120 Humanities Office Building II; (949) 824-6406
Meredith Lee, Department Chair
Faculty
Gail Hart, Ph.D. University of Virginia, Associate Dean of Humanities, Undergraduate Study, and Professor of German (eighteenth- and nineteenth-century German literature, drama, fictional prose)
Marcia Klotz, Ph.D. Stanford University, Assistant Professor of German (twentieth-century German literature, cultural studies, critical theory, feminism, film)
Ruth Kluger, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Professor Emerita of German (Kleist, nineteenth-century literature, Stifter, Holocaust literature)
Meredith Lee, Ph.D. Yale University, Department Chair and Professor of German (lyric poetry, eighteenth-century literature, Goethe, German-Scandinavian literary relations)
Herbert Lehnert, Ph.D. University of Kiel, Research Professor of German (modern German literature)
William J. Lillyman, Ph.D. Stanford University, Research Professor of German (Romanticism, Goethe, Tieck)
Bert Nagel, Ph.D. University of Heidelberg, Professor Emeritus of German (medieval German literature)
Jens Rieckmann, Ph.D. Harvard University, Professor of German (twentieth-century literature, fin-de-siècle Austria, Hofmannsthal, Thomas Mann)
Thomas P. Saine, Ph.D. Yale University, Professor of German (eighteenth-century German literature, Goethe)
John H. Smith, Ph.D. Princeton University, Associate Professor of German (eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature and intellectual history, literary theory)
The Department of German pursues a program of German studies as part of the humanistic endeavor to understand and evaluate culture. Departmental courses are focused on language, literature, and film in context, that is, within the historical, social, intellectual, and political circumstances of their production and continuing reception. Clearly, we come to understand ourselves and our immediate culture much better through the study of different languages and cultural systems. Therefore, university language study is not merely a matter of memorizing vocabulary and practicing pronunciation. It is the serious investigation of a foreign linguistic system and the cultures which are defined by it. It is difficult--in fact, nearly impossible--for us to scrutinize and analyze something we know as intimately as our native language, and yet this is the order by which we formulate our thoughts and the order which may sometimes formulate our thoughts for us. The "foreignness" of a foreign language allows us to objectify an entire linguistic system, to observe its structure and its usage, and then to make comparisons with our own linguistic situation. This kind of knowledge of one's native language is the foundation of critical reflection on texts of any nature--historical, philosophical, literary, political, legal, journalistic, and others. Thus, serious study of a foreign language is absolutely crucial to a university education. The Department teaches its language courses with this principle in mind and seeks to provide its students with a framework for these linguistic and cultural comparisons.
Department literature and film courses offer a variety of critical perspectives from historical, social, or politically engaged readings to feminist and post-structuralist analysis. Topics range from studies of individual authors, periods, and genres to the history of German-language literature and film, the theory of criticism, and the relations of German-language literature to other literatures.
The German major offers alternative emphases, one in literature and another in linguistics. The majority of students choose the literature major.
All courses in the Department are taught in German to the extent compatible with the aim of the course. In the basic courses, students develop an understanding of the language and its cultural context while learning the necessary skills for oral and limited written communication. Sessions in the language laboratory, the recently updated Language Learning Resource Center, assist students with their speaking and listening skills. By the end of the first year, students have learned the basic structure of the German language as they develop fundamental reading, writing, and speaking skills and listening comprehension.
The intermediate and advanced levels reinforce these basic skills, while concentrating on increasing reading speed, writing fluency, and cultural competency.
After completion of the intermediate level, students enroll in the Introduction to Literature course (German 101), which provides an introduction to genre, periodization, and the German terminology used in critical analysis. This course is taken in preparation for the upper-division literature and film courses (German 102, 117, 118, 119, 120), which range historically from the Reformation to the present and cover a variety of topics and approaches. A further series of courses (German 130, 140, 160) is taught in English for both German students and those who do not speak the language, and covers topics in literary theory and criticism as well as German-language cinema.
