Undergraduate Courses

Fall 2023

Language Courses

GER 100Y1/*102Y (GER) Introduction to German

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101 -online-	MW 9-11	S. Gargova
L0201	MW 11-1	TBA
L0301*	MW1-3	TBA
L0401	TR 11-1	H.-S. Kim
L0501*	TR 10-12	TBA
L0601	TR 4-6	TBA
L5101	MW 6-8	TBA
L5201 -online-	TR6-8	TBA

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 10-12	TBA
L0201	TR 10-12	E. Boran
L5101 -online-	MW 6-8	S. Gargova

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 10-12	TBA
L0201	TR 10-12	TBA
L5101	TR 6-8	TBA

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 10-12	TBA

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 260Y1 (YID) Elementary Yiddish

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	MWF 12-1	TBA

This course is an introduction to the Yiddish language and culture of Ashkenazic Jews. It will begin to prepare you to be able to express yourself in Yiddish, acquire strategies to learn Yiddish independently by developing your ability to understand the structure of the language and to cue in on the features of spoken and written Yiddish.

GER 360HF Intermediate Yiddish

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	W 12-1/F 12-2	TBA

This course will build on the knowledge and skills you’ve acquired in beginner’s Yiddish. Emphasis will shift slightly towards reading literature and conducting conversations. We will continue to work with In Eynem, completing the second volume of the book, with additional materials from College Yiddish. You will write compositions and summaries, acquire new vocabulary words, listen to recordings, watch films, and give presentations.

Topic Courses

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

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T 2-4	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 195HF Cities – Real and Imagined
*FYF (First-Year-Foundation) seminars exclusively for first-year students*

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	F 12-2	H.-S. Kim

Cities have been described as places of desire and places of fear. They pulse with life, bringing together people from different class, gender, and ethnic backgrounds, simultaneously giving rise to a sense of freedom and oppression, a sense of belonging and alienation. This course will explore the city as a physical reality that shapes our lives, but is also a projection of our deepest imaginings. Through readings of philosophical and sociological texts by influential theorists of the city, we will consider various ancient and modern conceptions of urban space and subjectivity. Alongside these theoretical readings, we will also examine literary and filmic representations of the city as a space of desire, memory and power.

GER 305HF (GER) German Literature II

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T 3-5/R 1-2	J. Noyes

PREREQUISITE: GER 205H

Building on GER 205H, this course provides an introduction to German literature and culture from the 18th to the 21st century. Within a chronological and thematic framework, we will read and analyze excerpts from representative works of major German writers. Students learn to read critically and to consider the literary qualities of the German language. The course is required for majors and specialists; it should be taken as soon after GER 205 as possible.

NOTES: Required course for majors and specialists. / Prerequisite for 400-level topic courses in German.

GER 310HF (GER) Contemporary Culture & Media

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	M 11-1	C. Lehleiter

This course focuses on selected aspects central to contemporary German culture and society. Topics such as current political and societal debates, the production of art and culture, and the sentiment of the everyday life will be explored. Based on intriguing reading selections from various media, including news sources, literary works, columns, film and video, the course offers a diverse view of contemporary German life. Students will gain practice in all four language skills (reading and listening comprehension, writing, speaking) and have opportunities for creative work in addition to traditional assignments.

GER 320HF (GER) The Age of Goethe

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	W 3-5	W. Goetschel

This course introduces to the rich life of the various literary movements during the Age of Goethe (1750-1830). Readings include seminal texts of early European modernity – among them Lessing’s Nathan the Wise and Goethe’s Faust drama – as well as some of the great poetry by the most eminent literary figures active during the period from Enlightenment to Romanticism and the “Ende der Kunstperiode” (Heine).

GER 321HF (GER) 19th Century German Literature

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T 1-3	C. Lehleiter

When in 1899 an anonymous writer sent the New Year’s card displayed above, he could look back at a century that had brought enormous changes for the territory that today is Germany. Fighting against Napoleon, Germany’s national feelings had been strengthened and a German state had emerged from a conglomerate of small duchies governed by absolutist rulers. Political revolts had challenged these absolutistic forms of government and had started to replace it with a democratic state of classes. The composition of German society had changed dramatically as a result of the industrial revolution which had replaced traditional manufacturing with mass production by machines and with private capital. The human suffering and social challenges triggered by the industrial revolution had led to new political movements like communism and socialism. Despite these challenges, however, the century had been shaped by the belief in progress and the optimism that new scientific discoveries would lead to a better life for Germany and mankind. In this course, we will study how German authors reflected on these changes in literary, political and philosophical texts. Our work in class will be shaped by class discussions, group work, and occasional lectures. Assignments and discussions will be in German.

