German Studies

German Beginner Intensive 

This unit aims to consolidate a general foundation in the language and culture in order to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at a elementary level, orally and in writing, with native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad (CEF level A2+).

Understanding German History and Culture

This core German content module will introduce students to the history, society, politics, and culture of the German-speaking world. You will focus on the major historical events (such as the building of the Berlin Wall, and the importance of the Greens to contemporary Germany) and key texts and visual material. You will also acquire a theoretical toolkit that will enable you to analyse these major events and cultural forms. The module complements the core German language modules (which also cover some aspects of culture) studied at Level 1, in addition to serving as the solid foundation for more advanced study and specialisation at Level 2 and onwards.

German Advanced

Assuming a good A level in the language or equivalent, this unit aims to provide an initial preparation for a prolonged professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and introduces the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to engage in authentic and spontaneous interaction with native speakers (CEF level B2-).

Understanding German History and Culture

This core German content module will introduce students to the history, society, politics, and culture of the German-speaking world. You will focus on the major historical events (such as the building of the Berlin Wall, and the importance of the Greens to contemporary Germany) and key texts and visual material. You will also acquire a theoretical toolkit that will enable you to analyse these major events and cultural forms. The module complements the core German language modules (which also cover some aspects of culture) studied at Level 1, in addition to serving as the solid foundation for more advanced study and specialisation at Level 2 and onwards.

German Intermediate Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively and accurately in all essential communicative situations encountered when interacting orally or in writing with native speakers during, for instance, a short stay abroad (CEF level B1-).

German Higher Advanced 1

Assuming a one-year post-A-level study of the language or equivalent, this module aims to provide a full linguistic and cultural preparation for learners wishing to undertake an extended professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and to expand the range of linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively in most situations encountered when engaging with native speakers (CEF level B2+/C1-).

German Higher Advanced 2

Assuming successful completion of the Higher Advanced 1 unit or equivalent, this module aims to consolidate the full linguistic and cultural preparation of learners wishing to undertake an extended professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and to consolidate the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively in most situations encountered when engaging with native speakers (CEF level C1)

Analysing Evil: National Socialism as Ideology and Brand

National Socialism was not just an evil ideology - it was an evil ideology that had to be sold to the German people. The course seeks to answer two key questions: what are the central elements of this belief system, and how were they promoted, advertised, and enforced? We will look at (i) the social, political, and economic contexts from which the Nazis sought to benefit; (ii) Hitler's personality and politico-rhetorical strategies; (iii) the branding of National Socialism; (iv) ordinary life under National Socialism; (v) The Holocaust and memories of the Holocaust.

Languages of Gender, Sexuality, and Psychoanalysis in Germanic Discourse

Countries within the Germanic-speaking world were among the first in Europe to give women the vote (and in the cases of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, they were the last). Around 1900, German coined the word 'homosexuality', and German was the language of LGBTQ+ rights around 1900, which is why even authors like Sheffield's Edward Carpenter published in German as well as English. Berlin had a world-famous queer community in the interwar period, before the centres for celebrating a love that did dare to speak its name moved to Zurich and Amsterdam. The predominant theoretical framework used to explain desire and difference in the humanities during the twentieth century was psychoanalysis, which originated in Austria but quickly spread to Switzerland and Germany. This course introduces you to the key thinkers, movements, and cultural debates from early feminism and sexology through to the student revolt and sexual revolution of 1968. We shall explore some of the most important historical narratives about gender and sexuality through the study of a range of canonical and archival sources from the German- and Dutch-speaking worlds.

German Intermediate Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively and accurately in all essential communicative situations encountered when interacting orally or in writing with native speakers during, for instance, a short stay abroad (CEF level B1-).

German Proficient 1 

Assuming a solid, two year post-A-level study of the language and, ideally, a prolonged stay in a country where the language is spoken, this unit aims to provide the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to develop strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture (CEF level C1+/C2-).

German Proficient 2 

Assuming successful completion of the Proficient 1 unit or equivalent, this unit aims to perfect the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to consolidate the strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture (CEF level C2).

Comparative Critique of Consumer Culture

Critiques of consumer cultures are as old as capitalism itself. This module takes the long view, starting in the eighteenth century and tracing our conflicted identities as modern consumers into the present day. Especially applying German cultural theory to European cultural history, we shall ask what is meant by economic and social liberalism, and whether even culture owes a debt to consumer society. Consumerism can entail complicity in exploitative modes of production (causing poverty and displacement, and profiting from serfdom and slavery). It has been both celebrated and satirised for enabling hedonism and individual bad taste (or kitsch). And consumption has been nationalist, yet also cosmopolitan; today, it threatens our shared environment. Theory, the visual arts, and literature have all been critical of capitalism - but ironically, they can themselves be packaged as consumer goods. Examining a wide range of primary texts (including film and caricature) and critical reflections, you will translate and write a commentary on a historical source, and submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

Modern German Thought

The modern world is characterised by contrasts. Freedom is accompanied by exploitation; enormous wealth goes hand in hand with desperate poverty; equality is undermined by old and new forms of discrimination. This world came into existence with the American and French Revolutions and with the industrial revolution, which started in Britain. Yet it is German thinkers above all who have developed the intellectual tools to analyse this development. In this course, you will look at the most important of them, including Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. You will develop an analytical toolkit that will enable you to think critically about today's world and its many tensions as well as gaining a better understanding of such recent phenomena as social media and implicit bias. The course does not presuppose any particular knowledge in the areas of German thought and German history and can therefore be taken by students regardless of their Level One and Level Two module choices.