German Literature (20031) 

Degree/study: Degree in Humanities
Year: 2nd
Term: 3rd
Number of ECTS credits: 4 credits
Hours of studi dedication: 100 hours
Teaching language or languages: Catalan
Teaching Staff: Teresa Vinardell Puig and Michael Pfeiffer

1. Presentation of the subject

This subject aims to study some of the canonical texts of literature written in German from the XVIII century up to the XX. This course aims to offer a concise vision of the evolution of literature in German, specially focusing on the great influence that Greek classical civilization and Mediterranean culture had in the Germanic culture. Throughout the centuries, there has been a creation of an idealised vision of Ancient Greece, to which German citizens have reacted in various ways. Some have felt identification, while others have distanced themselves from it, but all of them have used this Greek vision to help define themselves as emergent nation and culture. The fact that Greece became a cultural reference point has influenced considerably the aesthetic canon. Through the deep analysis of a selection of texts written by significant authors, students will be able to appreciate the diversity of meanings that this canon has created about everything that is labelled as "Greek".

This subject mainly aims to develop the capability of analysis and reflection on literary texts in general, as well as to provide students with basic knowledge on Germanic literary and cultural tradition.

Students are not expected to have prior German language knowledge for this subject.

2. Competences to be attained

General competences

Specific competences

Instrumental competences 1. Being able to justify postures with sound arguments both in written and in oral interventions 2. Using deductive reasoning, that is, using premises to reach a conclusion 3. Being able to use a limited set of data to generalise. 4. Having oral and written communication skills. 5. Analysing and synthesising information from diverse sources. 6. Organising and planning academic work 7. Using previously acquired knowledge from other learning activities. 8. Putting new knowledge into practice. Interpersonal competences  1. Being able to work in teams and negotiate meanings. 2. Being able to work individually. 3. Incorporating teamwork in autonomous work. 4. Being able to communicate both in small group (seminars) and large group sessions Systemic competences 1.  Creativity. 2.  Capacity to learn both autonomously and through continuous formation.

1. Knowing, setting and interpreting some of the main episodes of historical and cultural evolution in German speaking areas. 2. Knowing, setting and interpreting some of the main works and literary currents of German tradition. 3. Knowing and interpreting some of the main reactions to the classical civilisation in German culture. 4. Knowing and being able to make use of the monographic studies and bibliography related to the topic in order to produce reasoned interpretations.

3. Contents

Block 1:
Schiller and Goethe - The development of the classical ideal through "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur" (Winckelmann) 

Block 2:
Hölderlin and Kleist - Disorientation and uneasiness: the classical ideal put into question.

Block 3:
Romanticism and Heine - Satire of the classical model and the development of an autochthonous model

Block 4:
Nietzsche - Exposure of the classical ideal.

Block 5:
Thomas Mann: Germanic culture versus republican civilisation.

Block 6:
Brecht and Kafka: two different visions which get further away from the classical model.

Block 7:
Reception of the classical model after 1945.

 

 

*The full version with the sections 4. Assessment, 5. Bibliography and teaching resources, 6. Methodology and 7. Planning of activities is available in the original version.

4. Assessment

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5. Bibliography and teaching resources

5.1. Basic bibliography

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5.2. Complementary bibliography

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5.3. Teaching resources

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6. Metodology

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7. Planning of activities

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