The courses listed below are provided by the JHU Public Course Search. This listing provides a snapshot of immediately available courses and may not be complete.
Course registration information can be found on the Student Information Services (SIS) website.
Four-skills introduction to the German language and culture. Develops proficiency in speaking, writing, reading and listening skills through the use of basic texts, multi-media and communicative language activities. Online tools required. May not be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Tuesday section is a mandatory hour.
Continuation to the introduction to the German language and a development of reading, speaking, writing & listening through the use of basic texts and communicative activities. The culture of the German-language countries is also incorporated into the curriculum. May not be taken on a S/U basis. Prerequisites: AS.210.161 or Placement Exam. Tuesday hour is mandatory.
Taught in German. This course continues the same four-skills approach (speaking, writing, reading and listening) from the first-year sequence, introducing and practicing more advanced topics and structures. Expansion and extension through topical readings and discussion and multi-media materials. Online tools required. Prereq: 210.162 or placement exam. May not be taken on an S/U basis.
Taught in German. This course continues the same four-skills approach (speaking, writing, reading and listening) from the first-year sequence, introducing and practicing more advanced topics and structures. Expansion and extension through topical readings and discussion and multi-media materials. Online tools required. Prereq: 210.162 or placement exam. May not be taken on an S/U basis.
Taught in German. Topically, this course focuses on defining moments in cultural history in German speaking countries in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Films, texts, including a full-length novel, and other media provide a basis for discussing events in post-war Germany from 1945 to 2000. A review and expansion of advanced grammatical concepts and vocabulary underlies the course. Focus on improving expression in writing and speaking. May not be taken on an S/U basis.
Taught in German. Course is designed to familiarize students with the vocabulary and standards for doing business in Germany. Taking a cultural approach, students read texts and engage in discussion that elucidate the works of business, commerce & industry in Germany, the world’s third largest economy. Emphasis is placed on vocabulary expansion and writing as it relates to business and business cases. May not be taken S/U. Recommended background: at least 4 semesters of college German (210.262) or equivalent.
Graduate students only. Seniors may enroll with permission from LPD and instructor. Taught in English. This is the first semester of a year-long course designed for graduate students in other fields who wish to gain a reading knowledge of the German language. Seniors who intend to do graduate study in other disciplines are also welcome. Instruction includes an introduction to German vocabulary and grammatical structures as well as discussion of relevant translation practices. The goal of the course is for students to gain confidence in reading a variety of texts, including those in their own fields of study. No knowledge of German is assumed.
This course will survey German ideas—in philosophy, social and political theory, and drama—since the Enlightenment. Authors include Kant, Schiller, Lessing, Goethe, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Weber, Horkheimer, and Adorno.
Dystopia (from the Latin) means “bad place.” Classic literary dystopias such as We, 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 depict societies gone wrong, bad places in which socioeconomic ideas promise harmony but produce nightmarish, even apocalyptic outcomes. A common theme of dystopian fiction is the conflict between collective need and individual desire. In this course we will pursue this theme, and others, as we read works of fiction alongside influential works of socio-economic thought. One of our aims will be to tease out the buried dreams and latent possibilities in the historical realities and literary imaginings of dystopic worlds. Readings include selections from popular fiction and contemporary media as well as texts by authors such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Hayek, Rosa Luxemburg, W.E.B. Du Bois, Franz Kafka, Juli Zeh, Olivia Wenzel, Elias Canetti, Brigitte Riemann, Hannah Arendt, Frantz Fanon, Herta Müller, and Philip K. Dick.
Taught in German. Goethe’s novel is among the most influential in the German tradition and established the genre of the Bildungsroman. Although the novel is often considered a tale of personal formation and social integration, the reverse of this statement is true as well. Wilhelm Meister is a novel of splintered relations and social disintegration, as even the best laid plans are disrupted by unexpected circumstances and uncontrollable desires. We will read the entire novel in German over the semester with an eye toward the motif of theater and the question of puppets, puppet masters, and invisible hands, especially as thematized in the mysterious Turmgesellschaft introduced at the novel’s conclusion.
This course considers the importance of philosophical, literary, aesthetic, and other humanist approaches to ecology and environmental issues.
