History of thoughs and litterature in Germany I

Teacher(s)

Büssgen Antje;

Language

Deutsch

Prerequisites

/

Main themes

This course offers a chronological and critical survey of the literature of the given language area from the Middle Ages to the 17th and 18th centuries. It examines the different movements and genres developed during these periods and places them in their socio-cultural contexts. Excerpts (compulsory reading) are used as illustrations.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	At the end of the course, students should be able to show insight into the distinctive features of major literary movements and genres. They should be able to situate them in their socio-cultural and historical contexts. Students will become familiar with important literary figures and canonical works of the historical period that is studied. They will be expected to know how to read and interpret some key texts.

Content

The course provides a comprehensive overview of the history of ideas and literature of the German-speaking countries from the Middle Ages to the end of the 13th century. The major literary periods and philosophical and aesthetic trends will be explained on the basis of a selection of canonical and representative literary texts. The guiding thread will be the question of what elements have given rise, through the centuries, to a modern conception of human life, thus the genesis of modern times.
A reflection on the principles of literary historiography will be followed by a brief overview of the most important ideas and developments in the literature of the Middle Ages (Heldenepik und Minnelyrik) and the beginning of the Frühe Neuzeit (Baroque poetry), and then the focus will be on the texts of the 18th century, the "Age of Enlightenment". The most important reading in the corpus of texts will be the novel that made Johann Wolfgang Goethe famous as a young author: "Die Leiden des jungen Werther" (1774). A close reading of the novel will allow us to observe, in the history of ideas, the genesis of a modern conception of the "self", of the subject conceiving itself as autonomous, at the end of the 18th century.
Working language: German.

Teaching methods

Introduction to the topics by the teacher; independent reading of texts at home in preparation of the lectures by personal reading and notes written in German from reference books and scripts provided on moodle; analysis of literary or theoretical texts (poetology, aesthetics, philosophy) in the course in plenary discussion, by a common 'close reading' of selected passages of literary texts (= compulsory readings prepared individually in each course). This course is intended to help students to develop their knowledge of German literature and to learn how to apply the terminology learned in LGERM 1114 to the writing of scientific texts. Work on the explanation of texts and group work in the practical courses.

Working language: German.

Evaluation methods

Continuous assessment of the work done in the course (preparation of compulsory readings from week to week at home, learning of thematic vocabulary, written exercises at the TP: 20%). Final assessment in the form of an individual written assignment: 80%. The evaluation and access to the examination are conditioned by regular and active attendance at the course and the practical work and by the productions related to it. More than three unjustified absences make it impossible to take the exam.
The personal written work (final exam) is done individually referring to specific contents discovered during the four-month period in the course and in the practical work. In case of failure, the September session consists of a reworking of the work submitted in January.

Working language: German.

Online resources

Scripts, vocabulary lists, bibliography and extracts from literary texts on Moodle.

Bibliography

Deutsche Literaturgeschichte von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Hrsg. von Wolfgang Beutin et al., neueste Auflage, Stuttgart: Metzler.

Une bibliographie détaillée sera diffusée au cours.

Teaching materials

• cf. bibliographie

Faculty or entity

> ELAL