GM3005 German Language 1

This is a core language module for all students in the first semester of the first year of the Honours programme. It aims to develop written and spoken German language skills. Two weekly classes are taught by native-language tutors. The module is based on a textbook which includes a wide range of different activities and registers. Students' work includes reading comprehension, discussion of issues raised by texts and audio-visual, a variety of written responses, and revision of aspects of grammar.

GM3006 German Language 2

This is a core language module for all students in the second semester of the first year of the Honours programme. It further develops written and spoken German language skills through work based on texts and videotapes in a range of registers and tasks including reading comprehension, discussion of issues raised by texts and videotapes, written responses, and review of aspects of grammar.

GM3070 Heroism in German Literature

This module aims to give insight into Prussian-German history through an examination of literary discourses on heroism. It is often in tales of heroism that national identity is created. The texts studied in this module cover the history of Prussia from the triumphs of Frederick the Great to the end of Prussia as a state at the end of the Second World War. Texts from a variety of periods - such as Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism and Modernism - will be studied.

GM3074 German Identity & the 'Jewish Question'

This module will provide a critical overview of some of the problems which have bedevilled German national identity over the past 200 years, as seen through the lens of the so-called 'Jewish Question' (that is, the perceived difficulties of Jewish integration into German society). Students will thereby come to understand what it means (and what it has meant) to be German (both gentile and Jew), and increase their knowledge of the historical roots of the debates and controversies at the heart of modern Germany. Students will explore and analyse a range of texts which are social and cultural, as well as literary in nature, and examine such topics as the rise of anti-Semitism and race theory in the nineteenth century, Jewish identification with German culture, the development of Zionism, and German-Jewish self-understanding after the Holocaust.

GM3080 Grammatical Rules & Lexical Exceptions in Modern German

Grammatical rules and lexical exceptions in modern German are considered against the background of Saussurean structuralism and in relation to language teaching. Saussure said that a language is a system, and languages do indeed have rules, in their grammar. But most rules of grammar have a long list of unexplained exceptions - why? The view taken in this module is that unexplained exceptions indicate that the grammarians have got the rule wrong. We look at two rules of modern German to see how a close examination of their unexplained exceptions can point to a new and better rule: the passive and non-passivizable transitive verbs; and tense formation and strong verbs.

GM3081 Words & their Functions in Modern German

This module focuses on the vocabulary in modern German (in contrast to GM3080, which focuses on grammar), on words and their categorization, structure and functions. We begin by looking at the functional (as opposed to structural) approach to language, which sees language as action and effects rather than as a static grammar + lexicon. We consider three approaches to the categorization of German vocabulary, i.e. the parts of speech: categorisation by syntax, by morphology, and by semantics. Two areas of language and politics are discussed: feminist linguistics, and Nukespeak. Finally, we examine word formation in German, covering compounds, prefixes, suffixes, conversion, and morphological transparency versus opacity.

GM3101 German Integrated Year Abroad

The objective of the module is language learning and cultural familiarisation through work placement in a German-speaking country. Placements will be as language assistant in a school or on other assignments approved by the department. Formal learning and assessment is through a supervised project chosen in consultation with the module co-ordinator, who will provide more detailed guidelines. The project essay will be 5000 words in German to be received in the department by May 5th.

GM3103 Residential Project in German-Speaking Country

The objective is language learning and cultural familiarisation through self-access residence in a German-speaking country. The student will spend at least six weeks in a German-speaking country. Formal learning and assessment are by means of a project, written up in German on the student's return. The project will not exceed 5,000 words of writing, though other supplementary material may be included. Enrolment is subject to the discretion of the Chairman of Department.

GM4007 Translation Methodology (German/English)

The aim of the module is to develop advanced skills in translating from German into English. The module encourages students to make a careful analysis of the linguistic characteristics of the source texts and to focus on recurrent problems of translation and the methods available for dealing with them. A range of text types including consumer-oriented (technical/commercial), journalistic and literary will be translated into the target language.

GM4069 German History 1949 to the Present

The module looks at key topics, periods and personalities of German society and politics from 1949 to the present day. It examines documents from the period in order to obtain a first-hand perspective on the language and society of the time, noting particularly the relationship between language and ideology. Topics to be covered are: the social, political and economic systems of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic 1949-89; the Wende and the unification of Germany May 1989-October 1990; Germany since the Wende.

GM4081 Modern Theatre

The module involves the study of three major 20th century German dramatists. Bert Brecht is the founding father of epic theatre, the most influential form of political theatre to date. The GDR writer Heiner Mueller as his literary heir and the Austrian Nobel Prizewinner Elfriede Jelinek complete the programme. Brecht aimed at establishing a theatre that turned performing and viewing into political processes. He and his successors - however - address audiences that wish to be entertained as well, and they develop new theatrical strategies to put their message across. The study of their plays will afford insight into the historical contexts of pre- and post-war Germany and Austria.

