GERST 1112 - [FWS: Music and Letters]

Fall or Spring. Next Offered: 2019-2020. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

First-Year Writing Seminar. No knowledge of German is expected.

Staff.

Homer’s epics make no mention of music, because to the earliest European poets it was an integral and therefore not distinct part of their performance. Although since then considered separate arts, music and letters have enjoyed an exceptionally close relationship in German culture. Modern literature attempts to make sense of music and uses music to approach the senseless. This course addresses 1) music as poetic device and 2) music as theme in German literature since 1800. Exploring these issues, we will work on developing arguments in critical writing. Readings may include Hölderlin, Hoffmann, Kleist, Nietzsche, Rilke, Mann, Bernhard, and Jelinek. We will also familiarize ourselves with the tradition of the art song (Lied) and watch at least one opera by Mozart and/or Wagner.