature & culture, providing a greater understanding of the historical and contemporary, religious and secular communities that speak and spoke this language.

GER 460HS (YID) Advanced Yiddish

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T 2-5	A. Shternshis

Advanced reading, writing, vocabulary and conversation. Study of poetry, short fiction and memoir literature by Zeitlin, Bergelson, Gladshteyn, Sholem Aleichem and I.B. Singer. Selected advanced grammatical topics presented in conjunction with the study of texts. (Conducted entirely in Yiddish.)

Topic Courses

GER 205HS (GER) Masterpieces of German Literature 1
*Pre-requisite: GER100Y; Co-requisite: GER200Y
A required course for the German major program and pre-requisite course for most of the 300-level topic GER courses. Cannot be taken after the completion of GER300Y/301H.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T 1-3 & R 1-2	E. Boran

This prerequisite course offers an introduction to work methods and skills pertaining to the study of German literature. As such, the course is meant to provide a transition from language to topic courses. Students will receive training in how to give a successful presentation, how to read and analyze texts, how to find secondary literature and how to write short papers. The course is required for majors and specialists and a pre-requisite course for most of the other topic courses. It should be taken as early as possible.

GER251HS (ENG) German and European Cinema
*Open to students in all disciplines. No knowledge of German required.

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	W 1-5 (Screening time included)	A. Fenner

This course introduces students to a crucial period in the history of the German cinema: its “golden age” during the Weimar Republic (1918-1933), which witnessed the consolidation of classical techniques of filmmaking and the birth of specific genre conventions that still hold popular appeal today: the crime thriller, melodrama, science fiction, and the mountain film. To understand why these genres evolved, we examine contemporaneous historical and aesthetic movements such as Expressionism and “New Objectivity,” as well as the basic distinction between realism and Soviet-influenced montage, and the so-called “Kino Debates” in which the distinction between literature and film in mass culture were contested among contemporaneous theorists and practitioners.

Films of Fritz Lang, Ernst Lubitsch, Friedrich Murnau, Wilhelm Pabst, and Joseph von Sternberg address the major upheavals of the early twentieth-century: post-traumatic stress from World War I, changing terms of women’s participation in the public sphere, the rationalization of private and civic life under the dual terms of technological ‘advances’ and capitalist enterprise, the vacillations of the money market and the social and psychological impact resulting from economic insecurity, and the dangers and attractions of authoritarian political figures and institutions. We close the course with select sound films from the early 1930s, to clarify how that technological transition transformed storytelling in ‘moving pictures’.

This course is open to students across disciplines but also fulfills requirements for majors, minors, and specialists in German and in Cinema Studies. Language of instruction is English and all screened films carry English subtitles.

GER 272HS (GER) Introduction to Business German
*Pre-/Co-Requisite: GER 200Y/201H or placement test

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T&R 11-1	S. Gargova

This course introduces students to basic concepts and vocabulary necessary for the German business context. All the language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) will be practiced in appropriate business contexts.

GER 323HS (GER) Weimar: Sex & Politics in the Roaring Twenties
*Pre-/Co-Requisite: GER 205H or placement test

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	M 1-3	W. Goetschel

Focusing roughly on the period from 1918 to 1945, this course examines literary and artistic movements like Dada, Bauhaus, the Golden Age in German film in the decades between World War I and Nazism.

GER 325HS (GER) Soundtrack of a Nation: German History through Music
*Pre-/Co-Requisite: GER 205H or placement test

Section	Time	Instructor
L5101	T 5-7	T. Hof

From Heintje to Apache 207, from Wind of Change to 99 Luftballons – German music doesn’t just entertain, it reflects and shapes society. This seminar invites you on a musical journey through (West-)German postwar history: youth rebellion, the economic miracle, protest movements, Cold War fears, reunification dreams, and post-migrant identities. We’ll explore how songs can be powerful historical sources and decode what they reveal about shifting values, political tensions, and cultural change. Come ready to listen, think – and maybe hum along.

GER 334HS (GER) Post-Migrant Germany
*Pre-/Co-Requisite: GER 205H or placement test

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	F 11-1	E. Boran

This course investigates contemporary German culture by paying attention to its other or alternate voices and perspectives, i.e. those not usually prevalent in mainstream cultural and sociopolitical discourses.

BMS 301HS L0201 (ENG) Combat in Media and Art

Section	Time	Instructor
L0201	M 3-5	J. Zilcosky

This course offers a historical exploration of the relationship between art and physical combat as represented and/or enacted in various media. Taking as its subject ancient artefacts, literature, painting, and film from a variety of cultures and historical moments, this course asks what representations of combat say about why humans engage in combat sports. It also explores and analyses the forms through which this combat itself is enacted – whether in wooded glades; on small, confined stages; in tents; or through a variety of televisual and cinematic media – to delve into the implications of meaning, media, and communal ritual in a variety of historical and contemporary contexts.