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Concentration in German Studies and MCM

This joint concentration offers interested students an opportunity to explore the phenomenon of "Germany" using the approaches of cultural theory. Students will take a number of required courses through which they learn the basic theories and approaches to issues of language and meaning, subjectivity and identity, ideology and consciousness, gender and sexuality, and theories of narrativity. Other courses offer the student an overview of the German textual traditions in literature, philosophy, music, film, and the fine arts. German language proficiency is expected of all participants in the program and may be gained by a variety of approaches available within the German Studies Department. Overseas study at Berlin's Humboldt University or in special cases at an equivalent institution is considered a normal part of this joint concentration. All students will be required to complete a final project.

Concentration Requirements: 12 courses from both departments

  1. Two from the following:
    MCM0100:  Screens and Projections: Modern Media Cultures
    MCM0150:  Text/Media/Culture: Readings in Theory
    MCM0230:  Digital Media
    MCM0240:  Television Studies
    MCM0250:  Visuality and Visual Theories
    MCM0260:  Cinematic Coding and Narrativity
    MCM1110:  The Theory of the Sign
  2. Two courses in German Studies at the 1000-level with topics relevant to the concentration focus areas
  3. A senior thesis (GRMN1990 or MCM1990)
  4. Senior Seminar in German Studies taken during the senior year (GRMN 1900)
  5. Six courses from the following:
  • History: HIST1370 (Germany, 1914 to the Present)
  • Comparative Literature: COLT1810 J (History and Aesthetic Form)
  • Comparative Literature: COLT1210 (Introduction to the Theory of Literature)
  • History of Art and Architecture: HIAA0850 (Modern Architecture)
  • American Civilization: AMCV1611M (Trauma and the Shame of the Unspeakable: The Holocaust, Slavery, and Childhood Sexual Abuse)
  • American Civilization 0190B (Gender Race Nation Science)
  • German Studies: GRMN1440 (Studies in Literary Genre)
  • German Studies: GRMN1450 (Seminars in German Literature)
  • Judaic Studies: JUDS1980A (Comparing Genocide: Armenians and Jews in Twentieth-Century Europe)
  • MCM1200:  Special Topics in Modern Culture and Media
  • MCM1500:  Senior Seminars in Modern Culture and Media
  • Philosophy: PHIL1140 (Aesthetics)
  • Philosophy: PHIL1660 (Metaphysics)

Students are encouraged to consult with the Concentration Advisors in German Studies and Modern Culture and Media as early as possible in order to begin planning their course work sequences and their final projects. In addition, students will normally complete two to four of their electives while studying at the Humboldt University in Berlin or at another location approved by the Concentration Advisors.