Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, Unit Catalogue 2010/11 |
EU20777: Germany divided and reunited |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Intermediate |
| Period: | This unit is available in... |
| Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW33EX67 |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Supplementary assessment information not currently available (this will be added shortly) |
| Requisites:
| |
| Description:
| Aims: The unit combines the study of historical, socio-political and cultural developments from the years when the two German states were separated by the Berlin Wall, through German unification to the present-day Berlin Republic. The unit will be taught in German. Its aims are: * to examine the impact of the Cold War on Germany, past and present; * to raise awareness of key events in the social and political life of this period; * to study the complex transition processes Germany has undergone since unification; * to trace the transition of Berlin from the once truncated 'half-city' to a modern multicultural metropolis in more recent times; * to study prose works and films that take stock of these socio-political and cultural changes with a focus on issues of identity and personal experience. Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to: * demonstrate a broad knowledge of contemporary German society and politics with particular focus on the impact of the Cold War; * demonstrate familiarity with key contemporary debates on German recent cultural and political changes; * analyse literary and cinematic texts within a specific historical and political context. Skills: Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument, effective communication in the target language, teamwork and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are taught and assessed in this unit. Skills in effective learning and language skills are developed in this unit. Content: The unit will comprise lectures, discussions and student-led seminar work. A framework of lectures will provide a socio-political and cultural overview of this era and introduce important authors and film-makers to be studied. The seminars will focus on an analysis of core events such as the 1968 student protests; the challenges to democracy posed by terrorism in the 1970s; Germany's complex unification process and socio-political and cultural changes since, with a special focus on issues of identity; the reform of the social market economy; and German culture into the twenty-first century. Works to be studied will include Heinrich Böll, Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum, Peter Schneider, Der Mauerspringer, and Hans Weingartner, Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei. |