Module GERM3311: Berlin: City of Diverse Cultures

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (German)

GERM3311: Berlin: City of Diverse Cultures

Prerequisites

• German Language 2A (GERM2021), or German Language 2B (GERM2152) 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). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To examine diverse facets of Berlin’s urban history which correspond with its inhabitants’ self-presentation as well as with Germany’s socioeconomic and political transformations
• Students will develop competence in reading and analysis of literary and theoretical discourse and in the analysis of visual imagery.
• Students will be further familiarised with diverse works in German literature and cinema and with landmarks of German history.

Content

• Berlin is a city with a rich, complex history and an exciting, vibrant present. This course will allow students to investigate the city more profoundly through theoretical reflection and close analysis of cultural objects such as literature, films, architecture and monuments. The course will examine the central role which Berlin has played in German history as a nexus of cultural exchange and invention and in any given year, the course will investigate a number of key aspects of Berlin culture from 1750 to the present such as ‘Berlin Divided’, ‘Jewish Berlin’, ‘Queer Berlin’, ‘Metropolitan Berlin’, ‘Berlin and Migration’, ‘Berlin and Memory’.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module, students are expected to
• understand the historical context of texts and films about Berlin
• scrutinise socioeconomic and political tensions pertaining to Berlin’s urban landscape
• define landmarks in German history that have shaped the country’s memory culture

• By the end of this module, students are expected to
• analyse literary texts/films in their cultural, political and philosophical contexts
• demonstrate independent research skills through two research-led essays
• analyse literary texts/films in both German and English, both orally and in writing

• By the end of this module, students are expected to
• formulate arguments coherently on the basis of appropriate and relevant evidence, and to present them in written form
• pursue a guided programme of self-directed study, leading to the production of an extended piece of written work which demonstrates engagement with relevant research literature
• demonstrate fluency and variable expression in German

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

• Teaching will be in German, and will involve a combination of plenary lectures and seminars.
• Lectures will provide information about the historical and socio-political context and introduce main strands in scholarship on the subject.
• In seminars, students will have the opportunity to discuss the central questions arising from their reading of a range of texts.
• The summative assessments will be in German and will require the students to demonstrate their independent research and analysis of textual or cinematic cultural artefacts.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

In the seminars, students are expected to give short oral group presentations, based on a set of diversified questions analysing secondary materials and presenting primary work outside the syllabus. Where appropriate, presentation will be accompanied by written handouts and/or PowerPoint presentations. Oral feedback is provided regularly in the course of the seminar discussion.

■ 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