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Module Title |
German Culture and Society 1
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Module Code |
GE190
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School |
SALIS
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Online Module Resources
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Level |
1
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Credit Rating |
5
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Pre-requisite |
None
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Co-requisite |
None
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Module Aims
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7 to introduce you to ideas and movements that have played a decisive part in the evolution of modern Germany and the shaping of its cultural identity.
7 to extend your reading skills and vocabulary in German.
7 to practice basic techniques of textual analysis through discussion of short literary and documentary pieces representative of the periods covered
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Learning Outcomes
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7 You will have learnt of major literary and other cultural/intellectual contributions Germany has made to European history.
7 You will have acquired the analytic skills to evaluate short literary pieces and set them in their historical context.
7 You will have gained experience in the study of a specific foreign culture and will be able to use this to compare and contrast this culture with your own and others you are studying
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Indicative Time Allowances
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Hours
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Lectures |
0
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Tutorials |
0
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Laboratories |
0
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Seminars |
0
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Independent Learning Time |
75
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Total |
75
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Placements |
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Assignments |
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NOTE
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Assume that a 5 credit module load represents approximately 75 hours' work, which includes all teaching, in-course assignments, laboratory work or other specialised training and an estimated private learning time associated with the module.
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Indicative Syllabus
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The module will fall into two complementary parts.
The lecture will survey, in English, social, cultural and
political developments in Germany from the Middle Ages up to
the present day. It will not aim at comprehensive or
continuous coverage, but will offer insights into the
socio-political structure of Germany and its cultural
heritage at selected points in its history. The
topics/periods discussed will be chosen from the following:
· Medieval Germany and the 'Holy Roman Empire of the German
Nation', its literature and society.
· The Reformation: cultural and political division; Luther's
Bible and the emergence of modern German.
· The Enlightenment and Goethezeit: the ideals of
middle-class humanism and self-emancipation.
· The Romantic movement: the rise of liberalism and
nationalism.
· Two German empires: Wilhelmine Germany and its critics;
the decline of Austro-Hungary.
· Revolutionary modernism in the arts: Expressionism and the
crisis of European Culture.
· The republic without republicans: the Weimar state and its
enemies; the roots of Nazi ideology and political radicalism
on the Left.
· Hitler's Germany: the machinery of the totalitarian state;
cultural propaganda and genocide.
· Zero hour and facing up the past; economic recovery and
building a democratic society.
· Youth and protest movements in the 1960's to 1980's;
anti-capitalism, terrorism and liberal pluralism.
· The rise and fall of the GDR: its ideals and realities;
dissent and opposition in the cultural sphere.
· The third German state: Austria's path from occupation to
European union.
· Germany reunification: regression to discredited ambitions
or a new European and multicultural Germany?
The lecture will be combined with a parallel reading
programme/seminar in which short texts reflecting themes and
periods identified above will be discussed. Excerpts will
be chosen from texts ranging from fairy-tale to
philosophical essay, from religious polemic to political
satire, and will conclude with one complete drama or short
piece of fiction.
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| Assessment | | Continuous Assessment | 50% | Examination Weight | 50% |
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Indicative Reading List
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Essential:
Primary Literature:
Coursebook materials plus one of S|kind, Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer;
Hauptmann, Bahnwdrter Thiel;
Frisch, Andorra;
D|rrenmatt, Der Besuch der alten Dame.
Selected post-war short stories.
Supplementary:
Pasley, M Germany. A companion to German Studies, 2nd ed 1982
Pinson K, Modern Germany. Its history and civilization 1966
Sagara, E A social history of Germany 1648-1914, 1977
Bark, D & Gress, D, A history of West Germany, vols 1 & 2, 2nd ed. 1993
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Programme or List of Programmes
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| AL | BA in Applied Languages |
| BSSA | Study Abroad (DCU Business School) |
| BSSAO | Study Abroad (DCU Business School) |
| ECSA | Study Abroad (Engineering & Computing) |
| ECSAO | Study Abroad (Engineering & Computing) |
| HMSA | Study Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science) |
| HMSAO | Study Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science) |
| IBLFG | BA in Inter. Business & Lang. (Fr/Ge) |
| IBLGS | BA in Inter. Business & Lang. (Ge/Sp) |
| SHSA | Study Abroad (Science & Health) |
| SHSAO | Study Abroad (Science & Health) |
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