Classroom practice in speaking, understanding, and reading and writing basic German. Laboratory materials available. Review of basic structures with emphasis on extending range of vocabulary and idiomatic expression through reading and discussion of materials representing contemporary German life and literature. Intensive practice in speaking is supplemented with exercises in written composition. The contemporary scene is considered in view of its roots in the intellectual, geopolitical, artistic, and scientific history of the German-speaking peoples.
Students apply the elements of theory through reading, analyzing, and discussing selected works.
The intellectual, cultural, and political history of all peoples is reflected in their literature. The literary, cultural, and scientific background of the new millennium has many German-speaking roots in the works of figures like Karl Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, Einstein, Kafka, Rilke, Hesse, and Brecht. Selected readings of prose, poetry, and plays bring alive the drama and conflicts that characterized the birth of the modern age. GER 411 Advanced Conversation and Composition Aims at developing and refining the student's use of German as a vehicle for expressing ideas and opinions. Emphasis on written composition including control of style.