Module GERM2131: NEGOTIATING THE PAST IN THE GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (German)

GERM2131: NEGOTIATING THE PAST IN THE GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Prerequisites

• German Language 1A (GERM1011) or German Langauge 1B (GERM1112) or an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/woman of the Board of Studies of MLAC or his/her representative.

Corequisites

• Modern European Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: German Language 2A (GERM2021) or German Langauge 2B (GERM2152). Others: see Chairman/woman of the Board of Studies of MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To acquaint students with representations of historical events and figures that have played a central role in shaping notions of German national identity.
• These may include the myth of Frederick II ("the Great") of Prussia and of Prussia itself, Luther and the Reformation, Romantic medievalism, the Faust figure, German division, left-wing terrorism or any other suitable alternative.
• In any given year, students will study two of these topic areas in detail, investigating literary and political texts, as well as films and pictorial representations.

Content

• In any given academic session, two topic areas will be covered, dealing with public representations of heroic figures and narratives relating, e.g. to the Middle Ages, Luther/the Reformation, the Faust figure, and Prussia.
• The teaching material will typically include canonical narratives, journalistic and propagandistic texts from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as pictorial representations (history paintings, cartoons, portraits), film extracts and multimedia material, e.g. from exhibitions and from the Internet.
• In addition, secondary sources, ranging from textual and literary criticism to film and art theory, will be used to foster critical reflection on the source material and the formulation of insights into the emergence and development of heroes and myths, and their socio-political significance in the course of German history.
• This module is taught and examined in English and German.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module the students will have:
• become familiar with two major themes of German historical self-perception and with techniques of analysing these in diverse media (historical documents and research literature, text, film, pictorial representations),
• acquired an enhanced understanding of the relationships between recorded historical events, scholarly historiography and historical narrative as a medium of national self-perception and stereotyping.

• Students will increase their proficiency in written argumentation in English, as well as presentation in the target language.

• Students will develop skills in independent learning, rapid critical reading, synthesis, and analytic thinking.

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

• The module will consist of plenary sessions, seminars and tutorials.
• Lectures will familiarise students with the relevant socio-historical context and introduce the key theoretical and critical issues raised by the texts under consideration.
• By preparing for seminar presentations, students will develop skills in independent learning, rapid critical reading, synthesis, and analytic thinking, all of which will be further promoted by preparation for seminars on a weekly basis, and by guided discussion in the seminars themselves.
• The module will be taught in both German and English.
• Through presentations in classes, students will thus also increase their oral proficiency in the target language.
• Students will produce two summatively assessed essays over the course of the year which will train them to construct coherent, lucid arguments.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

10 minute presentation in German.

■ 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