Students are encouraged to participate in work- and study-abroad programs during the summer and their junior year. The Department recommends the University's Education Abroad Program (EAP) in Göttingen, Germany. Göttingen is an old university town in central Germany, where EAP students complete an advanced language program and enroll in university courses with great success, usually achieving native or near-native fluency during this exciting year abroad. All EAP courses taken in Göttingen are accepted for UCI graduation credit and many contribute to fulfillment of the German major and minor requirements. More information is available from your academic counselor.
Students are placed in German courses according to their years of previous study. In general, one year of high school work is equated with one quarter of UCI work. Thus students with one, two, three, and four years of high school German will normally enroll in German 1B, 1C, 2A, and 2B respectively. Exceptions to this placement procedure must have the approval of the director of first- or second-year German instruction. Students with transfer credit for college-level German may not repeat those courses.
The ability to speak and write German can open up opportunities in communications, foreign trade and banking, transportation, government, science and technology, tourism, library services, and teaching. Because German plays such an important role in modern technology, employers in international law, business, the foreign service, the airline industry, journalism, professional translating, and all levels of education increasingly seek students with a knowledge of German. German is excellent preparation for professional schools. It can be combined successfully with work in the natural sciences, business and management, and the computer sciences, and it is invaluable for advanced work in the humanities and the arts.
Recent graduates of the German Department have begun careers in international law, business, the foreign service, the airline industry, journalism, and all levels of education, including university teaching.
The UCI Career Center provides services to students and alumni including career counseling, information about job opportunities, a career library, and workshops on resume preparation, job search, and interview techniques. See the Career Center section for additional information.
University Requirements: See pages 54-58.
School Requirements: See page 190.
Departmental Requirements for the German Major with Literature Emphasis
German 100A-B-C; German 101; eight upper-division literature courses; and two courses selected from German 140, 150, 160, Linguistics 3, English and Comparative Literature CL 50A, B, C, a course in German history, German philosophy, or German political science, as approved by the advisor for the major. The upper-division writing requirement must be met by additional course work either within or outside the Department.
Students who plan to acquire a teaching credential, or intend to do graduate work in literature, are encouraged to take the major with literature emphasis.
Departmental Requirements for the German Major with Linguistic Emphasis
German 100A-B-C; German 101; five upper-division literature courses; Linguistics 3, 10, 20; one course selected from Linguistics 170, a Middle High German course, or a course in the history of the German Language; one course selected from German 140, 150, 160. The upper-division writing requirement must be met by additional course work either within or outside the Department.
The German major with linguistic emphasis is recommended especially for students who intend to do graduate work in linguistics or enter a linguistics-related profession.
Residence Requirements for the Major: At least five of the upper-division courses required for the major must be completed successfully at UCI.
Departmental Requirements for the Minor
Seven upper-division courses, which must include German 100A-B-C and German 101. Not more than one course from German 140, 150, or 160 may be counted for the minor. German 139 may not be used to satisfy minor requirements.
Residence Requirement for the Minor: Four upper-division courses required for the minor must be completed successfully at UCI.
The Department's Distinguished Visiting Professors program brings students into direct contact with some of the outstanding scholars in the field of German Studies. Distinguished Visiting Professors typically visit for one quarter, during which they teach a graduate course and an undergraduate course and present a lecture to which students, faculty, and other members of the University community are invited. Program participants include Bengt Algot Sørenson (Odense), Uwe Ketelsen (Bochum), Peter Pütz (Bonn), Leslie Adelson (Ohio State), Hans Wysling (Zürich), Hans-Wolf Jäger (Bremen), Norbert Oellers (Bonn), Hans Rudolf Vaget (Smith College), Heinrich Detering (Göttingen), Wolfgang Martens (Munich), Anna Kuhn (UC Davis), and Renate Möhrmann (Köln).
