This post-proficiency Readings course, taught exclusively in German, focuses on 20th and 21st century Berlin as seen through the filter of journalistic, autobiographical and fictional texts, as well as the visual arts and film. We examine the city’s perpetual struggle to redefine itself over the course of the last century: from its emergence as a world city and cultural hub in the 1920s, to its decline following the economic crash of 1929 and descent into fascism and war; from its reemergence out of the ruins, through Cold-war division and unification, to its current incarnation as an international city with a complexly layered past and present-day challenges. Through different narrative lenses—tragic, nostalgic, comical, journalistic ironic—students explore a wide range of topics: revolution, gender politics, political ideology and private life, youth culture, music as protest, utopian and dystopian visions, multiculturalism. Readings include work by Georg Simmel, Irmgard Keun, Hans Fallada, Peter Schneider, Thomas Brussig, Zafer Senocak and Jenny Erpenbeck.

Course Requirements:

Attendance is required and students must attend co-curricular activities (lunch tables and coffee hour) at least twice a week.

Intended Audience:

This course is open to all UM students. RC students must have passed the RC German Proficiency exam and can take German Readings a second time, if the topic has changed. UM students must have completed two years of German at the university, or with instructor permission.

Class Format:

The class is structured as a seminar and requires active participation.