GM4083 Terrorism in German Cinema

This module enables students to engage with some of the ethical and social aspects of the German post-war film and culture, by analysing films on terrorism in Germany in the 1970s. It will provide an introduction to some of the classics of the New German Cinema as well as to more recent film. In particular, we will discuss the problems of representing reality and history; the cultural and social climate of the 1970s in which both the New German Cinema and the Red Army Faction flourished; and the psychological and political models for explaining terrorism.

GM4084 German Monsters

This module examines the history of German fiction about monsters, with a focus on three key periods in German culture: the Middle Ages, Romanticism and Expressionism. It will enable students to use monstrosity, the uncanny, the undecidable and trauma as theoretical concepts; to determine the cultural functions of monsters; to explore the tensions that they embody; and to identify and reflect on changing and recurring fears and patterns in text and film over time.

GM4086 Reason & Revolt: German Culture in the Enlightenment

A time of religious crisis and political disunity, the eighteenth century witnessed an unprecedented explosion of creativity in all areas of German cultural life. In philosophy, the Age of Enlightenment gave rise to the optimistic faith in the power of human reason to abolish ignorance, superstition and tyranny. In the world of letters, a new national literature was finally emerging. But by the 1770s the rationalism of the Enlightenment was giving way to the passion and extravagance of the short-lived but influential Sturm und Drang movement. This module introduces students to the work of some of the key champions and critics of the Enlightenment - Kant, Lessing, Herder, and Goethe, amongst others - and through them explores the themes of progress and human perfectibility, cosmopolitanism and tolerance, religion, class, social rebellion and the cult of genius.

GM4091 Generation, Genealogy & the Quest for Tradition: Contemporary German Family Narratives

Since the turn of the millennium, the German book market has been awash with a wave of family narratives, both fictional and autobiographical, that sift through the long after-life of National Socialism from a transgenerational perspective. Engaging with questions of affiliation, lineage and tradition, the narrators of these stories relate how past events have been concealed and yet subliminally transmitted within postwar families. Studying the transition from a culture of remembrance towards a postmemorial culture, we will analyse the narratological strategies and thematic concerns across a range of texts that probe an unmastered inheritance within the domain of the family. We will also examine to what extent these narratives work towards an experiential historiography as an alternative to conventional modes of historical writing.

GM4092 East German Cinema

The end of the GDR also saw the closure of the East German Film studios, DEFA, threatening its films with commercial oblivion. However, since reunification the many culturally and artistically significant films made under DEFA have increasingly attracted critical attention. This module will consider a number of these films spanning four decades in order to explore the way in which they navigate the political and censorial climate of the GDR and such issues as: East German cultural identity, the politics of the ordinary, the East German realist aesthetic, gender identities and feminism, the conflict between the individual and the state and the role of the artist in the GDR. We conclude the course by considering a film produced post reunification.

GM4098 Dissertation on a German Topic

The dissertation offers students the possibility of personal advanced study on a topic on which they already have adequate basic knowledge and for which a suitable Supervisor can be found. Guidance will be offered on research methods and on presentation. The dissertation can be either a) a study of a given body of primary material in a given perspective, or b) a critical review of a range of secondary material on a given subject. It should be 5,000 - 6,000 words in length, be submitted in accordance with guidelines and deadlines, and normally be written in English. The topic must be formally agreed in advance with the Chairman of Department.

GM4099 Long Dissertation on a German Topic

The dissertation offers students the possibility of personal advanced study on a topic in German on which they already have adequate basic knowledge and for which a suitable Supervisor can be found. Guidance will be offered on research methods and on presentation. The dissertation will, as a rule, consist of a study of a body of primary material in a given perspective. Its length should be 10,000 words maximum, and it should be submitted in accordance with guidelines and deadlines, and normally be written in English. The topic must be agreed in advance by the Chairman of Department following a recommendation by the Supervisor, whom students should contact in the first instance.

GM4105 German Language 3

This is a core language module for all students in the second year of the Honours Programme It is designed to develop advanced written and oral language skills based on translation from and into German, while the oral part of the module will afford insight into communicative situations, strategies and approaches in a variety of contexts. Students will learn to recognize and analyse communication techniques and employ them effectively in different situations.

GM4106 German Language 4

This is a core language module for students in the second year of the Honours Programme. It is designed to develop advanced written and oral language skills based on task-based text production, summary and essay writing, while the oral part of the module will afford insight into communicative situations, strategies and approaches in a variety of contexts. Students will further develop their competence in recognizing and analyzing communication techniques and in employing them effectively in different situations.

GM4801 German Dissertation (Science)

This is a self-access module for students spending study periods and work placements away from St Andrews, in connection with their Honours courses in Science. Because such periods away may arise in any of the four Honours semesters of the two Honours years, this module may be taken in place of any one of the modules GM3005, GM3006, GM4105, GM4106.