Isn't It Romantic

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Ghosts, dwarves, mermaids, and souls sold to the devil – these are only a few of the creatures found in Romantic tales. This course explores the most fascinating and multi-faceted period in German literary and cultural history – Romanticism. Students will become familiar with the biographies, works, and aesthetic ideas of some of the major as well as some of the lesser-known authors of the period. The inclusion of music and the visual arts aims to offer a well-rounded picture of this important period. The three content areas will be closely coupled with fostering academic-level language abilities, stressing close reading and interpretation. An emphasis on genre will enable a focused and productive approach to the texts in the course. Course themes include: - Theme I: Uncanny tales - Theme II: Music and the visual arts - Theme III: The Romantic theorist, writer, and critic The course aims to foster students’ academic-level writing and speaking abilities. All assignments will be carefully modeled by the instructor. Students will collect all work done for the course in an electronic course portfolio.