course description | grade distribution | required texts | course policies

Music has often been understood as “the most German of all arts,” a cultural expression able to access the deepest layers of the individual’s soul as much as to shape collective belonging. This course traces the intense relationship between German literature and music from the early nineteenth century to the post-unification period. Whereas nineteenth-century authors such as E.T.A. Hoffmann, Grillparzer, Kleist, and Schopenhauer often associated music with aesthetic genius, introversion, death, and redemption; and whereas the works of later writers such as Friedrich Nietzsche or Thomas Mann turned post-Romantic musical forms into sources of modernist experimentation; in very recent years pop-authors such as Thomas Meinecke, Andreas Neumeister, Feridun Zaimoglu, and Benjamin Stuckrad-Barre reference different aspects of contemporary music culture—e.g., Techno, Rap, and the figure of the DJ—to infuse German literature with new sensibilities and transcend traditional boundaries between high culture and the popular. Discussing a wide range of novels, short stories, plays, essayistic texts, philosophical treatises, operas, and musical films from the last two hundred years, this course is designed to explore the productive interaction between the literary and the musical, not only to understand how music has shaped and continues to shape cultural identities in Germany, but also to explore how literary expressions can borrow from highly diverse musical idioms in order to complicate their formal registers. All readings and discussions in German.

Materials marked "ARES" in the course schedule are available from the Automatic Reserve System at Washington University. Login and password to be announced in class.

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

• Heinrich von Kleist, Die heilige Cäcilie (ISBN: 3150080045)
• E.T.A. Hoffmann, Rat Krespel (ISBN: 3150052742)
• Franz Grillparzer, Der arme Spielmann (ISBN: 3150044308)
• Richard Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (ISBN: 315005639X)
• Friedrich Nietzsche, Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik (ISBN: 3150071313)
• Thomas Mann, Tristan (ISBN: 3150064317)
• Thomas Bernhard, Der Untergeher (ISBN: 3518379976)
• Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, Soloalbum (ISBN: 3442452031)

Course evaluations will be available at the end of the semester at: evals.wustl.edu

Policy on Pass/Fail Grading Option:
Students who take Comparative Literature courses under the Pass/Fail option must receive a grade of C- or better in order to qualify for the Pass on their final grade.

Academic Integrity: Students are bound by the University policy on academic integrity in all aspects of this course.  All references to ideas and texts other than the students' own must be so indicated through appropriate footnotes, whether the source is a book, an online site, the professor, etc.  All students are responsible for following the rules outlined in the document regarding the University academic integrity policy: http://www.wustl.edu/policies/undergraduate-academic-integrity.html

Special accommodations for students with disabilities. Students seeking disability-related accommodations and guidance from the University must contact the Center for Advanced Learning Disability Resources, Cornerstone (DR) upon enrollment or once diagnosed.  Unlike high school students, college and graduate students are expected to identify themselves and to make specific requests for accommodations by notifying DR. Eligibility for accommodations is determined on an individual basis. Requests must be supported by professional documentation and must be renewed each semester. DR will guide students (undergraduates, graduate students, and prospective students) through each step of this process. Instructors will maintain strict confidentiality regarding disability issues and related accommodations, and will refer students directly to http://disability.wustl.edu/.