Cultural landscapes of the German-speaking countries in transition

Teacher(s)

Berger Grazia; Suner Munoz Ferran (coordinator);

Language

Deutsch

Main themes

1. Material realities and communities; 
2. Political and social organisation (Government); 
3. Moral realities and places of remembrance 
4. Intellectual, philosophical, and religious realities; 
5. Synthesis of the achievements, struggles, weaknesses, and hopes of these communities. 

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	In-depth analysis of the political, economic, social and cultural developments and structures within the German-speaking/English-speaking/Dutch-speaking communities of Europe, including an understanding of important places of remembrance
2	Acquire an in-depth understanding of contemporary life in these communities, considering the cultural and social aspects and the places of remembrance that have forged their identity.
3	Develop a command of the German language (or the language of the linguistic group studied), enabling an advanced understanding of the German-speaking world and its heritage, including its historical and memorial dimensions.
This learning unit contributes to the development and command of the following skills and learning outcomes of the ELAL programmes 3.6; 6.4; 6.6

Content

Places of memory have played an important role in the formation of collective memory, such as the Berlin Wall, the city of Weimar, or the Rhine. Given that these are first-year Bachelor’s students who also need to learn the German language, relatively simple historical, literary, and theoretical texts will accompany the lectures. The course will be supported by PowerPoint presentations, various multimedia resources, a syllabus containing chronological data, and, finally, geographical and historical maps.

Teaching methods

- Face-to-face: Lectures and presentations encouraging active student participation, supported by weekly preparatory readings. Various media and technologies are regularly used (excerpts from film adaptations, videos, maps, photos, etc.).
- Participation in an exchange with German-speaking students as part of conducting field research.

Evaluation methods

Continuous assessment:
– Oral presentation on a place of memory relevant to German-speaking cultures and submission of a written report on this place of memory (30%).
 Final evaluation in the June session:
– Written exam on the course material (30%).
– Portfolio compiling the key elements of the field research and the exchanges with German-speaking students (40%).
Generative artificial intelligence (AI), if used at all, must be used responsibly and in accordance with the practices of academic and scientific integrity. Since scientific integrity means citing sources, the use of AI must always be reported.

Other information

The course is taught in German; texts may occasionally be translated from French into German or from German into French for a better understanding of the texts.

Online resources

Syllabus including course outline and reading portfolio.
PowerPoint presentations available on Moodle.

Bibliography

François, Etienne / Schulze, Hagen (éd.) : Deutsche Erinnerungsorte. Munich: C.H. Beck 2001, 2007.
Mai, Manfred : Deutsche Geschichte. Gulliver von Beltz & Gelberg; Neuausgabe Edition (5. März 2019)
Nora, Pierre (dir.) : Les Lieux de mémoire. (3 volumes). Paris : Gallimard 1992,1997.
Sabrow, Martin (éd.): Erinnerungsorte der DDR. Munich : C.H. Beck 2009.
Schmidt, Sabine; Schmidt Karin (éd.): Erinnerungsorte. Deutsche Geschichte im DaF-Unterricht. Materialien und Kopiervorlagen. Berlin: Cornelsen 2006/2017.
Wieviorka, Olivier / Winock, Michel (dir.): Les lieux de l’histoire de France. Paris : Perrin 2017, 2019.
Pour le volet politique: Tatsachen über Deutschland. https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/de
Pour le volet histoire : https://www.dhm.de/lemo/ 

Faculty or entity

> ELAL