Germanic Languages and Literatures

In recent years, Walter Benjamin has become one of the most quoted media theorists. His philosophy of technology is not as widely known as the concept of aura he developed in his essay The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility. The contemporary relevance of his philosophy of technology lies in the fact that Benjamin establishes a connection between technology and different forms of habitation, and between the latter and the concept of habit (Gewohnheit), which is etymologically related to the concept of habitation (Wohnen). This enables a comparison of Benjamin’s approach with the philosophies of technology developed by Heidegger, Deleuze/Guattari, and Simondon, all of whom associate technology with the shaping of environments and the problem of poesis. In our seminar, we will reconstruct Benjamin’s media anthropology of technology through a close reading of his diaries and essays and compare it to philosophies of technology very much being discussed today.

This lecture course works with an expanded notion of the Frankfurt School. The central figures treated are Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W. Adorno, but readings also include György Lukács, Ernst Bloch, Bertolt Brecht, and some others. It focuses on aesthetic and political issues in high and mass culture debates in Europe, the Soviet Union, and the U.S. in the inter-war period and post-1945. All readings will be contextualized in relationship to modernism and modernization, Marxism and National Socialism in the first half of the past century. Metropolitan modernism, realism, the historical avant-garde, and mass media culture will be recurring themes throughout the semester, which ends with a coda on the culture of the Cold War.

This lecture for undergraduates is a survey of the literature of the Holocaust, ranging from its origins in Europe during the war to the widespread and global legacy among second and third generation writers, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, until the present day. Though the course will be taught in translation, readings will be taken from Yiddish, Hebrew, English, Polish, German, French, Dutch, and Hungarian literature. Among the thematic topics to be covered: the ethics of witnessing; the limits of representation and other formal aspects; historicity and autobiography; trauma and the second generation writer; the Holocaust in other media.

Comparative media is an emergent approach in media and film theory. This course, taught by scholars from German and anthropology, introduces students to cutting edge research in media drawing on history, film & media theory, sound studies, literature, anthropology & visual culture. It adopts a comparative approach to media as machines and aesthetic practices by examining contemoprary media in relation to the introduction of earlier technologies. In doing so it decenters media theory, extending our focus beyond the U.S. and Europe by examining other cultural locations of media innovation and appropriation.

Fundamentals of grammar, reading, speaking, and comprehension of the spoken language. During the spring term supplementary reading is selected according to students' needs.

Fundamentals of grammar and lexicon. Building proficiency in aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing. Linguistic structures in the cultural context.

Continued practice in aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing; review and refinement of grammatical structures; vocabulary building. Readings include Finnish fiction and nonfiction.

Continued practice in aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing; review and refinement of grammatical structures; vocabulary building. Readings include Finnish fiction and nonfiction.

Continued practice in aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing; review and refinement of grammatical structures; vocabulary building. Readings include Finnish fiction and nonfiction.

The Berlin Consortium makes it possible for science, social science, and humanities majors who have completed at least two years of college German to become German university students for an entire academic year or the spring semester. After a brief period of orientation and intensive language instruction, undergraduates from Columbia College, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, General Studies, and Barnard College attend classes at the Freie Universität (FU) Berlin. Instruction is in German. The FU offers an exceptionally wide range of courses. Medicine, the natural sciences, and the humanities and social sciences are the largest faculties. Smaller, more specialized disciplines are particularly well represented and range from religious studies and ethnology to studies in Asian culture and in the antiquities, art history, and musicology. The Berlin Consortium Program is also open to a limited number of participants from beyond the Consortium institutions--Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. A bulletin with an application and information about all aspects of the program is available in the Berlin Consortium Office in 203 Lewisohn, 854-2820.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Practice in idiomatic conversational German through discussion of a wide variety of topics.

Practice in idiomatic conversational German through discussion of a wide variety of topics.

We will be studying the Enlightenment, Storm and Stress and the Culture of Sensibility and German Classicism in light of this period’s reading cultures. (Goethe, Gessner, Schiller, Kant, Lichtenstein, Bürger, Lenz, Karsch, Klopstock, Hölderlin, Kleist).  Readings and discussions in German.

A survey of major literary texts of postwar Germany, including the so-called "rubble" literature, Group 47, GDR, New Subjectivity, minority voices and Holocaust memory. Works by Celan, Sachs, Dürrenmatt, Böll, Bachmann, Th. Bernhard, Wolf, P. Schneider, Schlink, Sebald.

