GERM 3225 - Introduction to German Literature

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2023

Introduction to German Literature is a core Topics course of the Department of European Languages, and Linguistics. Taught at a lower-advanced level entirely in the target language, the course introduces students to the study of literature through a focus on canonical and popular literary texts. Although the specific focus of the course will vary from semester to semester, you can expect to encounter a broad range of genres and historical periods. This course is designed to be a forum where students can use their encounter with literature to hone their language skills in the areas of speaking, writing, listening and reading. For students enrolling through German Studies, the course introduces you to German Literature and its cultural contexts. Course readings, presented in the form of short texts or excerpts, gradually increase in linguistic and thematic complexity. They are taken from a range of literary genres, including poetry, the short story and the novel, and cover the major literary periods from the 18th to the 21st centuries. A focus throughout the course: developing language tools to read, understand and critically interpret German literary texts and to effectively communicate ideas about those texts orally and in writing. Taught entirely in German.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code GERM 3225
    Course Introduction to German Literature
    Coordinating Unit German Studies
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N
    Prerequisites GERM 2204
    Assumed Knowledge GERM 2203
    Assessment Oral presentation, Quizzes x 2, Essay, Group research project
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Stefan Hajduk

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

    Lecture: 1 hour prerecorded (best listening before weekly Seminar session) Echo 360
    Seminar: 2 hours Thursday 14.10 – 16 Room: Napier LG11
  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    On successful completion of this course students will demonstrate:

    1. a critical understanding of important aspects of German history and European culture and the improved linguistic skills to deal with their representation in different media (textual, visual)
    2. the linguistic ability to identify, analyse, and evaluate cultural artefacts within their social, political and historical context including the history of media and knowledge
    3. a better understanding of the processes of the generating and translation of meaning in the use of German for describing and analysing textual and visual materials
    4. the ability to extract, synthesise and critically evaluate information from German primary and secondary sources in digital databases and libraries relating to course topics
    5. the ability to work independently and cooperatively to explore issues and questions raised by texts and visual materials treated in the course and generate their own ideas
    6. the ability to communicate information, ideas and arguments about topics treated in the course cogently, coherently, and with a degree of German on the upper-intermediate level, B2 of the Common European Framework for Languages
    7. the ability to identify ethical, social, and literary issues relating topics treated in the course and assess their broader implications including transcultural perspectives
    8. the knowledge base & analytical skills for further study & research in German Studies & the intercultural understanding desirable for students wanting to travel, work or study in Germany and Europe
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)

    Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth

    Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.

    1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7

    Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving

    Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.

    1, 2, 3, 4

    Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills

    Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.

    5, 6

    Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness

    Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.

    6, 8

    Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency

    Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.

    2, 6, 7, 8

    Attribute 7: Digital capabilities

    Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.

    4

    Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence

    Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.

    7, 8
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    The modes of teaching and learning employed in the course are largely classroom-based and face-to-face. They include:

    1) A lecture gives an introduction to the history of literature by an examination of ‘Wald’ as a cultural construct in a range of different media, texts, paintings and films, students will gain an enhanced understanding of the literary and cultural history of Germany since 1800.

    2) A two-hour seminar will have the concerted textual work at the centre of attention and include small group as well as individual discovery activities. From perspectives of literary themes and genres, we will closely look at cultural history by reading Märchen, stories, poems, and a novel in the seminar. Here the students will have the opportunity to get acquainted with central motifs of German literature which started to be cultivated in the period of Romanticism and still hold their meaning in today’s concepts.

    3) Students are encouraged to take personal responsibility for their learning through:
     independent personal study
     independent computer-based learning
     online access to lecture materials and other resources
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements. Below are the hours per week and per semester students are expected to devote to their German studies in Introduction to German Literature:

    Hours per week // Total hours

    1 X 1-hour lecture // 12 hours per semester
    1 X 2-hour seminar // 24 hours per semester
    3 hours preparation for contact hours // 36 hours per semester
    2 hours reading & repeated lecture listening // 24 hours per semester
    5 hours research for presentation & assignments // 60 hours per semester

    TOTAL = 156 hours per semester
    Learning Activities Summary
    See Appendix for a detailed program for the lecture and the seminar activities: Course Guide pp. 13-17.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary

    Assignment Task Weight

    1. Referat: oral presentation in German; 20% Formative
    Beginners stream students 8 min // Continuers stream students 10 min + questions

    2. Seminararbeit: minor research project in German; 25% Formative/Summative
    based on the presentation: Beginners stream 500 words // Continuers stream 700 words

    3. Minor written response in German/English to given questions; 15% Formative
    related to the topics discussed in the seminar (part of the participation/preparation)

    4. Major Research Project/Assignment: Beginners in English / Continuers in German
    (main topics of the course) 40% Summative
    ___________________________________________________________________________
    100% Total
    Assessment Detail
    1. Referat: Individual or in groups/pairs but with an equal part of individual oral presenting in German (of beginners 8 // continuers 10 minutes + questions). Referate should focus on a specific author and a text to be analysed, explained and interpreted. Text and author can be chosen by you or will be allocated to you in weeks 1 & 2. You are welcome to develop a topic of own choice but related to a theme cluster and to be confirmed in discussion with the course coordinator; time to be arranged (weeks 1-9). The oral presentation gives students the opportunity to explore a topic they are interested in and to practise presenting material in a concise format. The presentation must be directly related to the themes of the course.

