Advanced German

Composition and Literature

Dozentin: Katja Stuckatz

Bro: XXX Bldg.
Sprechstunde: XXXX

Semester: XXXX
E-Mail: kstuckatz@gmail.com
Seminarzeit und-raum: XXXX

Seminarbeschreibung:
This course is an intensive tutorial in writing German for majors. It provides students with
enhanced linguistic and cultural fluency for academic or real-world purposes. Fundamental to the
course is a thorough grammar review of both basic and advanced grammatical situations, with the
goal of improving students grammatical and stylistic precision in written German discourse.
This course is for students who wish to expand their knowledge of the German language,
history, and culture through reading, watching films, discussions, and writing. Emphasis will be
placed on group work, individual presentations, writing assignments, discussion of texts, and
structured partner exercises.
Format:
This course will be taught in a combined seminar and lecture format. Group learning and
intellectual collaboration characterize a seminar. The success of a language course requires a
serious commitment: Be an active participant and not an observer in teaching. I will expect your
regular attendance, conscientious reading and viewing of the course materials, completion of
your assignments before the due dates, and your willingness to engage in class discussions and
activities.
Lernziele:
Provide students with the opportunity to discuss, cultural, historical, and social issues on a
stylistically sophisticated level.
Improve students grammatical accuracy in written German discourse. Targeted grammar
topics will include: word order and conjunctions, case markings and prepositions, verb tense,
subjunctive, and passive voice.
Familiarize students with grammatical, lexical, stylistic, and pragmatic/discourse features that
characterize various genres of German as a written language.
Help students to understand and improve their knowledge of lexical precision, proper
discourse organization, and voice/expressiveness when writing in German.
Texte:
Bookstore
Schreiben lernen, A Writing Guide for Learners of German. Ed. by Pennylyn Dykstra1

Pruim and Jennifer Redmann. Yale UP 2011.

Available as PDF on Course Reserve
Franz Kafka "Vor dem Gesetz" (1912)
Franz Kafka "Poseidon" (1920)
Deutsche Biographien (Merkel/Wiesel), in: Schreiben Lernen (2011)
Lion Feuchtwanger "Du sollst in Husern wohnen, die du nicht gebaut hast" (1935)
Ernst Jandl "Briefe aus dem Krieg" (1945-46)
Heinrich Bll "Wanderer, wenn du kommst nach Spa..." (1950)
Hermann Vinke "Akteneinsicht Christa Wolf, Zerrspiegel und Dialog", Ausschnitte (1993)
Christa Wolf "Nagelprobe" (1991)
Die Zeit "Zwischen Panzern und Prestige, Olympia in Mexiko" (1968)
Deutsche Welle "68er Bewegung in Deutschland" (2012)
Yoko Tawada "Von der Muttersprache zur Sprachmutter" (2003)
Durs Grnbein "Eine Welt, die keine Feuerpause kennt" (2001)
Other course materials (poems, texts, handouts, videos, etc.) are available via the teacher and
various internet-based sources.

Seminarplan:
Note: The following schedule is a working document which may be changed during the semester at the instructors
discretion and as called for by the overall progress of the course. You will be notified of any changes least one week
in advance.

1. Woche (13.01. - 17.01.)

M: Einfhrung und Kennenlernen
W: Grammatik: Wiederholung der Zeitformen & Wortstellung &
Kasus & Genus
F: Schreiben: CV vs. Lebenslauf, Verteilung der
Grammatikreferate
2. Woche (22.01. - 24.01.)
Feiertag - kein Unterricht
W: Thema: Das frhe 20. Jahrhundert
F: Lesen: Franz Kafka "Vor dem Gesetz" (1912) & "Poseidon"
(1920)
3. Woche (27.01. - 31.01.)
M: Grammatik: Prteritum
W: Thema: Ereignisse um 1933
F: Schreiben: Deutsche Biographien (Merkel/Wiesel)
4. Woche (03.02. - 07.02.)
M: Grammatik: Perfekt
W: Thema: Der Holocaust
F: Lesen: Feuchtwanger "Du sollst in Husern wohnen, die du

Quiz 1

Quiz 2
Biographie (1 Seite)

nicht gebaut hast" (20. Mrz 1935)

5. Woche (10.02. - 14.02.)
M: Grammatik: Imperativ
W: Lesen: Jandl "Briefe aus dem Krieg"
F: Schreiben: einen Brief ins Gefangenenlager
6. Woche (17.02. - 21.02.)
M: Grammatik: Satzstellung & Koordinierende Konjunktionen
W: Thema: Kunst und Krieg
F: Vortrag: Bildbeschreibung (Otto Dix oder Albrecht Drer)
7. Woche (24.02. - 28.02.)
M: Grammatik: Satzstellung & Subordinierende Konjunktionen
W: Lesen: Bll "Wanderer, wenn du kommst nach Spa..." (1950)
F: Lesen: Bll "Wanderer, wenn du kommst nach Spa..." (1950)
8. Woche (03.03. - 07.03.)
M: Grammatik: Passiv

Brief (1 Seite)
Quiz 3

Bildbeschreibung (1 Seite)

Inhaltsangabe Bll
(2 Seiten)

