Undergraduate Courses (Offered in German)
GERST 1210: EXPLORING GERMAN CONTEXTS I
4 credits. Student option grading. Intended for students with no prior experience in German or based on German Placement test result. Course Coordinator: G. Lischke
Seminar 101: MTWF 9:05-9:55, B. Beese
Seminar 102: MTWF 10:10-11:00, S. Walkinshaw
Seminar 103: MTWF 11:15-12:05, G. Lischke
Seminar 104: MTWF 12:20-1:10, R. Thakore
Students develop basic abilities in listening, reading, writing and speaking German in meaningful contexts through interaction in small group activities. Course material including videos, short articles, poems, and songs provides students with varied perspectives on German language, culture and society.
GERST 1220: EXPLORING GERMAN CONTEXTS II
4 credits. Student option grading. Prerequisite: GERST 1210 or based on German Placement test result. Course Coordinator: G. Matthias Phelps
Seminar 101: MTWF 10:10-11:00, B. Brady
Seminar 102: MTWF 11:15-12:05, G. Matthias Phelps
Students build on their basic knowledge of German by engaging in intense and more sustained interaction in the language. Students learn more advanced language structures allowing them to express more complex ideas in German. Discussions, videos and group activities address topics of relevance to the contemporary German-speaking world.
GERST 1230: EXPANDING THE GERMAN DOSSIER
3 credits. Introductory + level. Student option grading. Prerequisite: Limited to students who have previously studied German and based on German Placement test result. Successful completion of GERST 1210, GERST 1220, and GERST 1230 satisfies Option 2 of the language requirement. Course Coordinator: G. Matthias Phelps
MWF 12:20-1:10, G. Matthias Phelps
Students continue to develop their language skills by discussing a variety of cultural topics and themes in the German-speaking world. The focus of the course is on expanding vocabulary, reviewing major grammar topics, developing effective reading strategies, improving listening comprehension, and working on writing skills. Work in small groups increases each student’s opportunity to speak in German and provides for greater feedback and individual help.
GERST 2000: GERMANY: INTERCULTURAL CONTEXT
3 credits. Student option grading. Prerequisite: GERST 1220 + placement result or 1230. Satisfies Option 1. A content-based language course on the intermediate level. Course Coordinator: G. Matthias Phelps
Seminar 101: MWF 10:10-11:00, G. Matthias Phelps
Seminar 102: MWF 11:15-12:05, A. Necker
Students examine important aspects of present-day German culture while expanding and strengthening their reading, writing and speaking skills in German. Materials for each topic are selected from a variety of sources (fiction, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet). Units address a variety of topics including studying at a German university, modern literature, Germany online, and Germany at the turn of the century. Oral and written work, individual and group presentations emphasize accurate and idiomatic expression in German. Successful completion of the course enables students to continue with more advanced courses in language, literature and culture.
GERST 2020: LITERARY TEXTS AND CONTEXTS
3 credits. Student option grading. Prerequisite: GERST 2000, or equivalent, or placement by examination. Taught in German for B1+ level. Can be used in partial fulfillment of the humanities distribution requirement. Students must take one of the following courses as a prerequisite for Study Abroad in a German-speaking country: GERST 2020, GERST 2040, or GERST 2060. This course counts toward the German Studies Minor.
Seminar 101: MWF 1:25-2:15, D. McBride
Babylon Berlin is the most expensive and elaborate television series in German history. The neo-noir police procedural set in a mythical Berlin of 1929 was already a global hit when it entered its current, fifth season of production. This fourth-semester course is designed to improve your linguistic proficiency and cultural competency by investigating the innovative media that gave birth to the myth of Berlin as metaphorical Babylon: pulp fiction, the New Objectivity in art, sound film, and the distinctly German genre of pop music that conquered the cabarets and dance halls: the Schlager.
