German BA

This module will build on the German language and cultural skills you developed in year one and get you started on your exciting journey towards degree-level German. We're going to take you to the next level and by the end of this module you'll be ready to spend time living in a German-speaking country.

We'll focus on getting you confident in your German reading, writing, listening and speaking abilities. In addition, we will develop translation skills into and out of the target language. In class we'll keep your studies interesting and relevant by using a variety of contemporary texts, including journalistic articles, videos, clips from TV programmes and news items.

Now that you've gained good German language skills by completing Beginners' German, we're going to take you to the next level. By the end of this course, you'll be ready to spend time living in a German-speaking country.

Working at a steady pace, we'll focus on getting you confident in your German reading, writing, listening and speaking abilities, encouraging you to push yourselves to gain the best German skills possible.

In class we'll keep your studies interesting and relevant by using a variety of contemporary texts, including journalistic articles, poems and short stories, videos, clips from TV programmes and news items.

This module explores the period of National Socialism in Germany (1933-1945). After an outline of the historical context of this period we will critically view the ideology and politics of the time with particular focus on society and culture.

We will evaluate original sources (in translation) such as posters, speeches, newspapers and films. Theoretical writings on select topics such as propaganda, leader cult, media, childhood, womanhood and 'the other' will assist our critical analysis.

This module investigates GDR society over four decades of communist rule and considers social changes in Eastern Germany after the demise of the GDR. We will examine the principles of communist ideology that the Socialist Unity Party attempted to legitimise as the only viable alternative to fascism. We will also look at how people negotiated their lives within officially imposed ideological structures. Finally we will look at how a new kind of “public authority” during the Wende period in the GDR triggered the disintegration of communist power structures.

This module introduces you to some major theories of how languages are learned and to some approaches to how languages can be taught. We will consider:

• the differences between first and second language acquisition
• whether there is a best age to learn a foreign language
• factors affecting language learning
• the role of technology in language learning and teaching
• the role of culture in language classroom

Students will have the opportunity to investigate one or more of these questions in their assessed essays.

Explore possible career avenues and gain practical experience in this interesting module which will show you how to apply your language learning to translation.

You'll gain a good understanding of the key concepts of translation theory, including equivalence, text type and skopos alongside linguistic theories such as register and relevance.

With these theories under your belt, you'll be guided through their application to your own translations. We'll work on the translation of a variety of texts to help you strengthen and embed your new skills.

This module is aimed at students on our intensive beginners’ pathway. The module will use a range of authentic and adapted German sources to combine language learning with an introduction to some aspects of contemporary German society, focusing on elements which are particularly relevant for the year abroad. We will practise working with the types of texts that are particularly useful for students preparing for the year abroad, as well as text genres which you will encounter during your time in Germany and Austria (e.g. application letters, CVs, how to approach an interview). Classes will also help you to develop your understanding of key aspects of contemporary German society.

The module provides an introduction to literary translation from German into English. We will analyse key issues of cultural difference and historical distance by comparing different translations of the same original text. As part of the assessment for the module you will compose your own translation of a literary text of your choice and summarise your translation strategy. Class discussions and the translation work you undertake for this module will help you to improve your understanding of the linguistic and cultural differences between English and German, develop enhanced translation skills, and gain insights into literary texts.

In this module we will examine a selection of approaches to modernity, beginning with Kant’s assertion of individual reason as the founding stone of enlightened social organisation. We will move on to examine how Marx and Engels, Nietzsche and Freud all interrogated Kant’s position in their work. Our discussions will touch on the nature of the individual subject, the role of culture, as well as competing ideas of the status of reality as based in social conditions, or the product of the will, drives, or ideology.

This module offers an introduction to the study of the political and historical development of West German democracy between the end of the Second World War and the unification of the two German states in 1989-90. We will focus on the development of the core institutions of state, economy and society that shaped democratic culture in the Bonn Republic in both the domestic and international political contexts.

We will examine three broad historical phases of development over the period:

• the immediate post-war consolidation of “managed democracy” and the “Economic Miracle” between the 1950s and 1960s
• the political and economic challenges to the post-war consensus during the 1960s and the social-liberal era of the 1970s
• the “neo-liberal” turn of the 1980s and the development of new, post-material political currents across the political spectrum

Through the module, we will examine the development of the main political parties and wider political culture in response to changes in the domestic and international context, assess the durability and flexibility of core institutions of state and society and evaluate the role played by the ongoing engagement with the aftermath of the National Socialist regime in reconfiguring conceptions of western democracy in the Bonn Republic.

