Module SGIA2331: POLITICS AND IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY GERMANY

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA2331: POLITICS AND IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY GERMANY

Prerequisites

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To enable students to gain detailed knowledge of key themes which are constitutive elements of contemporary German identity
• To explore representations of this identity in a German city in order to develop a complex understanding which is based on cultural representations of identity (e.g. memorials, museums etc.) as well as academic sources

Content

• The lectures and seminars will address the following themes:
• the historical background of contemporary Germany
• Holocaust memory and identity in contemporary Germany
• the legacy of the GDR
• he ‘state of the nation’ in post-unification Germany: from ‘two states but one nation’ to ‘one state but two nations’?
• multiculturalism and citizenship in contemporary Germany
• the memory of war and contemporary German foreign policy
• The field course will consist of five days in a major German city and will involve:
• a one-day introduction to the city, covering the themes developed in the lectures and tutorials
• a four-day student-led project on one of these themes

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will have:
• knowledge and understanding of the historical background of contemporary Germany
• an appreciation of the key constitutive elements of contemporary German identity and its representations in a major German city

• By the end of this module students will be able to demonstrate:
• the ability to accurately and effectively describe the historical background to the politics and identity of contemporary Germany
• an awareness of the multitude of factors which have contributed to the identity of contemporary Germany
• the ability to evaluate competing scholarly contributions to the debate and assess the contributions of museums, memorials and other expressions of identity in contemporary Germany

• By the end of this module students should be able to demonstrate:
• the ability to find and make critical use of a variety of relevant sources
• the ability to structure and write an extended essay
• the capacity to reflect critically on the themes introduced in the course
• the ability to make sense of the findings from the field research through an engagement with relevant academic literature

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

• teaching will take place in the form of lectures and seminars. The lectures introduce the relevant background and the seminars allow for concepts introduced in the lectures to be explored in more detail. Lectures and seminars also provide support for individual projects
• individual projects which are based on academic sources as well as field work will allow students to engage with specific topics in more detail. Student presentations of their individual project in the seminar will enhance students' ability to research topics, present their findings to their peers and link them to expressions of identity in a major German city. Students will receive verbal feedback on their individual project and field work plan
• the production of an extended essay which is grounded in relevant literature and makes use of findings from the field trip will give students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of particular aspects of German politics and identity and practise and further develop their intellectual and practical skills
• a workshop which deals with general issues regarding the extended essay and which also allows for queries to be raised by students with regard to their individual projects will provide further support

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One essay of 1,500 words with written feedback. Presentation linked to field-based essay delivered in seminar. Students will receive verbal feedback on this.

■ 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