Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
EU30056 German national option G6: Mensch - Natur - Technik |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Honours |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: ES67CW33 |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: To introduce students to the critique of technology and social modernisation in 20th century German culture and to explore the role of literature and film in posing practical and ethical questions about our relationship with the natural environment; to extend students' awareness of the formal characteristics and expressive potential of the novel, poetry, shorter prose and film; and to develop their analytical capacities and self-confidence in the evaluation of works of culture; to improve their fluency in reading, listening to, speaking and writing German.
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit students should be able to: * identify conceptions of nature implicit in the texts and films examined, * explain their socio-cultural significance in an oral presentation in German, * analyse their structure, style and symbolism, * formulate written arguments in German about the potential of cultural works, * to contribute to shifts in norms and values, and illustrate them with reference to a range of different works. 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 developed and assessed in this unit. Content: Texts: will include the study of a) Bertolt Brecht, Leben des Galilei, Karen Duve, Regenroman, Max Frisch, Homo Faber; Marlen Haushofer, Die Wand. b) Films: Werner Herzog, Aguirre; Fritz Lang, Metropolis. The unit is taught in German. |