HI270 German for Historians 2 (advanced)
Summary
Level:
This course is offered to second-year History students who have successfully completed their first-year German language course.
Main Objectives:
It aims at consolidating and improving their level of competence so as to enable them to read, understand and accurately translate German historical texts. Together with this topic-oriented approach, the course will extend the students' range of transferable skills in the form of various types of reading techniques.
Assessment Scheme:
1 written test and 1 written examination. See Module-Information.
Please read statement about marks: mark scaling
Weighting:
30 CREDITS (Language component: 15 CREDITS - History component: 15 CREDITS)
Teaching:
One seminar per week of 2 hours' duration plus 2 hours independent learning per week
Availability/Location of module within courses:
This module is available as a second year core Module in the History (V100) programme. Department responsible for teaching - Language Centre.
Tutor:
Joerg Seifert
Course Description:
Module coordinator: Joerg Seifert
The topical content of texts to be studied is related to the following two courses offered by the Department of History
- HI 203 European World, 1500 - 1750
- HI 242 Germany in the Age of the Reformation
Skills to be acquired are subject specific as well as transferable. They include:
- The consolidation of complex syntactical structures in written German.
- The development of history related vocabulary related to 16th century German history.
- The consolidation of different types of reading techniques.
- The improvement of translation skills with a view to linguistic understanding and accuracy.
Topic-orientated grammatical content
- Consolidation of word order;
- complex sentence structure;
- complicated verbal structures;
- the passive voice;
- subjunctive I + II;
- participles and participial constructions.
Reading techniques
- Recognising textual structure;
- recognising discourse structure;
- ascertaining content and intention of text.
Topical content
Reading and writing activities will focus on a broad range of historical texts and history based audio-visual materials (e.g. Blickle Peter, Gemeindereformation, München: R. Oldenburg Verlag, 1987, and see bibliography).
Course Texts:
- Becker, Bovenschen, Aus der Zeit der Verzweiflung, Zur Genese und Aktualität des Brackert etc. Hexenbildes, Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp 1977
- Becker-Cantarino, B.,Der lange Weg zur Mündigkeit, Frauen und Literatur in Deutschland von 1500-1800, München: dtv,1989
- Blickle, Peter, Die Reformation im Reich, Stuttgart: utb 1982
- Ebert, Klaus (ed.), Thomas Müntzer im Urteil der Geschichte, Von Luther bis Ernst Bloch, Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag, 1990
- Engels, Friedrich, Der deutsche Bauernkrieg, München: L. Borowsky
- Gebhardt, Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte
- Bd. 8 Fuchs,W.P., Das Zeitalter der Reformation
- Bd.9 Zeeden,W.W, Das Zeitalter der Glaubenskämpfe
- Bd. 16 Treue, W., Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft und Technik vom 16. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert
- Goertz, Hans-Jürgen,Pfaffenhaß und groß Geschrei, Die reformatorische Bewegung in Deutschland 1477-1529, München: C.H.Beck 1991
- Heckel, Martin, Deutschland im konfessionellen Zeitalter, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck/Ruprecht 1983
- Huch, Ricarda Deutsche Geschichte, Bd.I-III, in: Gesammelte Werke Bd.X, Gütersloh: Bertelsmann
- Moeller, Bernd, Deutschland im Zeitalter der Reformation, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck/Ruprecht 1988
- Nipperdey, Thomas, Reformation, Revolution, Utopie. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck/Ruprecht 1975
- Nover, J.(ed.), Gutenberg und die Bedeutung der Buchdruckerkunst, Mainz, Joh. Wirth'sche Hofbuchdruckerei, 1900
- Nowitzki-Patuschka, Frauen in der Reformation, Pfaffenweiler: Centaurus, 1990
- Rabe, Horst, Deutsche Geschichte 1500-1600, Das Jahrhundert der Glaubensspaltung, München: C. H.Beck 1991
- Ranke, Leopold,v., Deutsche Geschichte im Zeitalter der Reformation, Band I-IV, München & Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1924
- Ranke, Leopold, v., Geschichte Wallensteins, Düsseldorf: Athenäum 1978
- Schiller, Friedrich,v.,Geschichte des dreissigjährigen Krieges, in: Historische Schriften, Frankfurt/M.: Büchergilde Gutenberg, 1959
- Zimmermann, Wilh., Der große Bauernkrieg, Düsseldorf: Brücken-Verlag 1952
For Grammar Practice
- Alles Klar, German grammar through cartoons: demonstration and practice to examination level, Nelson, 1987
- The Collins German/Engish-English/German Dictionary, Klett 1989
- English Grammar for Students of German, by Cecile Zorach/Charlotte Melin, The Olivia and Hill Press, 1994
- Also occasional use of other history related audio-visual material.
Teaching:
One seminar per week of 2 hours' duration. This class contact time should be supplemented by two hours independent study activities, vocabulary and grammar learning, reading, translation and comprehension practice with materials provided by the tutor. Students will also be encouraged to avail themselves of the Open Access facilities of the Language Centre, i.e. computers, magazines and newspapers.
Assessment:
All students are required to complete one written test and one written examination. The use of a dictionary is allowed in the examinations.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a sound knowledge of German grammar, syntax and history related vocabulary as a prerequisite for efficiently dealing with the complex structures of written German in historical contexts.
Demonstrate a good degree of competence in reading techniques.
Demonstrate a good degree of competence in translation skills with a view to linguistic understanding and accuracy.