Courses
This is an unofficial list of courses that will be offered in Germanic Studies in Fall 2024. It is strictly for the use of expanded course descriptions. For the complete official course offerings, please consult the My.UIC portal.
For a list of all courses and general course descriptions, please see the UIC Academic Catalog.
Germanic Studies Classes Spring 2025 Heading link
GER 101, 102 (Elementary German I & II); GER 103, 104 (Intermediate German I & II). MWF 4 hours.
All beginning and intermediate German language courses are blended-online and classroom courses. Use of computer and internet access is required.
- 101: 10-10:50 am & 12-12:50 pm
- 102: 11-11:50 am & 12-12:50
- 103: 1-1:50 pm
- 104: 10-10:50 am
GER 214: Conversational German Through Popular Media; 3 hours. Instructor: Erin Ritchie; TR 11-12:15
Exploration of German popular culture and media using authentic materials. Intermediate to adv training in developing and refining effective communication skills by emphasizing pronunciation, idiomatic expressions, and monitoring grammatical errors. Course Information: May be repeated. Prerequisite(s): Credit or concurrent registration in GER 104 or the equivalent.
GER/SPAN/LCSL 207: European Cinema; Instructor: Dr. Imke Meyer; 3 hours; online asynchronous
An overview of the major developments in European cinema from the post-World II period to the present. Course Information: Same as LCSL 207 and SPAN 207. Prerequisite(s): ENGL 160. Creative Arts course, and World Cultures course.
GER 217: Introduction to German Cinema; Instructor: Dr. Heidi Schlipphacke; 3 hours; TR 12:30-1:45 pm
German cinema as communication and art; its production, reception and ideological perspectives. Course Information: Taught in English. No knowledge of German required. Area literature/culture. Creative Arts course, and World Cultures course.
GER 219: Princesses and Storytellers; Instructor: Dr. Patrick Fortmann; Online Asynchronous
Analyzes the structure, meaning, and function of fairy tales and their continuing impact on literature, film, and contemporary culture since the Brothers Grimm. Course Information: Taught in English. Area literature/culture. No knowledge of German required. Creative Arts course, and Past course.
GER 302: From Berlin to Hollywood: Cultural Transfer and the Movie Remake; Instructor: Dr. Sara F. Hall; TR 2-3:15
This course will focus on cultural transfer between Germany and the US through film remakes. In-depth focus on a particular area of German cinema, such as Weimar cinema, Nazi cinema, queer cinema, etc. Topics vary.
Spring General Education Courses Taught in English Heading link
GER/SPAN/LCSL 207: European Cinema; Instructor: Dr. Imke Meyer; 3 hours; online asynchronous
An overview of the major developments in European cinema from the post-World II period to the present. Course Information: Same as LCSL 207 and SPAN 207. Prerequisite(s): ENGL 160. Creative Arts course, and World Cultures course.
GER 219: Princesses and Storytellers; Instructor: Dr. Patrick Fortmann; Online Asynchronous
Analyzes the structure, meaning, and function of fairy tales and their continuing impact on literature, film, and contemporary culture since the Brothers Grimm. Course Information: Taught in English. Area literature/culture. No knowledge of German required. Creative Arts course, and Past course.
GER 217: Introduction to German Cinema; Instructor: Dr. Heidi Schlipphacke; 3 hours; TR 12:30-1:45 pm
German cinema as communication and art; its production, reception and ideological perspectives. Course Information: Taught in English. No knowledge of German required. Area literature/culture. Creative Arts course, and World Cultures course.
For more information about Germanic Studies courses, please contact Ms. Meg LaLonde (mlalonde@uic.edu) or Dr. Patrick Fortmann (pfortmann@uic.edu): http://lcsl.uic.edu/germanic.
Spring 2025 Graduate Courses Heading link
GER 550: The Aesthetics and Politics of Kinship; Instructor: Dr. Heidi Schlipphacke; W 3-5:30 pm
This course will explore the diverse kinship structures represented in modern German imaginative works spanning the 18th to the 21st century. Kinship (“Verwandtschaft”), family (“Familie”), and friendship (“Freundschaft”) are nebulous and intermingling concepts in the German Enlightenment and the periods that directly follow it. We will read a variety of literary, theoretical and philosophical works that highlight the allegorical and political functions that inhere in theories of family and kinship. We will likewise explore kinship through the lens of race and posthumanism (human/animal and human/machine relations) and in the context of the categories of class and gender.
GER 514: Germanic Culture from the Industrial Revolution to the Present; Instructor: Dr. Sara F. Hall; T 3:30-6 pm
This course will inquire into German literature’s textual and contextual visual economies. Mobilizing concepts such as apparatus, subjectivity, focalization, perspective, transparency, identification, triangulation, and desire, we will examine how texts relay the sensory experiences of characters while they also activate emotional and sensory responses in readers. Particular attention will be paid to the social, cultural, and technological environments represented in the texts and those shaping the surrounding culture of literary production and reception. Readings will draw on work by authors such as Aichinger, Bachmann, Brecht, Böll, Hoffmann, Hoffmansthal, Kafka, Kaschnitz, Keun, Kracauer, Özdamar, Schnitzler, Seghers, Tieck, and Wolf. Texts are available in German as well as in English; discussions will be in English.