Germanic Languages and Literatures
The Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures offers language courses in German, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, and Yiddish. The department also offers courses in German literature, Scandinavian literature, Weimar cinema, Scandinavian drama and film, Goethe, and Kafka.
Departmental Chair: Dorothea von Mücke, 319 Hamilton Hall
212-854-3202
dev1@columbia.edu
Departmental Adviser: Mark Anderson, 405 Hamilton Hall
212-854-3666
mma2@columbia.edu
Languages Instruction: Richard Korb, 311 Hamilton
212-854-2070
rak23@columbia.edu
Departmental Office: 319 Hamilton
212-854-3202
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 AM-5 PM
Web: www.columbia.edu/cu/german
Conversation Courses
Students who wish intensive oral practice in German may take, in addition to Language Laboratory work, one of the 2-point conversation courses offered as parallels to the elementary and intermediate courses.
NOTE
Course scheduling is subject to change. Days, times, instructors, class locations, and call numbers are available on the Directory of Classes.
Fall course information begins posting to the Directory of Classes in February; Summer course information begins posting in March; Spring course information begins posting in June. For course information missing from the Directory of Classes after these general dates, please contact the department or program.
Click on course title to see course description and schedule.
Fall 2009
Germanic Languages
Dutch
Credit Courses
Fundamentals of grammar, reading, speaking, and comprehension of the spoken
language. During the spring term supplementary reading is selected
according to students' needs.
Prerequisite: DTCH W1101-W1102 or the equivalent. Continued practice in the
four skills (aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing); review
and refinement of basic grammar; vocabulary building. Readings in Dutch
literature.
Noncredit Courses
Finnish
Credit Courses
Fundamentals of grammar and lexicon. Building proficiency in aural
comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing. Linguistic structures in the
cultural context.
Prerequisites: FINN W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission.
Continued practice in aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing;
review and refinement of grammatical structures; vocabulary building.
Readings include Finnish fiction and nonfiction.
Noncredit Courses
German
Credit Courses
Upon completion of the course, students understand, speak, read, and write
German at a level enabling them to communicate with native speakers about
their background, family, daily activities, student life, work, and living
quarters. Daily assignments and laboratory work.
Prerequisites: Prerequisite: GERM V1101 or the equivalent.
Students expand their communication skills to include travel, storytelling,
personal well-being, basic economics, and recent historical events. Daily
assignments and laboratory work.
Primarily for graduate students and others who need to acquire a reading
knowledge of German. This course does not fulfill any part of the language
requirement for the bachelor's degree. A comprehensive introduction to
German grammar accompanied by reading of appropriate texts.
Prerequisites: German V1113 or the equivalent.
This course does not fulfill any part of the language requirement for the
bachelor's degree. Intensive readings of graded expository texts, with
review of the essentials of German grammar.
No prerequisites. Equivalent to German V1101 and V1102. This intensive semester provides all of elementary
German enabling students to understand, speak, read, and write in German.
Topics range from family and studies to current events. Conducted entirely
in German, requirements include oral and written exams, essays,
German-culture projects, and a final exam.
Prerequisite: GERM V1102 or the equivalent. Recommended parallel:
GERM W1521. Prepares students for advanced German
language and literature courses. Topics emphasize contemporary German life
and cross-cultural awareness. Daily assignments, video material, and
laboratory work.
Prerequisites: GERM V1201 or the equivalent.
Recommended parallel: GERM W1522. Students read a German novel.
Intermediate-high to advanced-low proficiency in speaking, listening,
reading, and writing German is expected upon completion. Daily assignments,
video material, and laboratory work.
Prerequisites: Prerequisite: GERM V1102 or the equivalent, or placement by the director of undergraduate studies.
Highly recommended parallel course to GERM V1201. Practice in idiomatic conversational
German through discussion of a wide variety of topics.
Prerequisites: Prerequisite: GERM V1201 or the equivalent, or placement by director of undergraduate studies.
Highly recommended parallel course to GERM V1202. Practice in idiomatic conversational
German through discussion of a wide variety of topics.
Prerequisites: Prerequisite: GERM V1202 or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies.
