ELEMENTARY DUTCH I
Fundamentals of grammar, reading, speaking, and comprehension of the spoken language. During the spring term supplementary reading is selected according to students' needs.
- TR 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
- MW 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
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Instructor:
Wijnie de Groot
CULPA: 11
Info
- 4 points
ELEMENTARY GERMAN I
Prerequisites: No prior German.
German 1101 is a communicative language course for beginners, taught in German, in which students develop the four skills -listening, speaking, reading, and writing- and a basic understanding of German-speaking cultures. Emphasis is placed on acquiring the four language skills within a cultural context. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand, speak, read, and write German at a level enabling them to communicate with native speakers and provide basic information about their background, family, daily activities, student life, work, and living quarters. Completion of daily assignments, which align with class content, and consistent work are necessary in order to achieve basic communicative proficiency. If you have prior German, the placement exam is required.
- TRF 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
- MWR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
- MTR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
- MWR 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
- TR 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
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Instructor:
Caroline Geck
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Instructor:
Ethan G Fraenkel
Info - 4 points
ELEMENTARY YIDDISH I
This course offers an introduction to the language that has been spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews for more than a millennium, and an opportunity to discover a fabulous world of Yiddish literature, language and culture in a fun way. Using games, new media, and music, we will learn how to speak, read, listen and write in a language that is considered one of the richest languages in the world (in some aspects of vocabulary). We will also venture outside the classroom to explore the Yiddish world today: through field trips to Yiddish theater, Yiddish-speaking neighborhoods, Yiddish organizations, such as YIVO or Yiddish farm, and so on. We will also have Yiddish-speaking guests and do a few digital projects. At the end of the two-semester course, you will be able to converse in Yiddish on a variety of everyday topics and read most Yiddish literary and non-literary texts. Welcome to Yiddishland!
- TR 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
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Instructor:
Agnieszka Legutko
CULPA: 1 Info - 4 points
ELEMENTARY GERMAN II
Prerequisites: GERM UN1101 or the equivalent. If you have prior German outside of Columbia’s language sequence, the placement exam is required. German 1102 is the continuation of Elementary German I (1101). It is a four-skill language course taught in German, in which students continue to develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in German and an understanding of German-speaking cultures. Emphasis is placed on acquiring the four language skills--listening, speaking, reading and writing--within a cultural context. Students expand their communication skills to include travel, storytelling, personal well- being, basic economics, recent historical events, and working with movie segments. Completion of daily assignments, which align with class content, and consistent work are necessary in order to achieve basic communicative proficiency.
- MWR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
- MWR 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
- MWR 5:40 p.m.-6:55 p.m.
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Instructor:
Isabel Blankfield
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Instructor:
Jutta Schmiers-Heller
CULPA: 19
Info
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Instructor:
Xuxu Song
Info - 4 points
INTERMEDIATE DUTCH I
Prerequisites: DTCH UN1101-UN1102 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.
- TR 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
- MW 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
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Instructor:
Wijnie de Groot
CULPA: 11
Info
- 4 points
INTERMEDIATE GERMAN I
Prerequisites: GERM UN2101 or the equivalent. If you have prior German outside of Columbia’s language sequence, the placement exam is required.
Intermediate German UN2102 is conducted entirely in German and emphasizes the four basic language skills, cultural awareness, and critical thinking. A wide range of topics (from politics and poetry to art) as well as authentic materials (texts, film, art, etc.) are used to improve the 4 skill. Practice in conversation aims at enlarging the vocabulary necessary for daily communication. Grammar is practiced in the context of the topics. Learning and evaluation are individualized (individual vocabulary lists, essays, oral presentations, final portfolio) and project-based (group work and final group project).
