Module GERM3241: DOING THE RIGHT THING: CONCEPTS OF JUSTICE IN GERMAN LITERATURE AND FILM

Department: Modern Language and Cultures (German)

GERM3241: DOING THE RIGHT THING: CONCEPTS OF JUSTICE IN GERMAN LITERATURE AND FILM

Prerequisites

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

Corequisites

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: German Language 4 (GERM3071) or German Language 4 following Year Abroad (GERM3211). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To explore and analyse the role literature and films play in establishing or subverting contemporary concepts of justice
• To familiarise the students with key texts /films / authors in German culture
• To give students an insight into the changing perceptions of justice over the course of the centuries and to familiarise them with various theories of justice
• Students will develop competence in reading and analysis of literary and theoretical discourse, also to some extent in the analysis of visual imagery.

Content

• Plays, narratives and philosophical/theoretical texts from the 18th–21st centuries

Learning Outcomes

• Overview of debates about, and theories of, justice in different phases of German culture
• Understanding of key texts /films and their contexts
• Overview of historically and culturally crucial periods in Germany (Goethe-Zeit, Weimar, Nazi Regime, 20th and 21st centuries)
• Insights into broader debates surrounding the nature of justice

• Ability to analyse aesthetic texts/films in their cultural, political and philosophical contexts
• Independent research skills, developed through a research project focussing on two case-studies
• Enhanced ability to talk and write about literary texts/films and concepts of justice in both German and English

• Enhanced range of fluency and expression in English and German
• Ability to formulate arguments coherently and to present them in written form
• Ability to pursue a guided programme of self-directed study, leading to the production of an extended piece of written work .

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

• The teaching on this module will be in German, and will involve a combination of plenary lectures and seminars.
• Lectures will provide information about the historical context and introduce methodological issues.
• In seminars, students will have the opportunity to present and discuss the central questions arising from their reading of a range of texts.
• In both oral discussion and in summative assessed work, students will be able to demonstrate their ability to formulate clear arguments, and use both contextual and methodological knowledge in order to elucidate a corpus of literary, historical, and journalistic texts.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None

■ 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