German JH - Modules

Junior Freshman Year

• German language: written and oral; systematic grammar review; development of both fluency and accuracy. Classes are conducted in German whenever possible.
• Introduction to the study of literature: reading and discussion of modern texts in their historical contexts - how they relate to modern German culture and society - and in their various textual forms - novels, short stories, plays, poems.
• Introduction to Area studies: the society, culture, history and institutions of the German-speaking countries.

Classes are conducted in English. 

Senior Freshman & Junior Sophister Year

The second year programme in Joint Honors German combines core elements with a range of optional Seminars which allow students to develop their own special fields of interest within Germanic studies. The same applies to the third year.

However, either second year or (more common in) the third year may be spent abroad (see below). Thus, the second year language programme aims particularly to prepare students for study abroad during the third year. To that end students write more extensive pieces of German, hear lectures in German and develop their reading skills. Nearly all second and third year classes are conducted in German.

Core element SF:

• Language course with a focus on the German university system and ‘Fachsprache’
• Lecture course on cultural history of the German speaking countries
• "German Literary History I” - lecture course on early German Literary History

Core elements JS:

• Language courses with a focus on a variety of text types & comprehension
• "German Literary History II” - lecture course on 19th and 20th German Literary History

Senior Sophister Year

The scope for developing specialist interests is extended in the fourth year.

This is done firstly through advanced options, linking undergraduate study to the research expertise of staff, in classes where TCD students often work together with visiting students from Germany.

Secondly, students research and write a capstone project on a topic of their own choice, which enables them to develop a specialist interest in law, literature, linguistics or some other aspect of German Studies.

Seminars, Options, Language Courses

Language Courses

• GRU1100Y: German Language, erzählen, berichten, beschreiben und Meinung äußern, Basisgrammatik
• GRU2200Y: Thema Universität & Fachsprache, Grammatik
• GRU33001 & GRU33002: Textverständnis, Meinungsäußerung, Textsorten, Grammatik
• GRU4400Y: Argumentieren, Didkutieren, Grammatik
• GRU44012: Translation into English

Seminars

In the second and third years students choose a number of seminars from a wide range offered by the department in literature, linguistics, cultural and historical studies. These courses are designed to bridge the gap between introductory studies and the more specialised work which you undertake in your final (Senior Sophister) year, with staff who are experts in the field.

Some Seminars offered in recent years:

• Die Erzählungen des Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811)
• Deutsche Lyrik der Moderne
• Thomas Mann: Buddenbrooks
• Epoche des Expressionismus (1910-1926)
• Kafka
• Kurzgeschichten der Modere
• Literatur und Film (1890 – 1933)
• Zeitgenössische österreicherische Schriftstellerinnen
• Technik und Technikkritik in der Gegenwartsliteratur
• Einführung in die Literaturtheorie
• Pathologies of the Modern Self
• a Broad Curriculum course or a linguistics option

Options:

These specialized final year courses involve extensive reading an research.

Some options offered in recent years:

• Kulturwissenschaft
• Modernism
• Kunst nach Auschwitz
• Intercultural Communication
• Perspectives on New Economy Capitalism in Contemporary German Literature

For further information on course modules visit: www.tcd.ie/german/courses/undergraduate/joint_honors