College Bulletin 2024-2025 
    
    Apr 03, 2025  
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College Bulletin 2024-2025

Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies

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Courses

Core Faculty

SUNKA SIMON, Professor; Chair, Film & Media Studies; Chair, Modern Languages and Literatures
HANSJAKOB WERLEN, Professor and Program Coordinator2
KAROLINA HICKE, Visiting Assistant Professor
MICHAEL BURRI, Lecturer 
2 Absent on leave spring 2025

Affiliated Faculty

Peter Baumann, Professor (Philosophy)
Meghan Brown, Assistant Professor (History)
Tamsin Lorraine, Professor (Philosophy)
Barbara Milewski, Professor (Music)
Robert Weinberg, Professor (History)

The German Studies Program offers students a wide variety of courses in language, literature, film and culture taught in German, as well as classes in anthropology and sociology, art, history, music, philosophy, and political science. Stressing the interrelatedness of linguistic competency and broad cultural literacy, German studies classes cover a wide range of literary periods, intellectual history, and film and visual culture. The diverse approaches to German culture(s) prepare students for graduate work in several academic disciplines, as well as for a variety of global careers. German studies can be pursued as course major or minor or as a major and minor in the Honors Program.

Students are expected to be sufficiently proficient in the German language to use it for written and oral work. To this end, we strongly advise students to spend an academic semester-preferably spring semester-in a German-speaking country before their senior year.

Students wishing to major or minor or do honors in German Studies should plan their program in consultation with the program coordinator.

The Academic Program

All German courses numbered 50 and above taught in the target language are open to students after successful completion of GMST 020 or to students with level-appropriate proficiency in reading and writing German (German placement test results or instructor permission). To enroll in GMST courses taught in English that are cross-listed with LITR or another program, please consult the individual entry requirements in the course catalogue. Since not all advanced German courses or seminars are offered every year, students wishing to major or minor in German Studies should consult the sophomore paper plan and discuss their plan of study with the program coordinator.

Course Majors Requirements

Completion of a minimum of 8 credits in courses numbered GMST 003  and above.

  • Majors in course are required to take GMST 091 : Special Topics and GMST 092 : Special Topics or enroll in at least one seminar taught in German in their junior or senior year. Three of the 8 credits may be taken in English from among the courses relevant to German studies listed in the catalog under literature in translation (e.g., LITR 054G ) or from courses listed as eligible for German studies (see list below).
  • Comprehensive requirement: seniors in course are required to submit a bibliography of 20 works to form the basis of a discussion and an extended, integrative paper (approximately 15 double-spaced pages in length) on a topic agreed to by the program coordinator. This paper, due before the date for the comprehensive examination is complemented by a discussion of the paper with members of the program, in German.
  • ​Students are strongly encouraged to spend a semester in Germany or at least participate in a summer program in a German-speaking country. Of the classes taken abroad, a maximum of 2 credits will normally count toward the major. In cases of double majors, this number might be increased in consultation with the German studies coordinator. After studying abroad, majors must take two additional German studies class.

Typical Course of Study:

Typical Course of Study:

Minimum of 5 credits in German above GMST 001 and 002:

A maximum of 3 credits taught in English from LITR or adjacent programs can be applied to major, if they are eligible for GMST, for example:

Also consult the List of Courses eligible for German Studies (taught in English in other departments, e.g. HIST 035  and PHIL 049 )

 

Course Minors Requirements

  • Students must complete a minimum of 5 credits in courses and seminars, at least 3 of which are taught in German and number GMST 003  or above. Of these courses, GMST 012 , GMST 020  and GMST 091 : Topics in German Studies II or GMST 092 : Topics in German Studies II are required.

    Students are strongly encouraged to spend a semester in Germany or at least participate in a summer program in a German-speaking country. Of the classes taken abroad, a maximum of 2 credits will normally count toward the minor. In case of double majors, this number can be increased in consultation with the German Studies coordinator.

