COURSE INFORMATION

 

course description | grade distribution | required texts | course policies

Class Time: M, W, F 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Room: Ridgley 122
Instructor: Lutz Koepnick
Email: koepnick@wustl.edu
Telephone: 935-4350
Office: Ridgley 328
Office Hours: M 11-12 & F 1-2, and by appointment
   
Subsections: Click here for details
Teaching Asst.: Nele Willaert
Email: nwillaer@artsci.wustl.edu
Telephone: 935-5106
Office: Ridgley 418
Office Hours: TBA
   

Course Description


Advanced German 302D is designed to refine and expand your German communication skills (speaking, listening, writing, reading). The course will introduce you to a more sophisticated use of vocabulary, and work through problems of stylistic expression. At the same time, the course will introduce you to a variety of cultural issues pertinent to contemporary Germany and help you learn to interpret and evaluate fictional and non-fictional materials.

The majority of texts and films this semester focus on the relationship between children or young adults and the world around them. Most of our readings deal with issues of individual transformation and redress, of generational conflict and imaginary escape. We will witness protagonists struggling with past traditions or searching for new orientations. We will encounter young people realizing their dreams and passions or being shattered by the intractable order of the day. And we will read novels and view films that, in spite of their very personal voices and designs, enable us to explore the diversity and heterogeneity of German culture since the early twentieth century.

 

Grade Distribution

Your final grade will be determined by the following breakdown:

  • 50% classwork
  • 40% weekly essays
  • 10% final essay

Required Texts


Materials marked "ERES" in the course schedule are availabe from the Electronic Reserve System at Washington University. Login and password to be announced in class.

All other books available for purchase at the Washington University Bookstore:

  • Erich Kästner, Emil und die Detektive. ISBN: 3791530127
  • Hermann Hesse, Demian. ISBN: 3518367064
  • Jenny Erpenbeck, Geschichte vom alten Kind. ISBN: 3442726867
  • Bodo Kirchhoff, Der Sandmann. ISBN: 3518388304
  • Christian Kracht, 1979. ISBN: 3423130784
  • Uwe Timm, Am Beispiel meines Bruders. ISBN: 3462033204

 

Course Policies


This class will be conducted entirely in German. Advanced German is a work-intensive course. Its success will depend on you and the amount of time you invest. Please be aware that attendance in both the main section and the subsection is crucial. Unexcused absences affect your grade in the performance and written homework category.

The bi-weekly subsection is an integral part of this course. It is designed to review grammar issues and improve your writing. Weekly writing assignments for this subsections are due every Friday by 1 pm.

Late work will not be accepted, except in the case of serious illness, medical emergency, or some other compelling mitigating circumstance. Other coursework, job requirements, or other class projects are not considered mitigating circumstances. The major assignments will be given to you well enough in advance for you plan your schedules accordingly. All major assignments must be completed in order to pass this course. "Incomplete" grades and extensions are not available without documented evidence of extraordinary hardships (e.g., medical problems). Having a heavy workload is not an extraordinary hardship.

Any work that is plagiarized (borrowing someone else's ideas or information without proper citation; making improper use of tranlsation engines, etc.) will be graded an "F." Further disciplinary action may also be taken.

Readings must be completed prior to class. The amount of reading is heavier some weeks than others, so don't put it off to the last minute.

 

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