GERST 4100 - Senior Seminar

(LA-AS) Satisfies Option 1.

Fall. 4 credits.

Prerequisite: any German course at the 3000-level or equivalent or permission of instructor.

A. Schwarz.

Fall Topic: Images of America in German Literature

America has fascinated the German literary imaginary for two centuries. This seminar will explore the reasons and articulations of this fascination. What does “America” symbolize? What are the historical, sociological or psychological reasons for this attraction? Often “America” stands in for individual freedom, vastness of space, dreams of new beginnings, phantasies of the frontier, adventure and the promise of wealth. Authors include: Goethe, Schiller, Schlegel, Keller, Fontane, Raabe, Kafka, Karl May. Texts and discussions in German.