- MTR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
- MWR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
- MTR 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
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Instructor:
Patrick Woodard
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Instructor:
Leo Claussen
Info - 4 points
INTERMEDIATE YIDDISH I
Prerequisites: YIDD UN1101-UN1102 or the instructor's permission. This year-long course is a continuation of Elementary Yiddish II. As part of the New Media in Jewish Studies Collaborative, this class will be using new media in order to explore and research the fabulous world of Yiddish literature, language, and culture, and to engage in project-oriented activities that will result in creating lasting multi-media online presentations. In addition to expanding the command of the language that has been spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews for more than a millennium, i.e. focusing on developing speaking, reading, writing and listening skills, and on the acquisition of more advanced grammatical concepts, students will also get some video and film editing training, and tutorials on archival research. The class will continue to read works of Yiddish literature in the original and will venture outside of the classroom to explore the Yiddish world today: through exciting field trips to Yiddish theater, Yiddish-speaking neighborhoods, YIVO, Yiddish Farm, and so on. And we will also have the Yiddish native-speaker guest series. Welcome back to Yiddishland!
- MW 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
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Instructor:
Eyshe Beirich
Info - 4 points
INTERMEDIATE GERMAN II
Prerequisites: GERM UN2101 or the equivalent.
Intermediate German UN2102 is conducted entirely in German and emphasizes the four basic language skills, cultural awareness, and critical thinking. A wide range of topics (from politics and poetry to art) as well as authentic materials (texts, film, art, etc.) are used to improve the 4 skill. Practice in conversation aims at enlarging the vocabulary necessary for daily communication. Grammar is practiced in the context of the topics. Learning and evaluation are individualized (individual vocabulary lists, essays, oral presentations, final portfolio) and project-based (group work and final group project).
Intermediate Conversation
Prerequisite
: Completion of 1102 or equivalent. If you have prior German outside of Columbia's language sequence, the placement exam is required.
Desire to speak lots of German! Students in Intermediate Conversation should have completed the equivalent of two semester of college German or placed at the Intermediate level at Columbia. This conversation group is designed for students are either taking Intermediate German I or II and would like additional practice or who take only this class because they wish to maintain their spoken German.
The course is designed to improve your ability to speak and understand and manage German in everyday situations; to provide opportunities to participate in conversational situations on any topics you are interested in; to strengthen and acquire skills to understand German spoken at normal conversational speed; to expand active and passive vocabularies speaking skills; and to maintain a certain level of written German through short written activities. This is a 2-point course and does not count towards the language requirement.
Grimms' Fairy Tales: Power, Gender & Nar
Although the first volume of the
Grimms’ Children Stories and Household Tales
was published more than 200 years ago, their fairy tales continue to enchant readers. In this course we will not only study the Grimms’ fairy tales themselves, but also examine their origins and their social, ideological, and political contexts in 19th-century Europe. We will work with fairy tale theory (narrative, psychoanalytic, historical) and discuss the function of the tales as folklore as well as their status as children’s literature. Alongside the “original” Grimms’ tales—a concept that we will discuss—a major portion of the course will engage the legacy of the fairy tales and the way they have been appropriated by others, particularly from a critical, feminist perspective.
Points of emphasis will include: how writers in the first half of the 20th century politicized the tales in the battle for social change during the time of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany; how the tales were reinterpreted in different national traditions and historical periods; how the fairy tale become a mass culture icon in Disney’s film versions; and how contemporary writers like Margaret Atwood continue to employ tales in questioning and challenging traditional constructions of gender.
- MW 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
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Instructor:
Annie Pfeifer
CULPA: 2 Info - 3 points
ADVANCED GERMAN I
Prerequisites: GERM UN2102. If you have prior German outside of Columbia’s language sequence, the placement exam is required. Note: UN3001 and UN3002 are not sequential.
German UN3001 is an ambitious socio-cultural exploration of Berlin. 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 various German media, such as internet, film, and literature through the lens of Germany’s capital, Berlin. Topics discussed include: cultural diversity in Berlin's multi-cultural neighborhoods; questioning and reflecting upon Berlin's recent past; developing your own Berlin experience and presenting your interests in various forms, such as presentations, an essay, your CV, an application letter and interview for an internship in Berlin. The course represents a gateway class to literature courses and counts towards the major and concentration in German. Taught in German.
