Specialization Seminar: German Studies

Recommended Prerequisites

The course assumes an intermediate German language proficiency (CEFR level B1 or B2), as well as a basic knowledge on German speaking literature and culture.

Teaching Methods

Classes will have an expositional element, but particular relevance will be given to text analysis and discussion.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the semester, students should be able to

1) analyze and comment on literary and filmic texts related to the curricular unit’s theme;

2) relate the various literary and cultural contexts with each other, analyzing them critically and in a historical perspectivation;

3) analyze and present the discussed themes, showing intellectual autonomy, synthesizing capacity, argumentation skills and high proficiency in oral and written expression;

4) show that they have developed attitudes of intellectual curiosity and rigor, as well as a critical and emancipated thought.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

The curricular unit will focus on the topic “Literature and Cultural Memory”. We will analyze representations of cultural memory (Jan and AleidaAssmann) in literary texts and films, taking into account the German speaking countries as a stage of worldwide transformation, and as a configuration of various lieux de mémoire (Pierre Nora) in the European context.

N.B. The syllabus and bibliography may change depending on teaching staff.

Head Lecturer(s)

Professor a Definir - Faculdade de Letras

Assessment Methods

Continuous Assessment
Oral participation, short text presentations, and/or written papers : 40.0%
Research work (a 15-page research paper) : 60.0%

Bibliography

Assmann, J. (1992). Das kulturelle Gedächtnis, München: Beck.
Erll, A. &Nünning, A. (eds.) (2008).Cultural Memory Studies. An International and Interdisciplinary Handbook, Berlin, New York: de Gruyter.
Fuchs, A. (ed.) (2010). Phantoms of War in Contemporary German Literature, Films and Discourse. The Politics of Memory, Berlin, New York: de Gruyter.
Gil, M.F. (2012). Uma Biografia «Moderna» dos Anos 30: Magellan. Der Mann und seine Tat de Stefan Zweig, Coimbra: MinervaCoimbra/CIEG.
Ginsberg, T. & Mensch, A. (eds.) (2012). A Companion to German Cinema, Oxford, Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Madeira, R.P. (2012). Ficção e História: A Figura de Uriel da Costa na Obra de Karl Gutzkow. Coimbra: MinervaCoimbra/CIEG.
Nora, P. (1990). Zwischen Geschichte und Gedächtnis, Berlin: Wagenbach.