Dr. Karin Schestokat 102 G Gundersen Professor of German [email protected] Department of Languages & Literatures office hours: MWF 9:30 - 10:20 am Oklahoma State University and by appointment SYLLABUS GRMN 4543 – CONTEMPORARY GERMAN LITERATURE MWF 10:30 – 11:20 (GU 307) Spring 2020 Required Texts: Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Die Physiker. Thomas Brussig. Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee. Bernhard Schlink. Der Vorleser Juli Zeh. Corpus Delicti. Wolfgang Herrndorf. Tschick. Handouts (short stories, poems, and texts on literary eras) Course Objectives: 1) Give students an overview of the major literary movements of 20th-Century German literature and their main exponents. 2) Expose and familiarize students of German with a selection of 20th – 21st century German literature through various text genres. 3) Introduce, read, and analyze different genres of literature, such as poems, short stories, and plays, thus strengthening reading skills and broadening technical vocabulary. 4) Further development of writing skills through essay composition. 5) Further the ability to speak in German more comfortably in front of a group of people by delivering two brief presentations and leading two class discussions. 6) Further listening comprehension and speaking skills through participation in class discussions. Composition of the Grade: Attendance, text preparation, participation (44 mtgs @ 5 pts.) 220 pts. Discussion questions (4x) @ 50 pts. 200 pts. Two brief presentations (10 min. each) @ 50 pts. 100 pts. Draft of paper 50 pts. Paper 200 pts. Midterm 100 pts. Final 100 pts. Total: 950 pts. 2 Grading scale: 100 – 90% A 89 – 80% B 79 – 70% C 69 – 60% D ATTENDANCE: You are allowed three unexcused absences. An absence is considered excused only if: the student informs their professor via email that they will have to miss/missed class due to illness or submits a doctor’s note the next time they attend class, and longer absences due to illness also require official documentation; the student has to attend a university-related activity, such as a field trip or a competition, some form of documentation will be needed; there is a family emergency. Any further unexcused absence will result in the deduction of 5 points per class meeting of the participation/preparation grade. ESSAY DRAFT: The draft is the first version of your essay. It is slightly shorter than the final version, but it already has to follow the final structure. Ideally, you decide in advance if you would like to write a descriptive or an analytical essay (see rubric for essay as well as general format on p. 7 and pp. 12-13). NOTE: You have to submit a brief outline in English one week before the draft, 9-10 sentences. – Draft will not be accepted if it is submitted more than 48 hours late. MIDTERM & FINAL: Both midterm and final follow the same 3-part structure (with the final being longer). 1. Combining two halves of a sentence in a meaningful way (based on content of all texts covered in class unless otherwise specified). 2. Answering short, content-based questions. 3. Essay question (choices will be given, may be content based or more reflective/analytical) SEMESTERPLAN (Änderungen vorbehalten) HA: Hausaufgabe fürs nächste Treffen; P: Präsentation; D: Diskussionsfragen Woche 1 Mo., 13. Jan. Kennenlernen, Besprechung des Kurses, Erwartungen. Was wissen Sie über Deutschland im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert? HA: Expressionismus; Weltende, Sonnenuntergang Mi., 15. 1. Moderne & Expressionismus; Weltende, Sonnenuntergang HA: Neue Sachlichkeit, Sachliche Romanze; Erich Kästner 3 Fr., 17. 1. Neue Sachlichkeit, Sachliche Romanze; Erich Kästner, Th. Mann, Franz Kafka HA: Exilliteratur; Bertolt Brecht, Verfremdungseffekt, episches Theater Woche 2 Mi., 22. 1. Exilliteratur; Bertolt Brecht, Verfremdungseffekt, episches Theater HA: Bertolt Brecht, An die Nachgeborenen Fr., 24. 1. Bertolt Brecht, An die Nachgeborenen HA: Nachkriegsliteratur; Marshallplan, Anna Seghers Woche 3 Mo., 27. 1. Nachkriegsliteratur; P: Marshallplan, Anna Seghers HA: Anna Seghers, Das Schilfrohr Mi., 29. 1. Anna Seghers, D: Das Schilfrohr HA: Wolfgang Borchert, Die Küchenuhr Fr. 31. 1. Wolfgang Borchert, Die Küchenuhr HA: DDR-Literatur; Wolf Biermann, Christa Wolf, Stasi Woche 4 Mo., 3. Feb. P: DDR-Literatur; Wolf Biermann, Christa Wolf, P: Stasi HA: D: Christa Wolf, Blickwechsel Mi., 5. 2. Christa Wolf, D: Blickwechsel HA: Schweizer Literatur; Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Max Frisch Fr. 7. 2. Schweizer Literatur; Friedrich Dürrenmatt, P: Max Frisch HA: Dürrenmatt, Die Physiker bis Seite 53 lesen Woche 5 Mo., 10. 2. Dürrenmatt, Die Physiker HA: Die Physiker zu Ende lesen Film auf youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZhFC11uB3Q Mi., 12. 2. D: Die Physiker HA: Literatur der BRD (60er-90er); P: Günter Grass, Heinrich Böll Fr., 14. 