AH 3300.501
|
This upper-division core course has several related goals. It
introduces students to the full range of disciplines taught
within the School of Arts and Humanities as well as to
interdisciplinary study across and between them. At the same time
it gives students more concentrated experience with reading and
writing as inter-related critical and creative processes.
Our topic this semester is the social and cultural life of
Germany between 1919 and 1933, during what is popularly known as
the Weimar Republic. This was an extraordinarily vibrant and
vexing period in German culture and allows us to examine a wide
range of "texts": fiction, drama, music, the visual
arts, popular entertainment, history, political thought and
philosophy. Using these primary sources, we will explore the
various ways in which the art, ideas and artifacts of the Weimar
Republic can be understood formally and historically.
REQUIRED TEXTS (available at Off-Campus Books):
Bertold Brecht, The Threepenny Opera
A. Kaes, M. Jay, E. Dimenberg, eds., The Weimar Republic
Sourcebook
Stephen J. Lee, The Weimar Republic
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice & Seven Other Stories
COURSE REQUIREMENTS/EVALUATION CRITERIA:
Weekly readings and writing exercises; class attendance and
participation (25%); four formal writing assignments (65%); one
creative project (10%).
PLEASE NOTE:
| -- | More than three absences, persistent tardiness or failure to participate in discussions will substantially lower your final grade. |
| -- | Late assignments will NOT be accepted. |
| -- | Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course. |
| R = Required reading | F = Film |
| August 31: | Introduction F: Berlin, Symphony of a City (1927) |
| September 14: | R: Weimar Republic Sourcebook [WRS]: 97, 105, 158, 161, 164, 234, 289, 316, 318, 322; 78, 141, 144, 151, 156, 170, 285, 291, 298, 301, 306 |
| September 21: | R: Stephen J. Lee, The Weimar Republic LIBRARY TOUR: General Orientation |
| September 28: | R: WRS: 15, 16, 38, 42, 43, 47, 131, 136;
and 34, 36, 41, 48, 49, 51, 59, 61, 64 |
| October 5: | R: WRS: 66, 69, 71, 72, 76, 80, 99, 106, 109 Formal Assignment #1 due in class |
| October 12: | R: WRS: 12, 25, 58, 98, 103, 121, 133, 138 Guest Speaker: Professor Victor Worsfold |
| October 19: | R: Thomas Mann, "Disorder and Early Sorrow"
(1925) F: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) Formal Assignment #2 due in class |
| October 26: | R: WRS: 89, 111, 132, 205, 207, 209, 210,
212 R: Mann, "Mario and the Magician" (1929) Guest speaker: Professor Zsuzsanna Ozsvath Suggested reading: Mann, "Death in Venice" (1911) |
| November 2: | R: WRS: 184-198, 271-279, 288 Guest speaker: Professor Marilyn Waligore |
| November 9: | R: WRS: 166-174; and 154, 237, 250, 253,
282, 292, 296, 308, 313 F: Bauhaus (1980) |
| November 16: | R: WRS: 94, 228, 232, 239, 240, 252, 245,
246 Formal Assignment #3 due in class LIBRARY TOUR: Electronic Bibliographic Tools |
| November 23: | R: Bertold Brecht, The Threepenny Opera
(1928) R: WRS: 217, 219, 220-226 Suggested reading: WRS: 90, 134, 214, 215 Guest Speaker: Professor Linda Williamson |
| November 30: | R: WRS: 88, 260-270 F: Cinema Europe: Germany (1998) |
| December 7: | F: The Threepenny Opera (1931) Creative Assignment due in class |
| December 14: | FINAL PAPER DUE |