The two decades between 1890 and 1910 saw the rise of literary modernism in the German speaking countries, most notably in the city of Vienna. The course will examine this development at the level of particular works—including poems, novels, novellas, plays, essays, and theoretical writings— and with an eye towards broader historical contexts like scientific innovations, technological modernization, and social change. It will focus on the ways in which new forms of literary representation contributed to a specifically “modern” reconception of language, perception, subjectivity, sexuality, and gender. Readings will include works by Freud, Nietzsche, Hofmannsthal, Schnitzler, Bahr, Mach, Klimt, and others.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to the Swedish language as it is spoken in Sweden today. The class will also introduce important aspects of contemporary Swedish culture, historical figures and events, and Swedish traditions. Upon the completion of the course, students who have attended class regularly have submitted all assignments and taken all tests and quizzes should be able to:   provide basic information in Swedish about themselves, families, interests, food, likes and dislikes, daily activities; understand and participate in a simple conversation on everyday topics (e.g. occupation, school, meeting people, food, shopping, hobbies, etc.); read edited texts on familiar topics, understand the main ideas and identify the underlying themes; pick out important information from a variety of authentic texts (e.g. menus, signs, schedules, websites, as well as linguistically simple literary texts such as songs and rhymes); fill in forms requesting information, write letters, notes, postcards, or messages providing simple information; provide basic information about Sweden and the rest of the Nordic countries (e.g. languages spoken, capitals, etc); use and understand a range of essential vocabulary related to everyday life (e.g. days of the week, colors, numbers, months, seasons, telling time, foods, names of stores, family, common objects, transportation, basic adjectives etc.) pronounce Swedish well enough and produce Swedish with enough grammatical accuracy to be comprehensible to a Swedish speaker with experience in speaking with non-natives. use and understand basic vocabulary related to important aspects of contemporary Swedish culture and Swedish traditions (e.g. Christmas traditions, St. Lucia, etc.).  Methodology The class will be taught in a communicative way. It will be conducted primarily, but not exclusively in Swedish. In-class activities and homework assignments will focus on developing speaking, reading, writing, listening skills, and a basic understanding of Swedish culture through interaction. Authentic materials will be used whenever possible.

The goal of this course is to further develop the speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills you have acquired in the first year Swedish courses and broaden your knowledge about the Swedish culture and history. Topics emphasize contemporary Swedish life and corss-cultural awareness. In addition to the main text, newspaper articles, shorter literary texts, film, and internet resources will be used. Class will be conducted almost exclusively in Swedish. To succeed in this course, you must actively participate. You will be expected to attend class regularly, prepare for class daily, and speak as much Swedish as possible. Methodology The class will be taught in a communicative way. It will be conducted primarily, but not exclusively in Swedish. In-class activities and homework assignments will focus on improving and developing  speaking, reading, writing, listening skills, and deepening the students' understanding of Swedish culture through interaction and exposure to a broad range of authentic materials.

The goal of this course is to further develop your speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills and broaden your knowledge about the Swedish culture, history and literature. Topics emphasize contemporary Swedish life and cross-cultural awareness. Topics to be covered include Sweden's regions, the party and political system, major historical and cultural figures, and the Swedish welfare state. In addition to the main text we will use a selection of short stories, newspaper articles, films and audio resources available on the internet. Class will be conducted almost exclusively in Swedish. To succeed in this course, you must actively participate. You will be expected to attend class regularly, prepare for class daily, and speak as much Swedish as possible. Methodology The class will be taught in a communicative way. It will be conducted primarily in Swedish. In-class activities and homework assignments will focus on improving and developing  speaking, reading, writing, listening skills, and deepening the students' understanding of Swedish culture through interaction and exposure to a broad range of authentic materials.

The goal of this course is to further develop your speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills and broaden your knowledge about the Swedish culture, history and literature. Topics emphasize contemporary Swedish life and cross-cultural awareness. Topics to be covered include Sweden's regions, the party and political system, major historical and cultural figures, and the Swedish welfare state. In addition to the main text we will use a selection of short stories, newspaper articles, films and audio resources available on the internet. Class will be conducted almost exclusively in Swedish. To succeed in this course, you must actively participate. You will be expected to attend class regularly, prepare for class daily, and speak as much Swedish as possible. Methodology The class will be taught in a communicative way. It will be conducted primarily in Swedish. In-class activities and homework assignments will focus on improving and developing  speaking, reading, writing, listening skills, and deepening the students' understanding of Swedish culture through interaction and exposure to a broad range of authentic materials.

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!

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!

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!

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!

Reading of contemporary authors. Stress on word usage and idiomatic expression, discussion.

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.

This course examines a topic in Yiddish literature.