GER 323HF (GER) Weimar Culture & Beyond

Section	Time	Instructor
T0101	W 12-2	J. Noyes

The political instability of the Weimar Republic, fueled by the effects of the Global Economic Crisis, facilitated Hitler’s election in 1933. Yet at the same time it was a period of extraordinary political, social and artistic achievements. Expressionism, Dada, Neue Sachlichkeit, Bauhaus, and the Golden Age of German Film are some of the buzz words which belong to the legacy of Weimar. This course studies literary, historical, and artistic documents of this extremely significant period in German history.

GER 334HF (GER) Transnational Literatures

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	F 10-12	E. Boran

This course looks at the 50+ year cultural history of Germany’s largest ethnic minority. Starting in the 1960s, Turks first came as labour migrants (‘guest workers’) and later, in the 1980s, as asylum seekers; there were always artists among them. With them new impulses and perspectives reached German culture. First in Turkish, but soon also in German the migrants reacted to and interacted with their new surroundings. Over the years a vibrant Turkish-German cultural scene developed. Comparable to the political realm, their cultural integration was filled with challenges and obstacles. Nonetheless artists of Turkish origin have since become such an integral part of Germany’s cultural landscape that the scholar Leslie Adelson talks about a Turkish turn of German literature. This development is not restricted to literature, but also encompasses film, political cabaret, stand-up comedy, rap and hip-hop, etc.

GER 361HF (ENG) Topics in Yiddish/German Jewish Literature & Culture

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	F 1-3	TBA

An overview of the major figures and tendencies in modern Yiddish literature and culture from the beginning of the 19 th century to the present, featuring readings of mode rn Yiddish prose, poetry, drama and cinema. Students with knowledge of Yiddish are encouraged to read some original texts. [Taught in English and open to students across disciplines.]

GER 426HF (GER) Introduction to Medieval German

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	M 2-4	M. Stock

This course offers an introduction to the German language, literature, and culture of the Middle Ages. We will read and translate Middle High German texts, study facsimiles of medieval manuscripts, and inquire into epochal cultural concepts like courtly love and chivalry as well as courtly and clerical designs of identity. Authors discussed will include Hartmann von Aue and Walther von der Vogelweide among others. The course fulfills the departmental requirement in Middle High German.

Spring 2024

Language Courses

GER 100Y1/101HS Introduction to German

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101 -online-	MW 9-11	TBA
L0201	MW 11-1	TBA
L0301*	MW1-3	TBA
L0401	TR 11-1	H.-S. Kim
L0501*	TR 10-12	TBA
L0601	TR 4-6	TBA
L5101	MW 6-8	TBA
L5201 -online-	TR6-8	TBA

GER 200Y1/*201HS (GER) Intermediate German I

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	MW 10-12	TBA
L0201	TR 10-12	TBA
L5101 -online-	MW 6-8	S. Gargova

GER 300Y1/*301HS (GER) Intermediate German II

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	MW 10-12	TBA
L0201	TR 10-12	TBA
L5101	TR 6-8	TBA

GER 401HS (GER) Advanced German 2

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	TR 10-12	E. Boran

GER 260Y1 (YID) Elementary Yiddish

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	MWF 12-1	TBA

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 150HS (ENG) German Culture & Civilization

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	F 11-1 Tut F1-2/2-3	H.-S. Kim

This is an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the contemporary cultural, social, economic, and political life of the German-speaking peoples in their historical and international context. Intended for students who are relatively unfamiliar with German culture, the course demonstrates the diverse ways students may understand and interpret “things German” [Taught in English and open to students across disciplines.]

GER 205HS (GER) German Literature I

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.

