Module Code - Title:
GE4622
-
GERMAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE 2: TEXT, WRITER AND READER
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
To introduce students to aspects of text theory and reception theory.
To show a literary work, its writer and its readers as products of their time and literature as a reaction to social and political developments.
Syllabus:
Lecture: What is a text? The process of reading; intertextuality; reception of literature; relationship between work and biography of the writer; literature on stage: theatre; literature and politics.
Tutorials: a) continuation of the introductory course to German literature; b) a study of the biography of two writers, their work and their time with a particular focus on dramatic texts.
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
* situate the major periods in German literary history in a broader context
* locate a text in its biographical, historical and socio-political context
* assess the intertextual quality of selected literary texts
* identify key principles of reception theory
* analyse a dramatic literary text and assess its impact as text or performance
* demonstrate skills in literary analysis in written and oral form
* use and evaluate secondary sources, including important reference works in the field of Germanistik
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
* demonstrate an appreciation of the diversity of approaches to the analysis of literary text.
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
N/A
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
A one-hour lecture will be supported by a two hour seminar in which literary and visual texts related to the lecture will be analysed and discussed, starting with a mixture of English and German and progressively in German. Students will be engaged in active learning both inside and outside the classroom and will be encouraged to carry out self-directed work (e.g. essays and oral presentations) related to the material covered on this module.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
B Brecht (2003)
Der Kaukasische Kreidekreis (English translation veriosn used for beginners)
, Suhrkamp
P Groenewold, H Rours, H Würzner (1998)
Abenteuer Literatur
, Schroedel
Other Relevant Texts:
C Wetzel (1988)
Literaturbetrieb kurzgefasst
, Klett
W Beutin et al (1993)
A History of German Literature
, Routledge
G Waldmann (2004)
Produktiver Umgang mit dem Drama
, Schneider
R Warning (2002)
Rezeptionsästhetik
, UTB
J Schönert (2007)
Perspektiven zur Sozialgescichte der Literatur
, Niemeyer
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Module Leader:
Julia.Weiss@ul.ie