    Typical Course of Study:

    GMST 003 
    GMST 012 
    GMST 020 
    GMST 091  and/or GMST 092 

    Up to two advanced courses for the GMST minor can come from the list of courses taught in English that are eligible for German studies (from LITR or from an affiliated department, e.g. HIST 036 , PHIL 139 , or MUSI 006B )

Typical Course of Study:

Minimum of 5 credits in German above GMST 001  or GMST 002 :

 

A maximum of 3 credits taught in English from LITR or adjacent programs can be applied to major, if they are eligible for GMST, for example:

Also consult the List of Courses eligible for German Studies (taught in English in other departments, e.g. HIST 035  and PHIL 049 )

Honors Major and Minor in German Studies

All majors and minors in honors are strongly advised to spend one semester or at least a summer in a German-speaking country. Honors majors and minors are encouraged to apply for GMST program funds to supplement their study abroad. 

Preparations

Honors Major Preparations
While requirements for Honors Majors are generally identical to the course major requirements (minimum of 8 credits above GMST 003 ), a set of special requirements applies to Honors:

  • All honors majors must include Topics in German Studies I (GMST20) and II (GMST91) in their course of study.
  • In coordination with the German Studies coordinator, Honors majors in German studies need to combine three upper level GMST courses (e.g. Special Topics in German Studies I, II and III) and three taught in English from affiliated programs numbered in the #40s-60s (e.g. FMST 51 or 54). Alternatively, eligible independent studies or thesis courses can be combined with regular upper level GMST courses for honors preparations. Honors majors can further petition GMST faculty members for an honors attachment to any upper level GMST course.
  • Honors students participate in the external examination process required of all Swarthmore honors students and the Senior Honors Study (SHS) process explained below.

Honors Minor Preparations

Honors Minors prepare for their examination in German studies by following the course minor requirements (minimum of 5 credits above GMST 003 ). A set of special requirements applies to Honors Minors:

  • All honors minors must include Topics in German Studies I (GMST20) and II (GMST91) in their course of study.
  • All honors minors must complete Senior Honors Study (described below)

Senior Honors Study (SHS) and Mode of Examination

For SHS, students are required to present an annotated bibliography of criticism - articles or books - concerning at least five of the texts in each advanced course or seminar used as honors preparations for external examination. Students are required to meet with the respective instructor(s) of the advanced courses or seminars being examined by Feb. 15 to discuss their planned bibliography and to meet with the instructors for a second time when the approved bibliography is handed in by May 1. The annotated bibliography, which carries no credit, will be added to course syllabi in the honors portfolio. The honors examination will take the form of a 3-hour written examination based on each seminar and its SHS preparation as well as a 1-hour oral panel examination based on the three written examinations for majors or a 30- to 45-minute oral examination for minors.

Off-Campus Study

All German majors and minors are strongly advised to spend one semester or at least a summer in a German-speaking country. Majors and minors are encouraged to apply for GMST program funds to supplement their study abroad. There are several excellent opportunities to participate in an approved program, such as the Columbia Consortium Program in Berlin, Duke University in Berlin, the Macalester College German Study Program in Berlin/Vienna, or the Dickinson College Program in Bremen. Students should consider going abroad in the spring semester. This will enable them to participate fully in the semester schedule of German and Austrian Universities.

Courses

Not all advanced courses or seminars are offered every year. Topics in German Studies I, II, III (GMST 20, 91 and 100) change their topics every year, please check the webpage for the most current information on each course’s content. Students wishing to major or minor in German should plan their program in consultation with the section. All courses numbered 050 and above are open to students after GMST 020. (See note on enrolling in seminars .)

Eligible Courses in German Studies

Seminars

German seminars (Topics in German Studies III, GMST 100+) are scheduled on an annually rotating schedule. Preparation of topics for honors may be done by particular courses plus attachments only when seminars are not available. Recurring Topics of German Studies Seminars include: Age of Goethe, Wien und Berlin 1900, German Television, German Romanticism,​ Die deutsche Romantik, German Short Prose, Uncomfortable Classics - from Goethe to Grass

Note. Students enrolling in a seminar are expected to have done the equivalent of at least one course beyond the GMST 020 level.

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