The privilege of thinking has faced two challenges in recent years. The advent of artificial intelligence has called into question how unique thinking is when cognition can easily be mimicked, if not (re)produced, in machines through statistical models of language. An equally prevalent, if opposing, development in critical theory is the expansion of thought to include all purposeful action, such as the spreading of information among trees regarding available resources. The first half of the semester will be devoted to the definition of thinking offered by Aristotle and its interpretation in selected texts by Fichte, Hegel, and Marx. The second half will consider the surge of interest in automatons in romantic literature (Novalis, Hoffmann, Kleist and Poe) and culminating in Kafka’s “Report to an Academy.
This course explores literature in the context of the aesthetic tradition in philosophy. Themes include literature as mimesis, or the representation of reality, its relation to truth, untruth, and possibility, literature as the revealing of being, literary imagination, the distinctiveness of literary language and expression, the role of the literary author. Readings may include background selections from Plato and Aristotle, but the course will focus on philosophical interest in literature since the late 18th century, and may include Kant, Hölderlin, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Blanchot, Bachelard, among other readings. Course will be taught by the Kurrelmeyer Chair in German. Taught in English.
This course is for a graduate students pursuing an independent research project with a faculty mentor. Students are expected to meet regularly with the mentor and to write a lengthy paper, or several short papers, on the chosen topic.
This course is for a graduate students pursuing an independent research project with a faculty mentor. Students are expected to meet regularly with the mentor and to write a lengthy paper, or several short papers, on the chosen topic.
This course is for a graduate students pursuing an independent research project with a faculty mentor. Students are expected to meet regularly with the mentor and to write a lengthy paper, or several short papers, on the chosen topic.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
Training for professional academic purposes.
Four-skills introduction to the German language and culture. Develops proficiency in speaking, writing, reading and listening skills through the use of basic texts, multi-media and communicative language activities. Online tools required. May not be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
Continuation to the introduction to the German language and a development of reading, speaking, writing & listening through the use of basic texts and communicative activities. The culture of the German-language countries is also incorporated into the curriculum. May not be taken on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis.
Continuation to the introduction to the German language and a development of reading, speaking, writing & listening through the use of basic texts and communicative activities. The culture of the German-language countries is also incorporated into the curriculum. May not be taken on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis.
Taught in German. This course continues the same four-skills approach (speaking, writing, reading and listening) from the first-year sequence, introducing and practicing more advanced topics and structures. Expansion and extension through topical readings and discussion and multi-media materials. Online tools required. Prereq: 210.162 or placement exam. May not be taken on an S/U basis.
Taught in German. This course is designed to continue the four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) approach to learning German. Readings and discussions are topically based and include fairy tales, poems, art and film, as well as readings on contemporary themes such as Germany’s green movement. Students will also review and deepen their understanding of the grammatical concepts of German.
Taught in German. This course is designed to continue the four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) approach to learning German. Readings and discussions are topically based and include fairy tales, poems, art and film, as well as readings on contemporary themes such as Germany’s green movement. Students will also review and deepen their understanding of the grammatical concepts of German.
Taught in German. Topically, this course focuses on contemporary issues such as national identity, multiculturalism and the lingering social consequences of major 20th century historical events. Readings include literary and journalistic texts, as well as radio broadcasts, internet sites, music and film. Students read a full-length novel. Emphasis is placed on improving mastery of German grammar, development of self-editing skills and practice in spoken German for academic use. Introduction/Review of advanced grammar.
Taught in German. Topically, this course focuses on contemporary issues such as national identity, multiculturalism and the lingering social consequences of major 20th century historical events. Readings include literary and journalistic texts, as well as radio broadcasts, internet sites, music and film. Students read a full-length novel. Emphasis is placed on improving mastery of German grammar, development of self-editing skills and practice in spoken German for academic use. Introduction/Review of advanced grammar.
Taught in English. Seniors by permission & Graduate students only. This course is designed for graduate students in other departments who wish to gain reading knowledge of the German language and translation practice from German to English. This course is a continuation of the Fall semester. Focus on advanced grammatical structures and vocabulary. For certification or credit.