This module gives students the unique opportunity to gain insights into German history covering the Nazi regime (1933-1945), the post-war period, and the time of the GDR and FRG between (1946-1989) by working with previously unexplored German newspaper material and manuscripts from the university’s Manuscripts and Special Collections. In addition, students will gain valuable and sought-after work experience by being introduced by our expert librarian and archivist into key skills in archives, libraries and museums which are transferable to the heritage, tourism and leisure sectors.

Samples of material for this module are (these might be added to or altered): content from two archival collections of personal papers of two German-speaking Jewish expellees from Austria, Dr Bernard Steinitz and Albert Tugendhat, as well as the following special collections of publications: the Newspaper Cuttings Archive of the British Military Government in Berlin, the German School Books Collection, the Magdeburg Public Library Collection, and periodicals such as the women’s magazine Für Dich. For their assessed work, students will work closely with material of their choice, closely analysing its language, form, historical background and situatedness in the political context of the time. Expert guidance in working with the authentic predominantly German material will be given by staff from the Manuscripts and Special Collection and academics from the Department of German Studies. Theoretical texts on German history and politics, autobiographical writing, school education and the role of archives will provide further context for this module.

The module also offers a foundation for further academic engagement and career options, e.g. by providing topics and material for students’ final year dissertation in German, or by increase the employability of students for the year abroad or as graduates in the UK.

We'll examine three key periods in the history of German-speaking lands:

• The emergence of modern bourgeois gender roles in the nineteenth century and the women’s movement around 1848
• Fin-de-siècle, with a particular focus on gender and sexuality in Viennese society
• The Weimar Republic, exploring the myth and reality of the so-called ‘New Woman’

Drawing on a range of political, theoretical and literary texts alongside visual material, we'll consider the relationship between social and economic developments, gender roles and concepts of masculinity and femininity.

This module will introduce you to the history of the German language and its relationship to other Germanic languages such as English and Dutch, from the earliest linguistic evidence up to the present day.

We will investigate the major sound changes that distinguish German and other Germanic languages from the rest of the Indo-European language family (which includes French, Greek, and many other European languages, as well as Sanskrit). We will then look at the process by which German evolved in comparison to its Germanic neighbours, ultimately emerging as a separate standardized language in the 17th century. We will also look at how the language is developing today, especially obvious in the borrowings from many other languages and in the innovations that have emerged in "computer mediated communication".

By the end of the module, you will be able to explain how German developed over time to become the language it is today, what the similarities and differences are between German and the other Germanic languages, and you will also be aware of some current developments.

Module description to be confirmed.

We will examine the social, economic, and political-ideological factors that led to the destruction of Weimar democracy and consolidation of the National Socialist dictatorship 1933-1939.

We will begin with an examination of the construction of a democratic order out of the crisis of 1918/19 and analyse the process through which the NSDAP rose to become the central anti-republican party during the late Weimar years.

After examining the destruction of constitutional democratic order in 1933 we will focus on the process through which the National Socialist social order of the Volksgemeinschaft was consolidated politically, economically and ideologically in domestic and international policy through to 1939.

Working with primary sources available in translation the module will examine the role played by traditional elites and institutions as well as National Socialist actors and agencies in reordering German state and society as a racial community or Volksgemeinschaft. Through the study of key historiographical approaches to this process, students will be introduced to some of the main theoretical insights (and their limitations) that have been brought to bear on the NS period as a response to the crisis of classical modernity in the early twentieth century.

Module description to be confirmed.

This module involves employability skills training in the Autumn semester followed by a part-time placement (one day a week, or equivalent, up to eight weeks) in an external organisation in the spring semester. The module is aimed at developing hands-on work experience and enhancing employability skills in a workplace relevant to arts graduates. Skills developed during the placement will be intrinsically relevant to various work environments.  

Students will apply for placements in relevant local organisations from an established list created by the faculty placement team, but may also use personal contacts to arrange their own placement, subject to approval. Placements will be provided across a range of sectors relevant to the arts including the creative and cultural industries, media, marketing, heritage and museums, the music industry, education, charitable and third-sector organisations, but are subject to change each year. In the autumn term lectures and workshops will be organised across the faculty, with input by the Careers and Employability Service to provide learning support on professional development and skills assessment, networking, successful applications and interviews, self-presentation and self-reflection.   

Assessment will comprise an online portfolio of materials, including application materials, reflective writing and a research report situating the work and function of the placement organisation in the context of the wider sector of which it is a part. Throughout, students will be encouraged to reflect individually and in groups on their own employability, and plan for their ongoing professional development.