GERST 2040: PERSPECTIVES ON GERMAN CULTURE
3 credits. Student option grading. Prerequisite: GERST 2000, or placement by examination (placement score and CASE). Satisfies Option 1. Students must take one of the following courses as a prerequisite for Study Abroad in a German-speaking country: GERST 2020, GERST 2040, or GERST 2060. Course Coordinator: G. Lischke.
MWF 11:15-12:05, S. Hadley
This course aims at sharpening your awareness of personal and cultural subjectivity by examining texts in a variety of media against the backdrop of cultural, political, and historical contexts. We will focus on improving your oral and written expression of idiomatic German by giving attention to more sophisticated aspects of using enriched vocabulary in a variety of conversational contexts and written genres. Materials will include readings in contemporary prose, newscasts, research at the Johnson Art Museum, and interviews with native speakers on a topic of contemporary cultural relevance.
GERST 3025: MAKING FUTURES
3 credits. Letter grades only. Taught in German. Satisfies Option 1. Prerequisite: one German course at the 2010-2499 level or equivalent. This course may be counted towards the requirement for 3000-3209 level language in the major.
MW 1:25-2:40, K. Nousek
What forms can and should the future take? How do futures emerge in thought and action, and what is the role of reflection on past events for imagining future horizons? How can art and fiction disrupt habits of thought to bring alternative futures into view? This course will investigate seemingly disparate tools for imagining possible worlds: technology, poetic language, and cultural difference. By looking closely and critically at futurity (or its absence) in science fiction, magical realism, visual art, and new media, students will explore how historical ruptures and social violence test imaginations, and the creative forms that push back.
Viewings and readings may include Akomfrah, Arendt, Benjamin, Berlant, Bloch, Edelman, Gaiman, Haraway, Kafka, Kaléko, Kant, Klee, Lubinetzki, Nietzsche, Sebald, and others.
GERST 3350: KAFKA IN CONTEXT: TRIALS OF MODERNITY
3 credits. Student option grading. Taught in German. Satisfies Option 1. Prerequisite: one course at the GERST 3000-3209 level or equivalent. This course counts as a German major course. Readings and discussion in German.
TR 1:25-2:40, A. Schwarz
Focus on Kafka’s literary, theatrical, political, historical, religious, personal and intellectual environment and its impact on his literary productions. Topics of discussion include: the individual versus hierarchical systems (state, law, bureaucracy); the individual and the arts (music, theater, literature); writing between life and death; finding a home in language; the animal in the human; the body between pain and pleasure; writing between wars. Seminar will also explore Kafka’s enormous impact on modern film, drama and literature. Readings include his short stories and one novel.
GERST 4100: THE SEMINAR: MANIFESTOS
4 credits. Letter grades only. Satisfies Option 1. Prerequisite: any German course at the 3210-3499 level or equivalent. Taught in German. The Seminar is a requirement of the German Studies major, but is open to all students who have met the prerequisites. The course has a research component, including poster presentations of all final projects, and is taught each fall by a faculty member in the Department of German Studies on a topic of their expertise. Students must enroll in GERST 4100 SEMINAR 101 and PRJ 601.
Seminar 101: TR 10:10-11:25, M. Jarris
PRJ 601
Topic: Manifestos
Manifestos provoke, estrange, condemn, inspire, and mobilize. In this seminar, we will examine the manifesto as a genre at the intersection of politics and aesthetics. From revolutionary manifestos (communist, anarchist, antifascist) to avant-garde manifestos (Dada, Futurist, Surrealist, Symbolist, Situationist) and contemporary feminist and ecological manifestos, we will consider: how are collective identities forged through the construction of “us” vs. “them”? How does the manifesto combine visual, textual, and aural elements? What do manifestos tell us about the context in which they emerged? We will explore the manifesto from multiple perspectives throughout the semester, including as a historical document, political intervention, artistic innovation, utopian vision, and speech act. Students will gain experience reading and performing manifestos. The seminar concludes with a research project and poster presentation.
Please direct any questions regarding our Fall 2025 course offerings to Anne Chen at aac262@cornell.edu or to the instructor.