This course is an approach to Twentieth century German history and culture via film and related readings in English translation. We will emphasize the national division thematically, and explore the audio and visual aspects of cinema by focusing on representative films embedded in larger narratives. Some prior familiarity with German culture is recommended but not required.
Analyzing literature and films on the family relationships of refugees, political prisoners, Stasi informants, and Nazi perpetrators, we will study the psychic afterlives of fascist, totalitarian, or authoritarian regimes (Nazi Germany, GDR, Turkey). We will discover experiences and stories that are often not told in the family but nevertheless handed down across generations in powerful and often distorted ways. Drawing on philosophy, psychoanalysis, and psychosociology, we will discuss how the need to keep quiet meets the need to talk and to hear.
Political thinkers from Ernst Bloch and Carl Schmitt to Reinhard Koselleck and Theodor W. Adorno have long been drawn to Heinrich von Kleist’s novella “Michael Kohlhaas” because of the questions it raises about what a just political order would be when, in the context of this story, only the threat of violence enables the powerless to be heard. The novella takes place in the latter half of the sixteenth century as the feudal era is coming to an end, and Kohlhaas’s struggle to rectify the damage done to his property reveals the vulnerability of the then emerging merchant class to the still unchecked power of the nobility. Yet Kohlhaas’s response to the situation proves to be as arbitrary as the injustice he faces, and the only solution the novella can find for this impasse is a fairy tale that embodies—in all senses of the phrase—poetic justice. This course will examine the novella in its historical context (Reformation, doctrine of natural law, Prussian land reform) and with an eye toward modern thought on state violence, terror, liberalism, and the power of art. All texts and discussion in English.
Who has a monopoly on violence? What is the relation of the individual to the state? Is there a right to resistance? Who determines what is just or unjust, arbitrary or rational? Is there a power peculiar to art? We will consider these perennial questions of political theory through a careful examination of Heinrich von Kleist’s novella Michael Kohlhaas (1810) and theoretical works by Martin Luther, Hobbes, Rousseau, & Marx.
Taught by the Max Kade Visiting Professor. According to Aristotle’s Poetics, the poet’s task is to speak not of things that have happened (ta genomena) but of the sort of things that might happen and are possible (dunata). But how does the literary work come into being—in other words, how is it possible as a locus of possibilities? Since the late 18th century, authors have increasingly focused on their manuscripts as the space of poetic potential and have engaged in different ways with the gestural, technical, and pictorial dynamics of writing. In this course, we will look at these material practices and how they shape notions of poetic possibility. Authors to include Hölderlin, Nietzsche among others. The class will also consider the theorry of poetic writing in the Paris school of critique génétique.
Contemporary German literature features an important number of highly acclaimed work that tells Black, queer, and transcultural stories. What prompted this shift from the margins to the center? As a possible response to this question, the seminar intends to explore to what extent non-normative perspectives produce aesthetics and imaginaries that can confront and transform the transgenerational reproduction of collective trauma. We will discuss novels and plays, fiction, autofiction, and antiautobiography, pertinent theory, and, where available, stagings of works by authors such as Fatma Aydemir, Kim de l’Horizon, Nino Haratischwili, Sharon Dodua Otoo, Falk Richter, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Olivia Wenzel, and Hengameh Yaghoobifarah.
This course is for a graduate students pursuing an independent research project with a faculty mentor. Students are expected to meet regularly with the mentor and to write a lengthy paper, or several short papers, on the chosen topic.
This course is for a graduate students pursuing an independent research project with a faculty mentor. Students are expected to meet regularly with the mentor and to write a lengthy paper, or several short papers, on the chosen topic.
This course is for a graduate students pursuing an independent research project with a faculty mentor. Students are expected to meet regularly with the mentor and to write a lengthy paper, or several short papers, on the chosen topic.
This course is for a graduate students pursuing an independent research project with a faculty mentor. Students are expected to meet regularly with the mentor and to write a lengthy paper, or several short papers, on the chosen topic.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
Students are expected to meet regularly with their dissertation director to ensure they adhere to a research and writing schedule for their dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
This course is for graduate students to prepare one of their two required qualifying papers. One qualifying paper should be article-length and present work that will not be part of the dissertation. The second should be the draft of a chapter for the dissertation.
Training for professional academic purposes.