Designed to follow up the language skills acquired in first- and
second-year language courses (or the equivalent thereof), this course gives
students greater proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing German,
while focusing on topics from German society today through German
newspapers and periodicals.
Prerequisites: GERM V1202 or the equivalent and the permission of undergraduate studies or the instructor.
While continuing to strengthen their overal German skills, students address
aspects of practical and/or situational German, e.g., letter writing,
shopping, telephone etiquette, understanding and giving directions, etc.
Prerequisites: GERM V1202 or the equivalent.
Examines short literary texts and various methodological approaches to
interpreting such texts in order to establish a basic familiarity with the
study of German literature and culture.
Prerequisites: German W3333 or W3334 or the permission of the director of undergraduate affairs or the instructor.
Literary, philosophical, and political cross currents of the 19th century.
Authors include Novalis, Brentano, Eichendorff, Tiech, Hoffmann, B�chner,
Heine, Keller, Strorm, Fontane, and others.
Dieses Seminar konzentriert sich auf drei Grossst�dte, die die Entstehung
und Entwicklung einer deutschen Moderne entscheidend gepr�gt haben: das
Wien des /fin de si�cle/ um 1900, das
M�nchen der Vorkriegszeit um 1910, und das Berlin der Weimarer Zeit der
zwanziger Jahre. Das Seminar bewegt sich chronologisch durch eine zentrale
Periode deutscher und �sterreichischer Kultur, deren einzelne Stadien�etwa
�/fin de si�cle /Vienna� oder �Weimar Berlin�-- in den USA immer wieder
fasziniert haben. Das Seminar ist kulturhistorisch angelegt und besch�ftigt
sich mit Geschichte und Politik, Literatur und Malerei, Architektur und
Stadplanung. Die ausgew�hlten Texte sind deutsch oder englisch: Prim�rtexte
f�r die Diskussion deutsch, �background readings� englisch. Zus�tzlich
benutzen wir Bildmaterial (Dias und Film).
Film fee: $40. All films have English subtitles. Historical survey of film
classics from the expressionist cinema, the Weimar Republic, and the Third
Reich. Readings of major authors on films including Brecht, Eisner, and
Kracauer. Screening of films by Murnau, Lang, and von Sternberg.
Noncredit Courses
Swedish
Credit Courses
Instruction in speaking, reading, and writing basic Swedish. Ample practice
in pronunciation and key conversation patterns. Examination of links
between the language and the culture(s) in which Swedish is spoken.
Development of basic speaking, reading, and writing skills in Swedish
through study and analysis of literary texts and newspaper articles,
supplemented by videos and films. Through discussion and writing
assignments, students gain an appreciation of contemporary Swedish culture
in its Scandinavian and European setting.
Noncredit Courses
Yiddish
Credit Courses
With the instructor's permission the second term may be taken without the
first. Thorough study of elementary Yiddish grammar, with reading,
composition, and oral practice. The cultural and linguistic background of
the language is discussed.
Prerequisites: YIDD W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission.
Continuing study of grammar on a higher level. Continuing oral practice;
readings from texts of significant literary value dealing with important
aspects of Jewish life and culture.
Prerequisite: YIDD W1201-W1202 or the instructor's permission. This course
may be repeated for credit. Reading of contemporary authors. Stress on word
usage and idiomatic expression, discussion.
An introduction to literature written in Yiddish, ranging over eight
centuries and three continents. The survey will focus most directly on the
great works by major Yiddish writers, but will also pay attention to how
these writers reflect and represent changing trends in Jewish life. Writers
considered will include Gluckel of Hameln, Nachman of Bratslav, S.Y.
Abramovitch, Sholem Aleichem, I.L. Peretz, Lamed Shapiro, David Bergelson,
Sholem Asch, Itzik Manger, Sh. An-sky, Chaim Grade, and Isaac Bashevis
Singer. Requirements: All readings will be in translation. No experience
with Yiddish or Jewish literature necessary.
Noncredit Courses
Spring 2010
Germanic Languages
Comparative Literature
Credit Courses
The course offers an introduction to Scandinavian folklore and folklife.
The emphasis is on oral narratives, supernatural beliefs, and material
culture in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but we will also consider
contemporary legends and the folklore of Scandinavian immigrants to America
and of immigrants to Scandinavia.
