German Studies 323 - Topic: Visions and Discoveries

The 'long 19th century,' with the political explosion of the French Revolution and the scientific explosion of the steam engine, burst into modernity, defining itself and the 'short 20th century' in manifold areas: science, economics, politics, art, literature, education. Controversial values are attributed to concepts like secularization, nation-building, industrialization, and democratization. We will analyze representations in film and text of such discoveries and visions, e.g., in bacteriology, environmentalism, political and social upheaval, the concept of a democratic nation state, Marx's theories; Bismarck's German unification, the social-security system; and women's movements.