In its graduate courses the Department stresses theoretical understanding of the nature of literature and culture. Seminars focus on German literary and cultural development after 1700. An emphasis in Critical Theory is available to graduate students in all departments of the School of Humanities. A graduate emphasis in Feminist Studies also is available. Refer to the Women's Studies section of the Catalogue for information.
The graduate program in German is essentially a program leading to the Ph.D. The M.A. requires a minimum of one year in academic residence and must be completed in no more than two years of full-time graduate study. The Department will decide after completion of the M.A., at the latest, whether or not to permit the student to continue in the Ph.D. program. The M.A. thus may be in some cases a terminal degree. In those cases where the student enters the UCI graduate program in German with an M.A. from another institution, the Department will evaluate the student's progress during the first year of study before deciding to allow continuation toward the Ph.D.
Students who enter with normal academic preparation and pursue a full-time program of study ordinarily should be able to earn the Ph.D. degree within six years or less.
Before entering the program, a candidate is expected to have the equivalent of our undergraduate major. Students with a bachelor's degree in another subject may be considered for admission. Normally their course of studies will have to be extended in order to make up for the deficiency. However, each case is considered individually by the faculty. The minimum course requirement for the M.A. degree is nine courses, eight of which must be taken within the Department of German. Reading knowledge of a foreign language other than German also is required for the M.A. degree. Whenever possible, a candidate is urged to complete this requirement before entering the program. Further requirements follow.
The Preparation of a Reading List. All candidates should prepare as early as possible a list of works read in the field of German literature, both primary texts and critical works. This list should preferably be augmented by critical texts and by works from other literatures which, in the candidate's opinion, relate to the German works on the list. Since it should ultimately contain representative selections from various eras of German literature and some works of criticism, a tentative list must be discussed with the graduate advisor before the end of the fall quarter of the year in which the candidate expects to receive the M.A. Candidates should indicate on the list a number of works with which they are especially familiar. In its final form (including works read during the course of study both in and out of class) the list will be submitted together with the essay two weeks before the oral examination. It is the student's responsibility to keep the reading list current.
The Master's Essay. The purpose of the written part of the M.A. comprehensive examination is to show the candidate's methodological progress in interpreting German literature. It consists of an essay in which a text is elucidated and related to: (a) pertinent works by the same author, (b) its social and historical context, and (c) other works of German or other literatures with which the candidate is familiar. The level of the discussion will normally be enhanced by the candidate's knowledge of the relevant secondary literature. The topic of the essay should be tentatively formulated and reported to the graduate advisor before the end of the second quarter of the student's residence.
The Oral Examination. During the oral examination the following items will be discussed: (a) the essay, (b) the reading list. The discussion based on the reading list will focus on works which the student knows well, but may broaden into other areas.
One Year of Residence.
The Department requires a minimum of 22 approved courses from students entering with a bachelor's degree. These may include courses in philosophy, history, comparative literature, and others suitable for the individual student's program of study. The student also will participate in each of the German Department's colloquia. The student will augment the reading list and keep it current during the whole course of study. At least two years of residence are required.
Students entering with the master's degree will be advised individually as to remaining course requirements.
Since the majority of Ph.D. candidates choose careers as teachers, the German Department recognizes its obligation to offer them preparatory experience. Therefore, all candidates for the Ph.D. are required to teach under the supervision of a faculty member at least one course in each of three quarters (for which they will receive credit as German 399). Three of these courses may be counted toward the 22 courses required for the Ph.D.
Comprehensive Examination. There are two parts to the examination. In order to fulfill the written examination requirement the student will choose either (1) to present a lecture to the faculty and to the other graduate students, or (2) to write a three-part examination (one part on a significant author, one on a major genre, and one on an historical period) within a period of two weeks. These examination essays may be either closed-book or take-home, by agreement with the candidate's examination committee. The examination essays or the lecture will be on a text or texts selected by the faculty from a reading list submitted by the student for the comprehensive examination. The second part of the comprehensive examination is the formal oral qualifying examination of up to three hours duration ranging over the whole field of the student's studies, to be taken within two weeks after completion of the written examination. The student will submit the reading list at least two weeks before the written examination after consultation with the members of the examination committee.
