Module GERM3021: IMAGES OF MARTIN LUTHER

Department: MODERN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES (GERMAN)

GERM3021: IMAGES OF MARTIN LUTHER

Prerequisites

• German Language 2 (GERM2021) or German Language 2 and Year Abroad (GERM2111), or an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Corequisites

• Modern European Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: German Language 4 (GERM3071). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her reprentative.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• Students are introduced to the ways in which the facts of the life and work of Martin Luther have been presented (and often distorted and manipulated) at various times by various interest groups.
• Two important transferable skills developed are (i) independent reading and research with minimal guidance, and (ii) evaluation, selection and oral and written skills involved in making a successful presentation of the material researched to the tutor and the rest of the group.

Content

• The literary image: Luther in plays, poems and novels, from the 16th century to the present, with an emphasis on 19th- 20th-century works.
• The visual image: pictorial material from the 16th century till the present.
• The linguistic image: Was Luther the 'Father of the German language'? The political image: Did Luther encourage popular discontent, then change his mind and work against the development of democracy in Germany? The theological image: Must Luther be a saint/heretic to Protestantism/Catholicism? The 'touristic' image: What image of Luther do the many Lutherstaetten in Germany perpetuate? The psychological image: Attempts to understand Luther as a neurotic or psychotic.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the course, students should have deepened their appreciation of the many ways in which the past is constructed, reconstructed and manipulated for a variety of political, cultural and confessional purposes.

• By the end of the course, students should have improved their written and oral presentation technique, and their ability both to research single topics in depth and to make connections between them.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is run as a series of seminars. One 'strand' consists of student presentations on specific topic areas of their choice. During the year, each student gives two such presentations to the seminar, on topics chosen after consultation with the course tutor. Both must be accompanied by a word-processed handout and backup material in German, prepared by the student. Presentation packages such as Power Point can be used. Detailed guidance on reading and preparation will be given, and the student will receive detailed oral feedback at a brief session arranged shortly after the presentation. By arrangement with the tutor, students may submit essays or other written work relating to their presentations, and receive detailed written feedback on this. The other 'strand' is written commentary, in German, on representative German texts on Luther and the Reformation. Students must hand in a minimum of two such commentaries (formative) during the year.
• There are two hourly classes a week. Students are required to attend all seminars and are expected to prepare themselves for them and to participate actively in discussions.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

2 seminar presentations; 2 written text commentaries.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University