Dutch
Credit Courses
Fundamentals of grammar, reading, speaking, and comprehension of the spoken
language. During the spring term supplementary reading is selected
according to students' needs.
Prerequisite: DTCH W1101-W1102 or the equivalent. Continued practice in the
four skills (aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing); review
and refinement of basic grammar; vocabulary building. Readings in Dutch
literature.
Noncredit Courses
Finnish
Credit Courses
Fundamentals of grammar and lexicon. Building proficiency in aural
comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing. Linguistic structures in the
cultural context.
Prerequisites: FINN W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission.
Continued practice in aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing;
review and refinement of grammatical structures; vocabulary building.
Readings include Finnish fiction and nonfiction.
Noncredit Courses
German
Credit Courses
Upon completion of the course, students understand, speak, read, and write
German at a level enabling them to communicate with native speakers about
their background, family, daily activities, student life, work, and living
quarters. Daily assignments and laboratory work.
Prerequisites: Prerequisite: GERM V1101 or the equivalent.
Students expand their communication skills to include travel, storytelling,
personal well-being, basic economics, and recent historical events. Daily
assignments and laboratory work.
Prerequisites: German V1113 or the equivalent.
This course does not fulfill any part of the language requirement for the
bachelor's degree. Intensive readings of graded expository texts, with
review of the essentials of German grammar.
Prerequisite: GERM V1102 or the equivalent. Recommended parallel:
GERM W1521. Prepares students for advanced German
language and literature courses. Topics emphasize contemporary German life
and cross-cultural awareness. Daily assignments, video material, and
laboratory work.
Prerequisites: GERM V1201 or the equivalent.
Recommended parallel: GERM W1522. Students read a German novel.
Intermediate-high to advanced-low proficiency in speaking, listening,
reading, and writing German is expected upon completion. Daily assignments,
video material, and laboratory work.
Prerequisites: Prerequisite: GERM V1102 or the equivalent, or placement by the director of undergraduate studies.
Highly recommended parallel course to GERM V1201. Practice in idiomatic conversational
German through discussion of a wide variety of topics.
Prerequisites: Prerequisite: GERM V1201 or the equivalent, or placement by director of undergraduate studies.
Highly recommended parallel course to GERM V1202. Practice in idiomatic conversational
German through discussion of a wide variety of topics.
Prerequisites: Prerequisite: GERM V1202 or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies.
Designed to follow up the language skills acquired in first- and
second-year language courses (or the equivalent thereof), this course gives
students greater proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing German,
while focusing on topics from German society today through German
newspapers and periodicals.
Prerequisites: GERM V1202 or the equivalent and the permission of undergraduate studies or the instructor.
While continuing to strengthen their overal German skills, students address
aspects of practical and/or situational German, e.g., letter writing,
shopping, telephone etiquette, understanding and giving directions, etc.
Prerequisites: German W3333 or W3334 or the permission of the director of undergraduate affairs or the instructor.
Naturalism, the turn of the century, expressionism, literature of the
Weimar Republic, and the exile period. Works of Hauptmann, Wedekind,
Schnitzler, Mann, Rilke, Kafka, Brecht, Hesse, and others.
Required of all German majors in their senior year. Lectures and readings
in German. Prerequisites: one of the Introduction to German literature
courses and one upper-level literature course, or the instructor's
permission.
Noncredit Courses
Swedish
Credit Courses
Instruction in speaking, reading, and writing basic Swedish. Ample practice
in pronunciation and key conversation patterns. Examination of links
between the language and the culture(s) in which Swedish is spoken.
Development of basic speaking, reading, and writing skills in Swedish
through study and analysis of literary texts and newspaper articles,
supplemented by videos and films. Through discussion and writing
assignments, students gain an appreciation of contemporary Swedish culture
in its Scandinavian and European setting.
Noncredit Courses
Yiddish
Credit Courses
With the instructor's permission the second term may be taken without the
first. Thorough study of elementary Yiddish grammar, with reading,
composition, and oral practice. The cultural and linguistic background of
the language is discussed.
Prerequisites: YIDD W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission.
Continuing study of grammar on a higher level. Continuing oral practice;
readings from texts of significant literary value dealing with important
aspects of Jewish life and culture.
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