The German Literary Legacy

3 credits

A survey of German literature in translation from the late 18th century to the present. Representative texts in the German language from different literary periods and countries will be brought into dialogue with each other to examine distinctive literary styles and thematic preoccupations of German literature. We will investigate the representation of shifting societal values, conceptions of nature and identity, figures on the margins of society, and intergenerational conflict. Assignments and class discussion will be in English. Authors will vary according to instructor, but we focus on Nobel Prize winners and books that made a cultural splash in the German-speaking world. Satisfies Core requirement for: Literature