Fall 2014
GER 363K/ 38240 Topics in German Culture: Classics of German Cinema (official title: German Cinema after 1933) Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-11 AM, GEA 114
Instructor: Sabine Hake Email: [email protected] Telephone: 512-232-6379 Office: BUR 332 Office Hours: Thursdays 11-12 noon and by appointment
German films feature prominently on most “greatest films of all times” lists. Likewise German film directors are celebrated for their innovative forms and styles. What can we learn about twentieth and twenty-first century German culture and society by looking at these films? Which artistic traditions and cultural sensibilities distinguish the German approach to narrative, genre, authorship, film form, and the star system? How did films participate in, and respond to, the transformations of modern mass society and media culture? Focusing on the art film, this course offers a survey of German cinema and the cultural, social, and political conditions that gave rise to and shaped its thematic preoccupations and filmic styles. Also designed to offer an introduction to film analysis, the course features internationally known directors from Fritz Lang to Rainer Werner Fassbinder to Tom Tykwer and presents classics such as Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Metropolis, Die Mörder sind unter uns, Aguirre, and so forth. We will cover all periods of German film history, from the Weimar Republic and Third Reich to the divided cinemas of the Federal Republic and German Democratic Republic to the most recent films made after unification. In addition to the close analysis of selected films, a number of broader issues will be discussed, including the contribution of German filmmakers to the making of classical Hollywood and the European art film and the role of innovative directors in the search for new filmic images and stories.
The entire course will be taught in German; however, all films have subtitles. In addition to analyzing individual films, the students will read short critical essays in English and German. Prerequisite: Three courses beyond GER 506 or equivalent credit on the placement exam.
Grading/Requirements: 20% Attendance, preparation and active participation 20% Two Class presentations (10%), including one PowerPoint 40% Two Written Exams (20% each) 20% Ten-Page Final Paper, with at least five book or article sources, endnotes, and one Einstellungsprotokoll.
Course Objectives: The course is designed for German majors to --receive an overview of German cinema from the beginning to the present;
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--learn about the leading directors of German cinema; --study the different filmic styles and artistic visions associated with an important European art cinema; and --practice their German speaking, writing, and listening comprehension through the critical examination of classic films.
Required Readings (all available on Canvas) Abel, Marco. “The Cinema of Identification Gets on My Nerves. An Interview with Christian Petzold.” Cineaste 33.3 (2008). Brockmann, Stephen. A Critical History of German Film. Rochester: Camden House, 2010. Dölling, Irene. “We All Love Paula But Paul Is More Important to Us. Constructing a ‘Socialist Person’ Using the ‘Femininity’ of a Working Woman.” New German Critique 82 (2001): 77-90. Hake, Sabine, German National Cinema. London: Routledge, 2008. Schueller, Jeanne, Reinhard Zachau, and Carrie Collenberg-Gonzales. Cineplex: Intermediate German Language and Culture through Film. Newburyport: Focus, 2014. Silberman, Marc. German Cinema: Texts in Context. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. Wienen, Andrea and Holger Wiele, Gegen die Wand. Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2004.
Required Screenings The films will be screened every Thursday in Burdine 332 from 5-7:30 PM; see separate screening schedule with DVD call numbers in Fine Arts Library.