2. Literatur der BRD (60er-90er); P: Günter Grass, Heinrich Böll HA: Österreichische Literatur; Ilse Aichinger, Ingeborg Bachmann, P: Elfriede Jelinek 4 Woche 6 Mo., 17. 2. Österreichische Literatur; Ilse Aichinger, Ingeborg Bachmann, P: Elfriede Jelinek HA: D: Ilse Aichinger, Spiegelgeschichte Mi., 19. 2. Ilse Aichinger, D: Spiegelgeschichte HA: Wiederholung, Fragen? Fr., 21. 2. Wiederholung Woche 7 Mo., 24. 2. Midterm HA: Gegenwartsliteratur Mi., 26. 2. Gegenwartsliteratur HA: D: Brussig, Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee bis S. 50 lesen Bis 6. März auch den Film angesehen haben! Erhältlich im Language Lab, Gu 206 Fr., 28. 2. Brussig, Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee HA: Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee bis S. 51-100 lesen Woche 8 Mo., 2. März D: Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee HA: D: Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee zu Ende lesen Mi., 4. 3. D: Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee HA: Film ansehen Fr., 6. 3. Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee Vergleich von Buch und Film HA: P: Bernhard Schlink; Schlink, Der Vorleser, S. 5-50 lesen Bis 25. März auch den Film angesehen haben! Erhältlich im Language Lab, Gu 206 Woche 9 Mo., 9. 3. P: Bernhard Schlink; Der Vorleser S. 5-50 HA: D: Schlink, Der Vorleser S. 51-100 Mi., 11. 3. Schlink, D: Der Vorleser, S. 51-100 HA: D: Schlink, Der Vorleser, S. 101-157 Fr., 13. 3. Schlink: Der Vorleser S. 101-157 HA: Schlink: Der Vorleser S. 159-207 5 Woche 10 Spring Break Woche 11 Mo., 23. 3. Schlink, D: Der Vorleser zu Ende besprechen HA: Den Film gesehen haben Mi., 25. 3. Vorleser Film und Buch vergleichen HA: Juli Zeh, Corpus Delicti S. 1-43 Theaterstück auf youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EnnHtfMNT4 Fr., 27. 3. Juli Zeh, Corpus Delicti S. 1-43 HA: Juli Zeh, Corpus Delicti S. 44-78 Woche 12 Mo., 30. 3. D: Corpus Delicti S. 44-78 HA: Corpus Delicti S. 79-115 Mi., 1. April D: Corpus Delicti S. 79-115 HA: Corpus Delicti S. 116-152 Fr., 3. 4. D: Corpus Delicti S. 116-152 HA: Corpus Delicti S. 153-191 Woche 13 Mo., 6. 4. Corpus Delicti S. 153-191; Essay outline due (English) HA: Corpus Delicti S. 192-264 Mi., 8. 4. Corpus Delicti S. 192-264 HA: Film gesehen haben! Fr., 10. 4. Corpus Delicti Film und Buch im Vergleich Herrndorf: Tschick, S. 7-49 lesen Woche 14 Mo., 13. 4. Tschick, S. 7-49 HA: Tschick, S. 50-94 Mi., 15. 4. D: Tschick, S. 50-94 HA: Tschick, S. 95-133 Fr., 17. 4. Tschick, S. 95-133 HA: Tschick, S. 134-177 6 Woche 15 Mo., 20. 4. D: Tschick, S. 134-177; Essay draft due HA: Tschick, S. 178-254 Mi., 22. 4. D: Tschick, S. 178 bis Ende besprechen HA: Film Tschick ansehen Fr., 24. 4. Besprechung Tschick Buch und Film HA: Transnationale Literatur: Yoko Tawada, Wladimir Kaminer, Herta Müller Woche 16 Mo., 27. 4. Transnationale Literatur: Yoko Tawada, Wladimir Kaminer, Herta Müller HA: Afro-deutsch II, Exotik; May Ayim, Rafik Schami, Emine Özdamar Mi., 29. 4. Afro-deutsch II, Exotik; May Ayim, Rafik Schami, Emine Özdamar Fr., 1. Mai Wiederholung. Abschlussklausur: Mittwoch, 6. Mai, 10:00-11:50 Uhr 7 Preparation and in-class policies • Our classroom is set up to be a safe space. Using a foreign language will push students out of their comfort zone and may create a feeling of vulnerability. Thus, each student is expected to be respectful and courteous towards their classmates and their professor. Also, be patient with yourself! Language learning does not happen overnight. – Moreover, any form of intolerance based on race, gender, sex, religion etc. is a no-go in this class. • Do not hesitate to inform your professor about your preferred pronouns (sie/ihr//she/her, er/ihn/ihm//he/him etc.) J • You will read a lot for this class, and most texts are very challenging, so allow yourself ample time for completing your homework! • Suggestions for approaching a literary text: o Read an English summary. o Read a German summary. o Get some information on the author and the conditions under which the text was written (often covered in class, but feel free to look up this information in English as well). o Tackle the assigned text/excerpt in several sessions. o Resist the urge to look up every word you don’t understand, try to go for the bigger picture (and come back a second time if you need a specific information). o If you receive questions ahead of time, let those guide your reading. o If you did not receive any questions ahead of time, take notes to cover the most important facts (who, what, where, when, why) and any questions you might have. o WORK WITH THE TEXT (i.e., underline, mark, take notes on the margins – this will make discussing the text SO much easier). o Work with the text. Seriously. Do it. o Be patient with yourself. If, in the course of the semester, you would like extra assistance, tutors are available, free of charge, through the LASSO center, 021 Classroom Building, (405) 744-3309 or sign up at https://lasso.okstate.edu/ Academic Success Coaching is also available.