Deciding to add German as my second major was one of the best decisions I made at UCLA! I was very fortunate to take a wide range of classes to fulfill the major requirements including courses about history, film, linguistics and even business. However, my favorite classes were the seminars about German literature and culture! As an English major with a deep love for reading, I really enjoyed the opportunity to analyze works by Goethe, Kafka, Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht, Günter Grass, and many, many others! Furthermore, I am grateful to have taken a course on the Holocaust, which really challenged me to reflect on the role of human rights and the question of responsibility and introduced me to the philosophical writings of Adorno and Arendt, and a course on multiculturalism in Germany, in which we reviewed both the historical context of this highly relevant topic as well as read writings by authors as culturally diverse as Aras Ören and May Ayim.
Additionally, I really loved being a part of the close-knit community of the Department of Germanic Languages as Kaffeestunde, Stammtisch and other German Club events fostered some great friendships. Lastly, I must add that the professors in the department were extremely knowledgeable and incredibly caring. They truly had a deep interest in student learning and were always readily available in office hours.
All in all, I highly commend the Department of Germanic Languages and would encourage anyone who is interested to consider German as a potential major or minor!