Fall 202427 |
Spring 202528 |
| Course # (Section) | Title | Day/Times | Instructor | Location | Term | Course Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS.210.161 (01) | German Elements I | MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM | ter Haseborg, Heiko Everwien | Hodson 216 | Spring 2025 | Four-skills introduction to the German language and culture. Develops proficiency in speaking, writing, reading and listening skills through the use of basic texts, multi-media and communicative language activities. Online tools required. May not be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. |
| AS.210.162 (01) | German Elements II | MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM | Simon, Hannah Marie | Gilman 77 | Spring 2025 | Continuation to the introduction to the German language and a development of reading, speaking, writing & listening through the use of basic texts and communicative activities. The culture of the German-language countries is also incorporated into the curriculum. May not be taken on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. |
| AS.210.162 (02) | German Elements II | MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM | Liao, Jiantong | Gilman 217 | Spring 2025 | Continuation to the introduction to the German language and a development of reading, speaking, writing & listening through the use of basic texts and communicative activities. The culture of the German-language countries is also incorporated into the curriculum. May not be taken on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. |
| AS.210.261 (01) | Intermediate German I | MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM | Djapo, Hervé Boza | Gilman 10 | Spring 2025 | Taught in German. This course continues the same four-skills approach (speaking, writing, reading and listening) from the first-year sequence, introducing and practicing more advanced topics and structures. Expansion and extension through topical readings and discussion and multi-media materials. Online tools required. Prereq: 210.162 or placement exam. May not be taken on an S/U basis. |
| AS.210.262 (01) | Intermediate German II | MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM | Dargan, Gargi | Gilman 219 | Spring 2025 | Taught in German. This course is designed to continue the four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) approach to learning German. Readings and discussions are topically based and include fairy tales, poems, art and film, as well as readings on contemporary themes such as Germany’s green movement. Students will also review and deepen their understanding of the grammatical concepts of German. |
| AS.210.262 (02) | Intermediate German II | TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM | Wheeler, Heidi L | Gilman 443 | Spring 2025 | Taught in German. This course is designed to continue the four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) approach to learning German. Readings and discussions are topically based and include fairy tales, poems, art and film, as well as readings on contemporary themes such as Germany’s green movement. Students will also review and deepen their understanding of the grammatical concepts of German. |
| AS.210.362 (01) | Advanced German II: Contemporary Issues in the German Speaking World | MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM | ter Haseborg, Heiko Everwien | Gilman 77 | Spring 2025 | Taught in German. Topically, this course focuses on contemporary issues such as national identity, multiculturalism and the lingering social consequences of major 20th century historical events. Readings include literary and journalistic texts, as well as radio broadcasts, internet sites, music and film. Students read a full-length novel. Emphasis is placed on improving mastery of German grammar, development of self-editing skills and practice in spoken German for academic use. Introduction/Review of advanced grammar. |
| AS.210.362 (02) | Advanced German II: Contemporary Issues in the German Speaking World | TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM | Beller, Luke Skyler | Gilman 479 | Spring 2025 | Taught in German. Topically, this course focuses on contemporary issues such as national identity, multiculturalism and the lingering social consequences of major 20th century historical events. Readings include literary and journalistic texts, as well as radio broadcasts, internet sites, music and film. Students read a full-length novel. Emphasis is placed on improving mastery of German grammar, development of self-editing skills and practice in spoken German for academic use. Introduction/Review of advanced grammar. |
| AS.210.662 (01) | Reading & Translating German for Academic Purposes II | TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM | Wheeler, Heidi L | Gilman 479 | Spring 2025 | Taught in English. Seniors by permission & Graduate students only. This course is designed for graduate students in other departments who wish to gain reading knowledge of the German language and translation practice from German to English. This course is a continuation of the Fall semester. Focus on advanced grammatical structures and vocabulary. For certification or credit. |
