Module Aims and Information

Who can take this module?

This full-year (30 CATS) final-year module is a core module for finalists doing German Studies, German with French, and German with Italian. However, it is also available as an option for students on all German and German-related degree courses, and is open to suitably qualified external students. In recent years, it has been taken by students reading English and German Literature, German with International Studies, French and German, German and Italian and German and Business Studies, as well as a regular number of visiting German students, who appreciate a rare opportunity to operate in a small seminar group and form mutually beneficial close working relationships with their UK counterparts.

What are the aims of the module?

• to provide students with a thorough understanding of modernity and modernism in Austria and Germany
• to provide students with an understanding of key literary movements and authors in their social contexts
• to cultivate skills of literary analysis through close textual readings
• to enhance students’ analytical abilities through the study of primary literature and select theoretical texts
• to develop students’ presentation skills through class presentations and develop students’ research and essay writing skills
• to further understanding of the relationship between literature and society, in particular the location of cultural products within a social and political context.

You should also have extended your understanding of the development of German society.