German 152: Conversation and Composition on Contemporary German Culture and Society I

Instructor: Christopher Stevens

This is an advanced course that expands and refines the skills and knowledge acquired during the first two years of college German. It includes: (1) advanced writing training in German; (2) intensive vocabulary building and review of selected grammar points; and (3) discussion of themes relevant to contemporary German culture and society.  We will be reading selections from some well-known authors, including Yoko Tawada, Herbert Rosendorfer, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Karl Valentin, Georg Diez, Wladimir Kaminer, Thomas Bernhard, Franz Kafka, and Judith Hermann and Bastian Sick, from his Zwiebelfisch column in Der Spiegel dealing with the German language. We will also work through a grammar that I’ll make available to you. Taught in German.