- MW 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
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Instructor:
Jutta Schmiers-Heller
CULPA: 19
Info
- 3 points
ADVANCED DUTCH I
This advanced course is a content-based language course, and is centered around the history of the Low Countries. Each week focuses on a specific era, such as the counts of Holland in the 13th century and the Reformation in the 16th century. Students will read texts about history and literature of the historical periods.
Students will read texts at home and discuss them in class, explore history-related websites and watch short video clips.
Attention will be paid to advanced grammar issues and vocabulary.
- TR 6:10 p.m.-7:25 p.m.
- 3 points
INTRO TO GERMAN LIT (GERMAN)
Prerequisites: GERM UN2102 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.
- MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
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Instructor:
Dorothea von Muecke
Info - 3 points
ADVANCED YIDDISH
Prerequisites: YIDD UN2101-YIDD UN2102 or the instructor's permission. Reading of contemporary authors. Stress on word usage and idiomatic expression, discussion.
- TR 2:10 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
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Instructor:
Agnieszka Legutko
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
MAGIC & MONSTERS IN YIDD LIT
MAGIC & MONSTERS IN YIDD (ENG)
A Serious Man, the 2009 movie by the Coen Brothers opens with a Yiddish folk tale featuring a dybbuk. Dybbuks, golems, magicians, and monsters haunt not only Yiddish literature but also the contemporary cinema, as illustrated by such recent films as The Unborn and The Possession. Why are we so attracted to dybbuks, spirit possession, magic, and monsters in the twenty-first century? This course will focus on magic, monsters, dybbuks, demons, and golems in Yiddish literature and beyond, including film and popular culture. We will approach the supernatural motif from the perspective of gender, body, and performance studies, and will explore the questions of memory, trauma, and identity. The aim of the course is to encourage students to discuss and critically engage with the various texts and film adaptations listed on the syllabus in an attempt to answer the following questions: In what ways do these works explore, interrogate with, and reflect on human experience? What do they tell us about the powers of good and evil? How relevant are they in the twenty-first century? The course puts emphasis on developing the skills of critical, analytical, and abstract thinking in relation to the discussed works, as well as the ability to express that critical thinking in writing. No knowledge of Yiddish required.
- T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
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Instructor:
Agnieszka Legutko
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
MARX, NIETZSCHE & FREUD (ENG)
MARX NIETZSCHE & FREUD (ENG)
- TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
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Instructor:
Oliver Simons
CULPA: 4
Info
- 3 points
Kant with Arendt
This course will provide an introduction to Immanuel Kant’s aesthetics in conjunction with his philosophical anthropology and philosophy of history. Our readings will be guided by Hannah Arendt’s approach to Kant’s aesthetics as the foundation of a political philosophy in her posthumously published lectures on Kant. Both Kant’s and Arendt’s texts will not only be discussed in dialogue with each other, but also in view of their responses to Burke, Nietzsche, and Benjamin. Finally, particular attention will be given to forms of philosophical writing, such as the essay and the aphorism.
The course is intended for undergraduate students and graduate students. There are no pre-
requisites. All texts are available in English translation.
- T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
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Instructor:
Dorothea von Muecke
Info - 3 points
GERMAN CINEMA:WEIMAR (ENG)
The class, which is open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, will explore silent and early sound films from the period of the Weimar Republic. Close analysis of films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Metropolis, M, Dr. Mabuse, The Blue Angel and others will be combined with a historicist exploration of the cinematic medium in the 1910s and 1920s. Specific topics of discussion include anxieties about the hypnotic power of the moving image, shell shock, spirit photography, the "New Woman," the mass ornament. All readings and class discussions are in English and all films have English sub- or intertitles.
- W 10:10 a.m.-noon
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Instructor:
Stefan Andriopoulos
CULPA: 6 Wikipedia h-index: 12 Info - 3 points
PROSEMINAR-GERMAN LITERATURE
PROSEMINAR: ROMANTICISM
Proseminar for Graduate Students only.
- M 10:10 a.m.-noon
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Instructor:
Stefan Andriopoulos
CULPA: 6 Wikipedia h-index: 12 Info - 4 points