    2. The Seminararbeit is a minor research paper written in German (Beginners stream 500 words / Continuers stream 700 words) on themes based and expanding on the Referat’s topic chosen. The written seminar paper’s due date for uploading on MyUni is exactly 3 weeks after your Referat took place. Like the oral presentation, the minor research assignment gives the opportunity to explore your topic in more detail, and practise presenting the material in a written format. It should be correctly referenced (always including page numbers of articles/books and not just the year of the publication), have a clear structure and be presented in an appropriate register. You should expand on an aspect of the topic treated in your presentation and go a bit more into depth. Your Seminararbeit will be assessed on demonstrated knowledge of the primary sources, appropriate use and critical engagement of secondary sources and correct referencing (incl. page references and a bibliography / cited literature), a well-structured and independent argument which shows your own point of view and clear and reasonably sophisticated language which shows that you understand what is appropriate for a written as opposed to an oral presentation (see the general Humanities assessment criteria below for more detail on expectations).

    3. Participation and the minor written response in English (300 words) for the beginners stream and in German (300 words) for the continuers stream requires to answer given questions related to topics of the course and their historical contexts. Questions to be given in the respective seminar sessions (weeks 3-6). Crucial for your successful participation is a thorough preparation of the week’s lecture and other materials and participation. Your learning experience and linguistic progress will improve with your active contribution and engagement with other members of the group in class and on MyUni. While reading Eichendorffs Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts homework (weeks 1-8), each student will at least once be in charge to lead the discussion for a certain passage of the text which the whole class has prepared (sessions of week 9-12).

    4. One Essay Beginners in English / Continuers in German (of 1800 words): on topics of the course incl. Eichendorffs Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts, to be given in week 9 or 10. You must choose a topic different to the assessment tasks of your small group discovery (oral presentation & written seminar paper). The essay due date for uploading on MyUni is 13th June 2023 (1pm). This major research assignment is the major summative assessment for this course. It is designed to enable students to explore particular aspects of German literature in more depth. Students will be assessed on their demonstrated knowledge of primary sources and of the topic, their critical engagement with secondary sources on the topic and their ability to develop and express their own point of view. Furthermore, the essay will be assessed on its research design, including structure, correct referencing (always page numbers of cited literature and a bibliography with at least 8 relevant secondary literature in form of books/articles you made appropriate use of), an independent argument and flow of thoughts which shows critical understanding, a clear development of the theme and a reasonably sophisticated language. After marking, you will receive a comment from the course coordinator via MyUni response.

    NB. The oral presentation together with the seminar paper based on it and the major research essay must be on different topics.
    Submission
    All written assignments, essays, the Seminararbeit and written responses must have a word count, the format of double line spacing, font size 12 and generously allocated margins (format DIN A4).

    Seminararbeiten (minor research project) must be uploaded on MyUni exactly 3 weeks after your Referat and be handed over in the seminar in printed form with the yellow cover page signed, available on MyUni (Course information).

    Written responses must be handed up in the seminar session in printed form with the yellow cover page signed, available on MyUni (Course information). Due dates are here 2 weeks after questions were given in Seminar.

    Essays must be uploaded on MyUni by 13th June 2023 (1pm).
    Students must not submit work for an assignment that has previously been submitted and assessed for this course or any other course.

    Extensions – can only be sought under the provisions of the Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy or the Reasonable Adjustments for Teaching and Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy. Applications must be made through the Faculty office.

    Late Assignment – For work that is late without formal extension, 2 percentage points will be deducted from the mark for every day (or part thereof) the work is late to a maximum of 7 days (including weekends and public holidays). For example, an assignment that is 3 days late: raw score of 80% minus 6 marks lateness deduction = 74% final mark.
    For work with formal extension, these penalties will apply from the extended due date.
    There will be a cut-off date for each assignment 7 days (including weekends and public holidays) after the original due date unless otherwise stipulated on MyUni. Work will not be accepted after the cut-off date, and a mark of zero will automatically be awarded for the assignment. Applications for variations to the cut-off date can only be made by the Course Coordinator on pedagogical grounds and must be approved by the relevant School Learning and Teaching Committee.

    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.