GER 251HS (ENG) Topics in German and European Cinema: The Aesthetics and Politics of 21^st-Century Precarity

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	R 9-1 (incl. screening)	A. Fenner

In Europe, as across the planet, more and more people are encountering precarity, whether stemming from endemic poverty, social exclusion, political instability in conflict zones, or climate change leading to loss of home and livelihood. This course explores these topical concerns in 21^st-century German cinema alongside other European productions. Attending to their social discourses, poetics and reception, we’ll explore how innovations in film form enable us to rethink precarity in its existential and material dimensions? Can insights gleaned from the German context inspire more sustainable social relations, economic justice, and a rethinking of our place in and relationship with broader ecologies? Rubrics include ‘Berlin School’ films, Austrian experimental film, digital videos by Syrian refugees assembled from footage shot in transit, documentaries by German environmental activists, another about a German call center in Turkey, Italian documentaries about Mediterranean border crossing, the Greek Weird Wave, Romanian New Wave, the Belgian Dardenne brothers, the Finnish Aki Kaurismäki and British Andrea Arnold. Class time is devoted to lecture, discussion, and group work drawing from course texts accompanying weekly screenings. Course given in English, with subtitled films.

GER 270HS (ENG) Money and Economy in German Literature and Culture

Section	Time	Instructor
T0101	W 10-12	C. Lehleiter

In this course, we examine key literary, philosophical, and cultural texts, in order to understand how modern culture approaches problems such as property, debt, and exchange value.

GER 272HS (GER) Introduction to Business German

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	TR 10-12	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 290HS (ENG) Global Issues: German Contexts

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	W 2-4	S. Soldovieri

The movement of cultural products, material goods, capital, people, ideas, and information across national border s has resulted in a new quality of global inter dependency. The course examines the contemporary character of globalization with a special focus on its environmental impacts in German-speaking contexts. We consider artistic, cultural, technological, and social practices in German-speaking and global contexts that explore questions of sustainability and a livable future. The course is highly recommended as preparation for students interested in participating in the Department’s iPRAKTIKUM Internationalization & Experiential Learning internship program – particularly for placements with futurGenerator organizations in Germany. (Visit: https://german.utoronto.ca/ipraktikum/)

GER 326HS (GER) Writing Memory: Post 1945

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	T 2-4	J. Noyes

German literature in the aftermath of World War II started from a new beginning, with many authors attempting to find a way of describing the shocking, nihilistic experience of war and devastation – often taking their cue from foreign models or existentialist and traditional Christian trains of thought. This course offers an examination of this post-War literature and culture from ‘Zero Hour’ through to contemporary debates about the Holocaust and its memorization. Texts by authors such as Günter Grass, Herinrich Böll, Ulrich Plenzdorf, Christa Wolf, Peter Schneider, Bernhard Schlink, Peter Weiss, Zafer Senocak and others.

GER 336HS (GER) Focus on Berlin – What Lies Beyond the Wall

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	F 10-12	E. Boran

Vor sechzig Jahren, am 13. August 1961, wurde fast von einem Tag auf den nächsten die berüchtigte Berliner Mauer hochgezogen, die danach Jahrzehnte lang das Schicksal aller Deutschen, vor allem aber der Berliner prägte – ein Symbol des Kalten Krieges und eine Trennlinie zwischen gegensätzlichen Ideologien, die das Land in zwei Teile spaltete. Am 9. November 1989 fiel die Mauer, und im Jahr darauf feierte Deutschland die Wiedervereinigung. Trotzdem scheint die Trennung bis heute nicht ganz überwunden, der Schatten der Mauer liegt immer noch über der Stadt. Die physische Mauer mag mehr oder minder verschwunden sein, eine mentale Mauer aber ist geblieben – ganz wie der Autor Peter Schneider 1982 vorhersagte: “Die Mauer im Kopf einzureißen wird länger dauern, als irgendein Abrissunternehmen für die sichtbare Mauer braucht.”

GER 430HS (ENG) Topics in German Lit. & Culture

Section	Time	Instructor
L0101	M 2-4	J. Noyes

German society has changed dramatically in the past decades. And it has led to a shift and transformation of how it can be socially and culturally defined, especially in regards to the discourses on identity and belonging. Artists of color and those whose families once immigrated to Germany are pushing boundaries and claiming (public, political, artistic and aesthetic) space! This course offers a conversation on how contemporary ‘postmigrant’ German society is envisioned through theatre, film and writing. Cultural productions by artists like Fatma Ayedemir & Hengameh Yaghoobifarah, Max Czollek, Olga Grjasnowa, Arkadij Khaet, Olivia Wenzel, Necati Öziri and others will be discussed and examined.