Southern Illinois University Carbondale

German 101B

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German 101B: German Language and Culture II

Course Description: This course continues an introduction to the language and culture of the German-speaking peoples. It combines an overview of German political, economic, social, and aesthetic developments with the acquisition of elementary-level written and spoken German.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the course students will have 1) an active German vocabulary of approximately 1000 words, 2) the ability to use these words in reading, writing, speaking, and comprehending simple German that uses reflexive verbs, imperatives, subordinating conjunctions, infinitive phrases, and the simple past and present perfect tenses, 3) a knowledge of major contemporary political, economic, and social issues, 4) an acquaintance with the works off a variety of German artists, and 5) an appreciation of the qualities that make Kafkaâs Metamorphosis one of the masterworks of world literature and Bernhard Schlinkâs, Der Vorleser (The Reader), an important and controversial work on the holocaust.

Texts:
Schlink, Bernhard. The Reader. Transl. By Carol Brown Janeway. New York: Vintage, 1997.
Internet Sources:
Artcyclopedia: The Fine Art Search Engine (www.artcyclopedia.com)
WebMuseum, Paris. (www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint)



Course Outline: Link to German Art

WEEK 1
Chapter 5: Geschenke und Gefälligkeiten; Dative Case
Culture: The Welfare State: Social Benefits
Renaissance art: Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
WEEK 2
Chapter 5: Berufe, Arbeitsplätze; Dative Case
Culture: The Welfare State: Social Benefits
Renaissance art: Hans Holbein (1487-1543)
WEEK 3
Chapter 5: In der Küche; Dative Case
Culture: Business, Labor, Guest Workers
Romanticism: Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840)
WEEK 4
Chapter 6: Haus und Wohnung, comparisons of adjectives and adverbs
Culture: The Education System, Job Training, Universities
Impressionism: Lovis Corinth (1858-1925)
WEEK 5
Chapter 6&7: Haus und Wohnung; direction-location
Culture: The Education System, Job Training, Universities
Jugendstil (art nouveau): Gustav Klimt (1862-1925)
WEEK 6
Chapter 6&7: Haus und Wohnung, more prepositions; Geographie, Relative Clauses
Culture: Environmental Issues
Expressionism: "Die Brücke," Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938)
WEEK 7
Chapter 7: Transportmittel, Superlative of Adjectives and Adverbs
Culture: Austria
Expressionism: "Der blaue Reiter," Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)
WEEK 8
Chapter 7: ...sterreich, da- and wo- compounds; review of perfect tense
Culture: Austria
Start Kafka, "The Metamorphosis," #1 (pp. 3-20)
Expressionism: "Der blaue Reiter," Franc Marc (1880-1916)
WEEK 9
Chapter 8: Essen und Trinken, Overview of Adjectives
Expressionism: "Der blaue Reiter," August Macke (1887-1914)
Kafka, "The Metamorphosis," #2 pp. 21-39.
Position paragraph: What do we know about Gregor's relationship to his family?
WEEK 10
Chapter 8: Haushaltsgeräte, verbs of destination and location
Expressionism: Paul Klee (1879-1940)
Kafka, "The Metamorphosis," #3 pp. 40-54.
Position paragraph: Based on the text, what do you think the symbol of a beetle might mean?
WEEK 11
Chapter 8: Einkaufen und Kochen, Talking about the Future
Culture: Switzerland
Social Realism: Georg Grosz (1893-1959)
WEEK 12
Chapter 9: Kindheit, als, Simple Past Tense
Culture: Switzerland
Social Realism: Otto Dix (1891-1969)
The Reader, Worksheet 1, pp. 1-36
WEEK 13
Chapter 9: Jugend, Simple Past Tense
Surrealism: Max Ernst (1891-1976)
The Reader, Worksheet 2, pp. 37-73 and Worksheet 3, pp. 74-107
WEEK 14
Chapter 9: Jugend, Time: als, wenn, wann
Art of the 60s and 70s: Friedrich Hundertwasser (1928-2000)
The Reader, Worksheet 4, pp. 108-144 and Worksheet 5, pp. 145-182
WEEK 15
Chapter 9: Geschichten und Märchen, Simple Past Tense
Art of the 80s and 90s: Gerhard Richter (1932-)
The Reader, Worksheet 6, pp. 183-218

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