GM4072 German Classicism

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

15

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

You need permission from the German Honours Adviser.

Planned timetable

To be arranged.

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr M J White

Dr M J White
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr M White

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

Whether it is in authors like Goethe and Schiller, or works like Iphigenie, and Maria Stuart, or concepts like 'Bildung', the cultural legacy of the short period of 'Weimar Classicism in Germany and Europe is undeniable and omnipresent. This module assesses the scope of this literary achievement and what lay behind it. The focus of the module will be on the close analysis of a range dramatic and poetic texts (such as Tasso, Tell, and Hölderlin's odes) studied in their intellectual and biographical contexts. In reading the 'classics' of German literature, we will be asking, what makes a 'classic'? Why did Germany feel it had to have a classical age at the end of the eighteenth-century? And what is specific about German Classicism in the context of other European 'Classicisms'?

Assessment pattern

2-hour Written Examination = 60%; Courswork = 40%

Re-assessment

2-hour Written Examination = 50%, Coursework = 50%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2 x weekly tutorials (1.5 hours)

Scheduled learning hours

16

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

132

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.