| AS.211.372 (01) | German Cinema: The Divided Screen | F 1:30PM - 4:00PM | Rhee, Sharlyn | Gilman 479 | Spring 2025 | This course is an approach to Twentieth century German history and culture via film and related readings in English translation. We will emphasize the national division thematically, and explore the audio and visual aspects of cinema by focusing on representative films embedded in larger narratives. Some prior familiarity with German culture is recommended but not required. |
| AS.213.308 (01) | Familiengeheimnisse/Verleugnungskultur | TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM | Pahl, Katrin | Gilman 443 | Spring 2025 | Analyzing literature and films on the family relationships of refugees, political prisoners, Stasi informants, and Nazi perpetrators, we will study the psychic afterlives of fascist, totalitarian, or authoritarian regimes (Nazi Germany, GDR, Turkey). We will discover experiences and stories that are often not told in the family but nevertheless handed down across generations in powerful and often distorted ways. Drawing on philosophy, psychoanalysis, and psychosociology, we will discuss how the need to keep quiet meets the need to talk and to hear. |
| AS.213.325 (01) | Revolution, Power, and Poetic Justice: From Peasant Revolts to Workers Revolts in Literature and Phi | WF 12:00PM - 1:15PM | Tobias, Rochelle | Spring 2025 | Political thinkers from Ernst Bloch and Carl Schmitt to Reinhard Koselleck and Theodor W. Adorno have long been drawn to Heinrich von Kleist’s novella “Michael Kohlhaas” because of the questions it raises about what a just political order would be when, in the context of this story, only the threat of violence enables the powerless to be heard. The novella takes place in the latter half of the sixteenth century as the feudal era is coming to an end, and Kohlhaas’s struggle to rectify the damage done to his property reveals the vulnerability of the then emerging merchant class to the still unchecked power of the nobility. Yet Kohlhaas’s response to the situation proves to be as arbitrary as the injustice he faces, and the only solution the novella can find for this impasse is a fairy tale that embodies—in all senses of the phrase—poetic justice. This course will examine the novella in its historical context (Reformation, doctrine of natural law, Prussian land reform) and with an eye toward modern thought on state violence, terror, liberalism, and the power of art. All texts and discussion in English. | |
| AS.213.425 (01) | From Peasant Revolts to Artistic Revolts: Heinrich von Kleist's "Michael Kohlhaas" | WF 10:00AM - 11:15AM | Tobias, Rochelle | Gilman 404 | Spring 2025 | Who has a monopoly on violence? What is the relation of the individual to the state? Is there a right to resistance? Who determines what is just or unjust, arbitrary or rational? Is there a power peculiar to art? We will consider these perennial questions of political theory through a careful examination of Heinrich von Kleist’s novella Michael Kohlhaas (1810) and theoretical works by Martin Luther, Hobbes, Rousseau, & Marx. |
| AS.213.644 (01) | Dynamic Manuscripts: Potentials of Writing in Hölderlin, Nietzsche, Lasker-Schüler, and Others | Th 4:00PM - 6:00PM | Christen, Felix J; Pahl, Katrin | Gilman 479 | Spring 2025 | Taught by the Max Kade Visiting Professor. According to Aristotle’s Poetics, the poet’s task is to speak not of things that have happened (ta genomena) but of the sort of things that might happen and are possible (dunata). But how does the literary work come into being—in other words, how is it possible as a locus of possibilities? Since the late 18th century, authors have increasingly focused on their manuscripts as the space of poetic potential and have engaged in different ways with the gestural, technical, and pictorial dynamics of writing. In this course, we will look at these material practices and how they shape notions of poetic possibility. Authors to include Hölderlin, Nietzsche among others. The class will also consider the theorry of poetic writing in the Paris school of critique génétique. |
| AS.213.650 (01) | Gegenwartsliteratur: Postmigrantisch, Queer, Schwarz | W 1:00PM - 3:00PM | Pahl, Katrin | Gilman 414 | Spring 2025 | Contemporary German literature features an important number of highly acclaimed work that tells Black, queer, and transcultural stories. What prompted this shift from the margins to the center? As a possible response to this question, the seminar intends to explore to what extent non-normative perspectives produce aesthetics and imaginaries that can confront and transform the transgenerational reproduction of collective trauma. We will discuss novels and plays, fiction, autofiction, and antiautobiography, pertinent theory, and, where available, stagings of works by authors such as Fatma Aydemir, Kim de l’Horizon, Nino Haratischwili, Sharon Dodua Otoo, Falk Richter, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Olivia Wenzel, and Hengameh Yaghoobifarah. |