W: Thema: Kalter Krieg und Grndung der DDR

F: Lesen: Vinke "Akteneinsicht Christa Wolf, Zerrspiegel und
Dialog" Ausschnitte (1993)
9. Woche (10.03. - 14.03.)
Frhlingsferien - kein Unterricht
10. Woche (17.03. - 21.03.)
M: Grammatik: Konjunktiv
W: Thema: Schreiben und Politik
F: Lesen: Wolf "Nagelprobe" (1991)
11. Woche (24.03. - 28.03.)
M: Minitagung (TBA)
W: Minitagung (TBA)
F: Minitagung (TBA)

Vortrag (2 + 1 Seiten)
Vortrag (2 + 1 Seiten)
Vortrag (2 + 1 Seiten)

12. Woche (31.03. - 04.04.)

M: Film "Das Leben der Anderen"
W: Film "Das Leben der Anderen"
F: Film "Das Leben der Anderen"
13. Woche (07.04. - 11.04.)
M: Grammatik: Relativstze
W: Thema: Die friedliche Revolution von 1989

Filmrezension (2 Seiten)
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F: Lesen: 68er Bewegung in Deutschland

14. Woche (14.04. - 18.04.)
M: Grammatik: Adjektivendungen
W: Thema: Toleranz und Migration
F: Lesen: Migration in Deutschland und der Welt
15. Woche (21.04 - 25.04.)
M: Grammatik: Wiederholung Textkohsion
W: Thema: Die Fremdsprache in der eigenen Sprache
F: Schreiben: Tawada "Von der Muttersprache zur
Sprachmutter" (2003)
16. Woche (28.04. - 02.05.)
M: Grammatik: Wiederholung
W: Thema: 9/11 und deutsche Autoren
F: Lesen: Grnbein "Eine Welt, die keine Feuerpause kennt"
(2001)
16. Woche (05.05.)
M: Klausurwoche

Quiz 4

Zeitungsbericht (1 Seite)

Quiz 5

Hausarbeit
(4 Seiten)

Prfungsleistungen:
Participation & Homework: You are expected to come to class and actively participate every
day. Readings must be completed for the assigned day and you should have spent some time
thinking. You will regularly receive homework assignments to prepare you for the days
activities. These homework assignments will be due at the beginning of the next class period.
Quizzes: Quizzes provide you, as a language learner, with immediate feedback on your progress
and development in the course. There will be at 5 quizzes during the semester and they will cover
a variety of aspects of the course including vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension,
Vortrag: In the second half of the semester, we will have a Minitagung (small conference) where
each student presents a paper on a given topic to the entire class (3 pages). Each presenter will
also be a commentator on another student's presentation (1 page). More information regarding
particular topics and the format of the assignment will be given in class.
Hausarbeit: The Hausarbeit is a four-page paper that is due at the end of the semester. You will
chose a genre and expand on a topic/text we discussed in class. More information regarding
particular questions and the format of the assignment will be given in class.
Writing Assignments: In addition to the Hausarbeit and the conference presentation, students will
prepare six writing assignments over the course of the semester. These assignments vary in type,
topic, and length to help students refine their written expression and to further their ability to
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express, argue, and discuss opinions in German. More information about each individual
assignment will be given during the semester.
Grade Distribution:
Participation
1 Hausarbeit
6 Writing Assignments
5 Quizzes
1 Vortrag

30%
20%
20%
15%
15%

Weitere Informationen:
Attendance: Our class meets three times a week. Attendance in all classes is mandatory. Missing
more than 3 classes will lower a students grade. Each unexcused absence beyond the 3 allotted
to each student will reduce the students overall course grade by 1%.
Participation: Participation is the umbrella concept for a variety of course elements: active
involvement in all class activities (including group/team work) and the level of your
preparedness. I will expect your regular attendance, conscientious reading and viewing of the
course materials, completion of your assignments before the due dates, and your willingness to
engage in class discussions and activities. Active class participation is necessary for a superior
grade.
Homework: You will regularly receive homework assignments to prepare you for the days
activities. All homework assignments must be submitted on the day of the due date.
Late Assignments: Should you anticipate any problems in completing your work on time you
should come and talk to me before it is too late. Late work without an extension will not be
accepted. No make-up quizzes, no late homework.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is academic theft and will not be tolerated. According to Webster's New
Collegiate Dictionary, to plagiarize is "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as
one's own: use (a created production) without crediting the source: to commit literary theft:
present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source." This includes
copying something out of a book, newspaper, journal or any other printed source, as well as
electronic resources such as the World Wide Web without the appropriate acknowledgement.
According to this definition, plagiarism would also include the following:

using material created by another student at your school or anywhere else and passing it
off as your own (with or without their consent).

using a paper-writing "service" which offers to sell written papers for a fee.

translations (with or without translation software) of texts from other languages and
submitting them as your own work.
ATTENTION:Using translation software for any of your work in this course is not allowed and
is defined as academic dishonesty and plagiarism. You may obtain help from a tutor or a
friend/classmate for translations, if necessary. In those instances you are expected to disclose
your source and what specifically you have adopted for your own work.

Ich wnsche Euch viel Erfolg und Freude in unserem Kurs!

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