Literature
Art
Film

COURSE INFORMATION

Description

The 1920s were fascinating, intense, outré years--they are not called "Roaring" by chance. Numerous Western cultures including both Germany and the United States experienced a time of social and political upheaval as well as extremely high cultural production. In Germany writers such as Kafka, Hesse, Brecht, Döblin and the Mann brothers (Heinrich and Thomas) were prolific; art flourished in both Germany and Austria in the works of Grosz, Kokoschka, Kollwitz, Kirchner, Klimt, Schiele, Beckmann, Dix, Marc, Kandinsky, Ernst, Gabriele Münter and Hannah Höch; and the cinema enjoyed an unusual concentration of talent in directors such as Fritz Lang, F.W. Murnau, G. W. Pabst, Josef von Sternberg, and Robert Wiene. Architecture saw the founding of the Bauhaus as well as the Modern Movement with designers such as Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Moholy-Nagy, while music also underwent radical changes in the compositions of Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg.

Many of these artists, writers and directors knew one another, and the ideas of modernism, expressionism, and dadaism crossed over disciplinary boundaries. With the increasing importance of film, automobiles, and the telephone, both communication and mobility were enhanced; the overall pace of life quickened, especially in large cities such as Berlin, and social and political unrest spread more easily. Because of this interconnectedness inherent to the period, we will look not only at literature, but also at film, art and architecture in an attempt to understand the era in all its complexity. The political struggles that ultimately resulted in National Socialism and the challenges to social mores (homosexuality, feminism, abortion rights, etc.) emerge from the various works of art and films. The Weimar Republic lasted only 14 years, but they were dynamic enough to give the impression today that the Weimar years lasted much longer. And in an oblique way they have, because many of the ideas and perceptions carried over, after World War II, into the second half of the 20th century and even into the 21st.

Texts

At Alabama Bookstore (Univ. Blvd):

Brecht, Bertolt. The Threepenny Opera. NY: Grove, 1960.
Hesse, Hermann. Der Steppenwolf. NY: Dover Thrift , 2000.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. NY: Dover Thrift, 1996.
Mann, Thomas. Death in Venice and Seven Other Stories. NY: Vintage, 1989.

Available only from the Supe Store:

Mann, Heinrich. The Blue Angel (Professor Unrat), and Sternberg,      Josef von. The Blue Angel (screenplay). Photocopied text.      Check under course number GN403, or request that a copy      be printed.

Reserve

Most of the texts are on overnight reserve at Gorgas Library in both German and English.

Texts in German
Students with sufficient language skills are strongly urged to read all texts in the original. The recommended editions of works for this course are as follows:

Brecht. Die Dreigroschenoper. Suhrkamp Tb (ES229) ($7.15 bei      IBIS) Suhrkamp/Insel (ISBN 3-518-03049-3) also publishes      this work with the text in German and annotations in English &      with a German/English glossary in the back ($15 bei IBIS)
Hesse. Der Steppenwolf. Suhrkamp Tb (ISBN 3-518-36675-0,      $9.75 bei IBIS)
Kafka. Sämtliche Erzählungen Fischer Tb (3-596-21078-X, $10.00       bei IBIS)
Th. Mann. Tod in Venedig und andere Erzählungen. Fischer Tb      (3-596-20054-7, $10.27 bei IBIS)

German copies of works can be purchased from IBIS (quick, fair prices, contact information below) or from Amazon.com in Germany (www.amazon.de):

Barbara Kerce, International Book Import Service
161 Main Street, P.O. Box 8188
Lynchburg, TN 37352-8188
Tel. 800-277-4247, Fax: 931-759-7555
Email: ibis@ ibiservice.com
URL: www.ibiservice.com

Course Requirements

Students will be expected to prepare all readings prior to class and to participate actively in discussions. Unannounced quizzes will be given on the readings. Each student will do a 15-minute slide/power point presentation on a selected artist, write a final seminar paper of 8-10 pages, and take a final exam. The final grade will be based on these elements, according to the following breakdown:

Graduate students will prepare a slide presentation on an artist, write a longer final research paper (c. 20 pages), and do extra secondary reading, but will not take the final exam.

The University of Alabama +/- Grading Scale is used in this class.

Disability Statement: Students who require disability-related accommodations in this course must first register with the Office of Disability Services (348-4285 or 348-3081 TTY). Once the appropriate paperwork is obtained from ODS, please see your instructor as soon as possible to arrange accommodations.

Academic Misconduct Statement: Academic misconduct by students includes all acts of dishonesty in any academically-related matter and any knowing or intentional help or attempt to help, or conspiracy to help, another student commit an act of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes, but it not limited to, each of the following acts when performed in any type of academic or academically-related matter, exercise or activity.

1. Cheating – using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, study aids, or computer-related information.

2. Plagiarism – representing the words, data, works, ideas, computer program or output, or anything not generated in an authorized fashion, as one’s own.

3. Fabrication – presenting as genuine any invented or falsified citation or material.

4. Misrepresentation – falsifying, altering, or misstating the contents of documents or other materials related to academic matters, including schedules, prerequisites, and transcripts.

GN403 / WL489 / GN552 | T 2:00 - 4:30; Comer 241 | Dr. Elaine Martin] | 213 Comer, 348-8520 | Office Hours T,R 10:00- 11:00