Language Requirements. The candidate must demonstrate reading knowledge of two languages or extensive competence in one language other than German or English. Choice of language(s) depends on the student's area of specialization. French and Latin are recommended. For the various ways in which these requirements may be fulfilled, the student should see the graduate advisor.
Dissertation. Toward the end of the second year of study, the student should formulate a tentative dissertation topic. Three faculty members proposed by the Department and appointed on behalf of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council constitute the Doctoral Committee which directs the preparation and completion of the dissertation. The Doctoral Committee certifies that a completed dissertation is satisfactory through the signature of the Committee members on the signature page of the dissertation.
1A-B-C Fundamentals of German (5-5-5) F, W, S. Basic language skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing. Classes conducted in German. Language Laboratory attendance is required. German 1A-B-C (10A-B-C ) and S1AB-BC may not both be taken for credit.
R1A-B-C Fundamentals of German (with emphasis on reading) (4-4-4) F, W, S. For students not planning to major in German who want to develop reading ability rapidly. Does not serve as prerequisite for any higher-level course in German.
S1AB-BC Fundamentals of German (7.5-7.5) Summer. First-year German in an intensified form. Same as German 1A-B-C during academic year. Prerequisite for S1AB: none; for S1BC: German S1AB or 1B, or two years of high school German or one semester of college-level German. German S1AB-BC and 1A-B-C (10A-B-C ) may not both be taken for credit.
2A-B-C Intermediate German (4-4-4) F, W, S. Conversation, reading, and composition skills; texts of literary and social interest. Intensive review of grammar. Conducted in German. Prerequisite: German 1C. (2A: VI)
S2AB-S2BC Intermediate German (6-6) Summer. Second-year German in an intensified form. Same as German 2A-B-C during academic year. Prerequisite for S2AB: German 1C or three years of high school German or two semesters of college-level German; for S2BC: German 2B or S2AB, or five years of high school German, or three semesters of college-level German. German S2AB-S2BC and German 2A-B-C may not both be taken for credit. (S2AB: VI)
10A-B-C Fundamentals of German: Individualized Instruction (1 to 5, 1 to 5, 1 to 5) F, W, S. Basic language skills of understanding, reading, writing, and speaking. For students wishing to advance at an individual pace. Prerequisite: junior standing. Students may complete the first-year German sequence by combining quarters selected from German 1A-B-C and 10A-B-C. Credit will be given for 1A or 10A, 1B or 10B, and 1C or 10C. German 10A-B-C (1A-B-C ) and S1AB-BC may not both be taken for credit.
50 Science, Society, and Mind (4) F, W, S. Historical, philosophical, and literary reflections by German writers on the rise of the modern sciences. In English. Designed primarily for nonmajors. May be taken three times for credit as topics vary. (IV, VII-B)
53 Advanced Conversation (2) S. Includes reading of political and cultural material. Conducted in German. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite or corequisite: German 2C or consent of instructor.
99 Special Studies German (1 to 5) F, W, S. Consultation with instructor necessary prior to enrollment. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
NOTE: Upper-division courses normally are taught in German. Exceptions are German 103, 139, 140, 150, and 160.
100A-B-C Advanced Composition (4-4-4) F, W, S. Competence in writing and reading expository German. Prerequisite: German 2C or equivalent or consent of instructor. (VII-B)
101 Introduction to Literature (4) F. Sample interpretations of poetry and prose. Introduction to critical language in German. Prerequisite: German 2C. (VII-B)
102A Literature and Society Since World War II (4). Interdisciplinary introduction to recent German literature not only as an aesthetic phenomenon but also as a social and political force. Methodological problems arising from an analysis of literature in its historical context. Prerequisite: German 2C or consent of instructor. (VII-B)
102B Literature and Society 1918-1945 (4). See above description. Prerequisite: German 2C or consent of instructor. (VII-B)
103 German Phonetics (4) S. Contrastive analyses of the sound of English and German. Emphasis on standard German pronunciation. Prerequisite: German 2C. Not offered 1998-99.