Course Schedule
8/28 Introduction to the Course
9/2 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari (1919, Robert Wiene)
9/4 Lecture I: Weimar Cinema Reading: Film Glossary and Hake, Introduction
9/9 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Metropolis (1927, Fritz Lang)
9/11 Group Work: Film Analysis I Reading: Brockmann, Weimar Cinema
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9/16 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Kuhle Wampe (1933, Slatan Dudow)
9/18 EXAM 1
9/23 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: La Habanera (1937, Detlef Sierk)
9/25 Lecture II: Nazi Cinema Reading: Brockmann, Nazi Cinema
9/30 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Die Mörder sind unter uns/The Murderers Are Among Us (1946, Wolfgang Staudte)
10/2 Group Work: Film Analysis IV Reading: Brockmann, Postwar German Cinema
10/7 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Spur der Steine/Trace of Stones (1966, Frank Beyer)
10/9 Lecture III: East German Cinema Reading: Brockmann, East German Cinema
10/14 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Die Legende von Paul und Paula (1973, Heiner Carow)
10/16 Group Work: Film Analysis V Reading: Dölling
10/21 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Ali Angst essen Seele auf/ Ali Fear Eats the Soul (1974, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
10/23 EXAM 2
10/28 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Aguirre (1977, Werner Herzog)
10/30 Lecture IV: West German Cinema Reading: Brockmann, West German Cinema
11/4 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Paris, Texas (1984, Wim Wenders)
11/6 Group Work: Analysis V
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Reading: Brockmann, Postunification Cinema
11/11 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Lola rennt/ Run Lola Run (1998, Tom Tykwer)
11/13 Group Work: Film Analysis VI Reading: Schueller /Zachau/ Collenberg-Gonzalez
11/18 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Gegen die Wand/ Head-On (2004, Fatih Akin)
11/20 Lecture: Postunification Cinema Reading: Wienen/Twele, Gegen die Wand
11/25 Discussion of the Film and Student Presentations Film: Yella (2007, Christian Petzold)
12/2 Lecture V: German Cinema as National or Transnational Cinema Reading: Abel Interview with Petzold
12/4 STUDENT PRESENTATIONS OF FINAL PAPERS (5’ each)
General Rules and Regulations
CLASS AND CLASSROOMS You will turn off all cell phones before entering the classroom. You will behave with dignity and respect for your instructor and your fellow students. This means you will not talk during class unless you are involved in group discussions and exercises. It means you will not arrive late or leave early. It means that you will not read anything except your notes during class meetings.. Cell phones must be turned off in class; laptops may only be used for note taking. If a student uses electronic devices for non-class related activities and creates a disturbance, s/he will be asked to leave for the remainder of that class session.
ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE: Academic Assistance is provided by the UT Learning Center, in Jester Center, Room A332A. It offers help with college-level writing, reading, and learning strategies. It is free to all currently enrolled students. See:
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-6441 TTY. Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations
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should contact the Service for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations. These letters must be given to the professor at the beginning of the class. See:
SYLLABUS AND ASSIGNMENTS: All requirements have been given to you in writing; continuation in the class means acceptance of the rules and regulations spelled out in the syllabus. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED; see the conditions for making up work for medical and other leaves listed in the next sections.
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS AND OTHER ABSENCES: Students can make up work missed because of a religious holiday as long as they provide the instructor with documentation at least one week before the holiday occurs. The same applies to official university obligations like Club or Varsity sports. Documentation from a physician is required for medical absence; arrangements for work to be made up must be made promptly, and in no case should the work be completed more than two weeks after the absence. Other absences (e.g. family events) must be arranged for at least ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE and missed work must be turned in at the NEXT CLASS SESSION upon return. Please note: More than 4 unexcused absences will lower the grade by one full grade, more than 6 unexcused absences will lower the grade by two full grades, and 8 unexcused absences will automatically result in an F grade.
CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM: Cheating and other forms of scholastic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will be reported to the Dean of Students. Cheating on tests or plagiarism on papers is an F for the assignment, with no makeup possible. If you engage in any form of scholastic dishonesty more than once, you will receive an automatic F for the course. If you are unsure about the exact definition of scholastic dishonesty, you should consult the information about academic integrity produced by the Dean of Students Office:
WRITTEN WORK AND ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION All writing work needs to be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, with 1-inch margins. Your citation style will be MLA endnote; see instructions in Canvas. Please submit all papers electronically by 12PM on the due date. Save your document in the following fashion: yourlastname1, 2, 3, etc. In addition, include your full name on the first page of the document (upper left corner). Make sure that your document is in fact attached to your email and that the file is uncorrupted and in the proper Word format.
PLEASE NOTE: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SUBMITTING YOUR WORK IN THE PROPER FORMAT AND BEFORE THE RESPECTIVE DEADLINE.
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SUBMISSIONS NOT COMPLYING WITH THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 1. The instructor it not available to answer e-mails between Friday 5 PM and Monday 9 AM. All inquiries, including e-mails, will be answered within two business days. 2. All written work will be returned within one week. All grade-related feedback will be given via e-mail. All complaints about grades or requests for special consideration must be made in writing, and no later than one week before or after the subject in question. 3. The instructor is willing to write letters of recommendation (e.g., for graduate school or internship applications), if the request is received two weeks before the deadline and if you provide the instructor with all the necessary documentation: curriculum vitae, grant proposal/cover letter, description of fellowship/internship program, and envelope with address and postage (if applicable).
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