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German Current Courses

Fall 2025

Course Code Title/Instructor Meets
GRMN 101-01 German in Everyday Life
Instructor: GRMN STAFF, Antje Pfannkuchen
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the German language and culture of daily life. It focuses on the acquisition of language skills, such as speaking, reading, writing, and listening and does so while also learning about aspects of every-day cultures in German-speaking countries. Classes are small and emphasize communication. After successfully completing German 101 and 102, students are expected to have reached a basic level of intercultural and cross-cultural competence, that is, to be able to communicate with members of German-speaking cultures with an awareness of differences in language and culture.
08:30 AM-09:20 AM, MTWRF
DENNY 303
GRMN 101-02 German in Everyday Life
Instructor: Sarah McGaughey
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the German language and culture of daily life. It focuses on the acquisition of language skills, such as speaking, reading, writing, and listening and does so while also learning about aspects of every-day cultures in German-speaking countries. Classes are small and emphasize communication. After successfully completing German 101 and 102, students are expected to have reached a basic level of intercultural and cross-cultural competence, that is, to be able to communicate with members of German-speaking cultures with an awareness of differences in language and culture.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MTWRF
KADE SEM
GRMN 102-01 German in Everyday Life
Instructor: GRMN STAFF, Antje Pfannkuchen
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the German language and culture of daily life. It focuses on the acquisition of language skills, such as speaking, reading, writing, and listening and does so while also learning about aspects of every-day cultures in German-speaking countries. Classes are small and emphasize communication. After successfully completing German 101 and 102, students are expected to have reached a basic level of intercultural and cross-cultural competence, that is, to be able to communicate with members of German-speaking cultures with an awareness of differences in language and culture. Classes meet five times a week. Prerequisite: 101 or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MTWRF
DENNY 303
GRMN 201-01 Intermediate German I: Contemporary German Cultures
Instructor: Christiane Breithaupt
Course Description:
What did the Brothers Grimm do besides collecting fairy tales? How do narratives inform national identity? Why do Germans return their empty bottles to the store? Students approach such questions, which touch on language, culture, economics, geography, history, and more, through a variety of media in this course. At the same time, students review grammatical structures, expand their knowledge of stylistic forms, and practice various registers of written and spoken German. German 201 aims to develop students skills to understand and reflect upon German-language culture at a basic intermediate level. Classes meet four days a week. Prerequisite: 102 or 103, or permission of the instructor. This course fulfills the language graduation requirement.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MTWR
BOSLER 315
GRMN 201-02 Intermediate German I: Contemporary German Cultures
Instructor: Christiane Breithaupt
Course Description:
What did the Brothers Grimm do besides collecting fairy tales? How do narratives inform national identity? Why do Germans return their empty bottles to the store? Students approach such questions, which touch on language, culture, economics, geography, history, and more, through a variety of media in this course. At the same time, students review grammatical structures, expand their knowledge of stylistic forms, and practice various registers of written and spoken German. German 201 aims to develop students skills to understand and reflect upon German-language culture at a basic intermediate level. Classes meet four days a week. Prerequisite: 102 or 103, or permission of the instructor. This course fulfills the language graduation requirement.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MTWR
BOSLER 315
GRMN 202-01 Intermediate German II: Mediated German Cultures
Instructor: Sarah McGaughey
Course Description:
What was occupied Vienna like in post-WWII Central Europe? How does a film convey fear? Is German academic writing different from how I write papers at Dickinson? Posing these or similar questions, this course builds students basic intermediate level of cultural and linguistic skill and explores the challenges of understanding and communicating with various media in colloquial, academic, and professional contexts. As it does so, students will acquire a better understanding of contemporary and historical issues, anxieties, and desires in the German-speaking world. There will be a special focus on writing in different modes, as this is a writing in the discipline (WiD) course. Prerequisite: 201, or permission of the instructor.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MTWR
KADE SEM
GRMN 250-01 The Holocaust
Instructor: Karl Qualls
Course Description:
Cross-listed with HIST 376-01 and JDST 316-02. The course explores the causes of the Shoah/Holocaust, including anti-Semitism, the eugenics movement, the growth of the modern state, and the effects of war. Themes will also explore perpetrator motivation, gendered responses, bystanders and rescuers, and the place of the Holocaust among other genocides. Students will approach the Holocaust through its historiography, which will equip them to interpret facts and understand how and why scholars have shifted interpretations over time. Course taught in English.
03:00 PM-04:15 PM, TF
DENNY 204
GRMN 251-01 The German Political Landscape
Instructor: Antje Pfannkuchen
Course Description:
Cross-listed with POSC 290-04. This course introduces students to the structure of the German government, the main institutions, political parties and organizations and their historical context. The central focus is on how political Germany works today and what it took to get there since 1945. Public media institutions that are an important part of German civic interactions will be studied as well as possibilities for involvement of citizens and residents. Taught in German.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
KADE SEM
GRMN 350-01 Contemporary Literature
Instructor: Sarah McGaughey
Course Description:
In this course we will read and discuss reading as well as the culture surrounding literature and the literary market. A variety of genres (novels, poetry, short stories, etc.) will cover topics such as the German unification, nature, exile, multicultural identities, trans and queer lives, remembrance, post-feminism, and contemporary myths. As we do so, we will also consider the literary landscape surrounding the publication, promotion, sales, and reception of contemporary fiction. Readings will be chosen collaboratively by the instructor and the students. This course is taught in German.
03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
KADE SEM
GRMN 350-02 German Music and Politics
Instructor: Amy Wlodarski
Course Description:
Cross-listed with JDST 316-01 and MUAC 354-01. Permission of Instructor Required. The boundaries of this course are narrow in space-Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic-but wide in the types of political topics that we will discuss: hero worship, nationalism, ethnic/racial definitions of a Volk, anti-Semitism, multimedia productions, genocide, political critique, censorship, and aesthetic debates. Students will also have an opportunity to explore a musical-political topic of their own through a short research unit.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
WEISS 212