NOTE: Courses numbered 117 to 199 (with the exception of German 139) may be repeated provided course content changes. German 101 or consent of instructor is prerequisite for courses 117 to 130.
117 Topics in German Literature and Culture 750-1750 (4). Specific course content determined by individual faculty members. Example: Luther and the European Renaissance. Same as Women's Studies 170GA when topics are appropriate. (VII-B)
118 Studies in the Age of Goethe (4). Individual authors such as Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, and Hölderlin, or the drama of the "angry young men" of the German 1770s. Same as Women's Studies 170GB when topics are appropriate. (VII-B)
119 Studies in Nineteenth-Century German Literature and Culture (4). Individual authors such as Büchner, Grillparzer, Keller, and Nietzsche, or broader social-literary phenomena. Same as Women's Studies 170GC when topics are appropriate. (VII-B)
120 Studies in Twentieth-Century German Literature and Culture (4). Individual authors such as Thomas Mann, Brecht, and Kafka, or topics addressing questions of genre and/or social-literary problems. Same as Women's Studies 170GD when topics are appropriate. (VII-B)
130 Topics in German Literature and Culture (4). Literary and cultural topics not fully contained within the periods listed above, such as "German Comedy" and "Turn-of-the-Century Vienna." Same as Women's Studies 170GE when topics are appropriate. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
139 Writing about Literature and Culture (4). In English. Requires at least 4,000 words of assigned composition based upon readings in Germanic literatures and cultures. Several essays required. Topics vary. German majors given admission priority. Prerequisites: satisfactory completion of the lower-division writing requirement; junior standing or consent of instructor. Same as Women's Studies 170GF when topics are appropriate.
140 Topics in Literary Theory and Criticism (4). In English. Theoretical dimensions of literary criticism and the German philosophical tradition. Topics such as Marxism, Freudian thought, the German Idealistic tradition of aesthetics, Historicism, twentieth-century hermeneutics, Frankfurt School, and Rezeptionsaesthetik are explored in a selection of theoretical, critical, and literary texts. Same as Women's Studies 170GG when topics are appropriate.
150 Germanic Literatures and Cultures (4). In English. Major works of Germanic literature and culture in context. Prerequisite applicable only when offered as 150W: upper-division standing and satisfactory completion of the lower-division writing requirement. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Same as Women's Studies 170GH when topic is appropriate. (VII-B)
160 German Cinema (4). Historical, theoretical, and comparative perspectives on German cinema. Same as Film Studies 160 or Women's Studies 170GJ when topic is appropriate. (VII-B)
199 Individual Study (1 to 4) F, W, S. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
All graduate courses offered in the Department fall under the generic titles German 200, 210, 220, and 230. Course titles and contents change according to the instructor teaching them; courses offered under these numbers may be repeated for credit provided the content has changed. Complete course descriptions are available quarterly from the Department and School of Humanities. Applicants and other interested students are encouraged to contact the Department for a description of current offerings.
200 Literary Criticism (4)
210 Literary Theory (4)
220 Selected Topics in German Linguistics (4)
230 Literary and Cultural History (4)
290 Independent Study (4). Counted toward course requirements for the M.A. or Ph.D. A term paper or project is required. Letter grade only. May be repeated for credit.
298 Independent Directed Reading (4 to 12). For students preparing for doctoral examination. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.
299 Dissertation Research (4 to 12). For students who have been admitted to doctoral candidacy. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.
398A-B The Teaching of German (2-2) F, W, S. Required of all Teaching Assistants in the German Department. Also open to present and prospective teachers of German who are not Teaching Assistants.
399 University Teaching (4-4-4) F, W, S. Required of and limited to Teaching Assistants.
