Weimar Modernism and the City of Berlin
GRST 390
Fall 2010
| Section:
01
|
| Crosslisting:
COL 390 |
| Course Cluster: Urban Studies |
One of the most fascinating aspects of Weimar modernism is the emergence of new forms of perception and consumption, reflected in a new urban consumer culture that generated an ever-changing array of visual and aural stimulations. This changed reality was perhaps best captured by the young medium of film, but older media like literature and painting also responded to this modernist challenge. This course will examine not only exemplary works of literary and visual culture from the Weimar period, but also other aspects of Weimar modernism, such as the development of radio, design, fashion, advertising, and architecture, emphasizing analyses of the new mass culture of entertainment, distraction, and "pure exteriority" (Kracauer) in combination with left-wing cultural and political criticism. The city of Berlin, then the third largest in the world and in many ways the international capital of modernism, will provide the main locus of investigation. |
|
Essential Capabilities:
Speaking, Writing
This seminar will provide students with ample opportunity to practice and improve their spoken and written German.
|
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA GRST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: GRST214 |
|
Fulfills a Requirement for: (COL)(GRST-MN)(GRST) |
|
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Books:
Vicky Baum, MENSCHEN IM HOTEL (Kiepenheuer & Witsch)
Bertolt Brecht, DIE DREIGROSCHENOPER (Suhrkamp)
Alfred Döblin, BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ (dtv)
Irmgard Keun, DAS KUNSTSEIDENE MAEDCHEN (Klett)
Siegfried Kracauer, DIE ANGESTELLTEN (Suhrkamp)
Kurt Tucholsky/John Heartfield, DEUTSCHLAND DEUTSCHLAND UEBER ALLES (Rowohlt)
Films:
Fritz Lang, METROPOLIS
Joseph von Sternberg, DER BLAUE ENGEL
Edgar Ulmer, MENSCHEN AM SONNTAG
G.W. Pabst, DIE DREIGROSCHENOPER
Phil Jutzi, BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ
Edmund Goulding, GRAND HOTEL
Walter Ruttmann, BERLIN - DIE SINFONIE DER GROSSTADT
|
Examinations and Assignments:
Three short papers (3-4 pages), one oral presentation, one final paper (6-8 pages). Readings, discussions and papers in German. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course can be applied to the Literature, and Film and Visual Culture concentrations for the German Studies major. |
| Instructor(s): Plass,Ulrich Times: ..T.R.. 02:40PM-04:00PM; Location: FISK412; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: UNL | | SR major: UNL | JR major: UNL | | |
| Seats Available: UNL | GRAD: X | SR non-major: UNL | JR non-major: UNL | SO: UNL | FR: UNL |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
|
|