Courses of Study 2019-2020 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
Courses of Study 2019-2020 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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GERST 4100 - The Seminar


(LA-AS) Satisfies Option 1.      


Fall. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: standard German proficiency as required for this level: any German course at the 3200-3499-level or equivalent. Taught in German. The Seminar is a requirement of the German Studies major, but is open to all students who have met the prerequisites. The course has a research component, including poster presentations of all final projects, and is taught each fall by a faculty member in the Department of German Studies on a topic of their expertise.

E. Siegel.

Topic: Bertolt Brecht, Then and Now

Bertolt Brecht’s profound and influential work as a poet and dramatist, as theater director and theorist of the ‘epic theater’, as writer for radio and film encapsulates 20th century history, political or literary-aesthetic. The course aims, 1) to give an overview of Brecht’s work in different media and genres, with an emphasis on drama and its theoretization; 2) to touch upon trends and figures that influenced Brecht (e.g., the comedian Karl Valentin, avant-garde theater director Erwin Piscator, mass sports events, critiques of Capital); 3) to discuss the profound influence Brecht has exerted on though, literature, and theater (e.g., Walter Benjamin, Marieluise Fleisser, Heiner Müller, Elfriede Jelinek); 4) to reflect on writing and artistic production under conditions of exile; and 5) to introduce students to trends and styles of contemporary German-speaking theater.

 



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