German Studies Junior Seminar

This course is designed to introduce majors to the wide range of topics and approaches included within contemporary German Studies. With the help of departmental faculty, we will get a taste of representative works from different periods of German cultural history, including texts, visual arts and music. We will also explore how scholars in different disciplines, such as history and cultural studies in the humanities, and anthropology and political science in the social sciences approach the relatively new, interdisciplinary field of German Studies. Conducted in English.

Witches: Myth and Reality

This course focuses on various aspects of witches/witchcraft in order to examine the historical construction of the witch in the context of the social realities of women (and men) labeled as witches. The main areas covered are: European pagan religions and the spread of Christianity; the "Burning Times" in early modern Europe, with an emphasis on the German situation; 17th-century New England and the Salem witch trials; the images of witches in folk lore and fairy tales in the context of the historical persecutions; and contemporary Wiccan/witch practices in their historical context.

Modern German History

Social, cultural, and intellectual history of German-speaking countries since the 17th century. Emphasis on great social and political shiftsothe rise of the modern state, unification and division of Germany, the phenomenon of urban culture, the emergence of the modern family, the role of women; major intellectual and cultural movements: Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Social Democracy, Jugendstil, 20th-century avant-gardes and right-wing reaction leading to National Socialism, and contemporary issues. Conducted in English. (Gen.Ed. HS, DG)

Representing the Holocaust

Major writers, works, and themes concerning the Holocaust and its representation and commemoration. Exploration of narrative responses (including film, memoirs, poetry, video testimony, music, and memorials) to the genocide of European Jews and other peoples during World War II. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

Representing the Holocaust

Major writers, works, and themes concerning the Holocaust and its representation and commemoration. Exploration of narrative responses (including film, memoirs, poetry, video testimony, music, and memorials) to the genocide of European Jews and other peoples during World War II. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

Representing the Holocaust

Major writers, works, and themes concerning the Holocaust and its representation and commemoration. Exploration of narrative responses (including film, memoirs, poetry, video testimony, music, and memorials) to the genocide of European Jews and other peoples during World War II. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

Representing the Holocaust

Major writers, works, and themes concerning the Holocaust and its representation and commemoration. Exploration of narrative responses (including film, memoirs, poetry, video testimony, music, and memorials) to the genocide of European Jews and other peoples during World War II. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

Representing the Holocaust

Major writers, works, and themes concerning the Holocaust and its representation and commemoration. Exploration of narrative responses (including film, memoirs, poetry, video testimony, music, and memorials) to the genocide of European Jews and other peoples during World War II. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

Representing the Holocaust

Major writers, works, and themes concerning the Holocaust and its representation and commemoration. Exploration of narrative responses (including film, memoirs, poetry, video testimony, music, and memorials) to the genocide of European Jews and other peoples during World War II. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)
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