Module Code - Title:
GE4622
-
GERMAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE 2: TEXT, WRITER AND READER
Year Last Offered:
2026/7
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.
Prime Texts:
P Groenewold, H Rours, H Würzner (1998)
Abenteuer Literatur
, Schroedel
B Brecht (2003)
Der Kaukasische Kreidekreis (English translation veriosn used for beginners)
, Suhrkamp
Other Relevant Texts:
C Wetzel (1988)
Literaturbetrieb kurzgefasst
, Klett
W Beutin et al (1993)
A History of German Literature
, Routledge
J Schönert (2007)
Perspektiven zur Sozialgescichte der Literatur
, Niemeyer
R Warning (2002)
Rezeptionsästhetik
, UTB
G Waldmann (2004)
Produktiver Umgang mit dem Drama
, Schneider
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN APPLIED LANGUAGES
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN CONTEMPORARY DANCE
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN EUROPEAN STUDIES
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN IRISH DANCE
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN IRISH MUSIC
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN MUSIC
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN VOICE
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN WORLD MUSIC
BACHELOR OF EDUCATION IN LANGUAGES
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Module Leader:
Julia.Weiss@ul.ie