German Studies at MIT offers a comprehensive academic program ranging from beginning to advanced levels. Aimed at undergraduates and graduates, the German curriculum engages students in the study of language, contemporary culture, history, film, and literature of German-speaking countries. With current faculty expertise covering the fields of migration, cultural transfer, media, science, environment, and technology – German Studies encourages broad engagements with Germany in relation to some of the central questions that shape our time. Highlighting transnational perspectives, German Studies contributes to the larger mission in Global Studies and Languages to enable students to become critical global citizens and refine their problem solving skills to local challenges.
The four semester language-focused course series (German I-IV) assumes no background in German language or culture. Students in these courses acquire the communication and cultural competencies that allow them to engage in further study in advanced courses and to participate in the MISTI-Germany Program to gain international work experience. All courses use innovative and engaging pedagogies together with study materials ranging from print to digital. Each course in this sequence is offered both fall and spring semesters. In addition, beginning and intermediate language courses are offered in a 3-week intensive format during the Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January. Undergraduates can elect to concentrate, minor, or major in German Studies.
German
The subjects below are taught in German and include offerings in language, literature, and cultural studies.
The indication of prerequisites for specific German offerings does not apply to students who have already completed equivalent work. For further placement advice, consult one of the field advisors in German.
Fundamental Language Subjects
21G.401 German I
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(Subject meets with 21G.451)
Prereq: None
Units: 4-0-8
Lecture: MTRF10 (1-277) or MTRF2 (16-654)
Introduction to German language and culture. Acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical concepts through active communication. Audio, video, and printed materials provide direct exposure to authentic German language and culture. Self-paced language lab program is fully coordinated with textbook/workbook. Development of effective basic communication skills. For graduate credit see 21G.451. Limited to 18 per section.
S. Ward
Textbooks (Fall 2018)
21G.402 German II
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(Subject meets with 21G.452)
Prereq: 21G.401 or permission of instructor
Units: 4-0-8
Lecture: MTRF9 (14N-225) or MTRF2 (16-676)
Expansion of basic communication skills and further development of linguistic competency. Review and completion of basic grammar, building of vocabulary, and practice in writing short essays. Reading of short literary texts. Exposure to history and culture of German-speaking countries through audio, video, and Web materials. For graduate credit see 21G.452. Limited to 18 per section.
D. Jaeger
Textbooks (Fall 2018)
21G.403 German III
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Prereq: 21G.402 or permission of instructor
Units: 4-0-8
Lecture: MTRF12 (1-242) or MTRF4 (16-676)
Expands skills in speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Develops analytic and interpretative skills through the reading of a full-length drama as well as short prose and poetry (Dürrenmatt, Boll, Borchert, and others) and through media selections on contemporary issues in German-speaking cultures. Discussions and compositions based on these texts. Review of grammar and development of vocabulary-building strategies. Recommended for students with two years of high school German. Limited to 18 per section.
E. Crocker
Textbooks (Fall 2018)
21G.404 German IV
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Prereq: 21G.403 or permission of instructor
Units: 4-0-8
Lecture: MTRF12 (16-676)
Development of interpretive skills, using literary texts (B. Brecht, S. Zweig) and contemporary media texts (film, TV broadcasts, Web materials). Discussion and exploration of cultural topics in their current social, political, and historical context via hypermedia documentaries. Further refinement of oral and written expression and expansion of communicative competence in practical everyday situations. Limited to 18 per section.
E. Crocker
Textbooks (Fall 2018)
21G.406 German: Communication Intensive I
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Prereq: None. Coreq: 21G.409, 21G.410, 21G.412, 21G.414, 21G.415, 21G.416, 21G.417, 21G.418, or 21G.420; permission of instructor
Units: 3-0-0
TBA.
Intensive tutorial in writing and speaking for majors. Provides students with enhanced linguistic and cultural fluency for academic or real-world purposes. 21G.407 builds on writing and speaking skills acquired in 21G.406. Conducted entirely in German. Preference to German majors.
B. Stoetzer
No required or recommended textbooks
21G.407 German: Communication Intensive II
(, )
Prereq: None. Coreq: 21G.409, 21G.410, 21G.412, 21G.414, 21G.415, 21G.416, 21G.417, 21G.418, or 21G.420; permission of instructor
Units: 3-0-0
TBA.
Intensive tutorial in writing and speaking for majors. Provides students with enhanced linguistic and cultural fluency for academic or real-world purposes. 21G.407 builds on writing and speaking skills acquired in 21G.406. Conducted entirely in German. Preference to German majors.
B. Stoetzer
No required or recommended textbooks
Intermediate Subjects in Language, Literature, and Culture
21G.405 Intermediate German: Intensive Study of Language and Culture
()
Prereq: 21G.403 or permission of instructor
Units: 4-0-8
Prepares students for working and living in German-speaking countries. Focuses on current political, social, and cultural issues, using newspapers, TV, radio broadcasts, podcasts, and Web sources from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Emphasizes speaking and listening skills for professional contexts. Project-based course includes oral presentations, group discussions, guest lectures, and live interviews with German speakers. Progress tracked with student portfolios. Taught in German. No listeners.
Staff
21G.409 Advanced German: Visual Arts, Media, Creative Expression
() 
Prereq: 21G.404
Units: 3-0-9
Students develop their spoken and written language skills via storytelling, drama, interpretative speaking, poetry slam, writing short, creative texts; and by reading contemporary prose, plays, and poetry. Explores different art forms such as short film, photography, installation and digital art, and commercials. Discusses works by Yoko Tawada, Ernst Jandl, and Babak Saed, among others. Students create their own mini-film, commercial, or multimedia work. Taught in German.
Staff
21G.410 Advanced German: Communication for Professionals
()
Prereq: 21G.404
Units: 3-0-9
Exposes students to current issues and language use in German technology, business, and international industrial relations; discusses ramifications of these issues in a larger social and cultural context. Prepares students who wish to work or study in a German-speaking country. Focuses on specialized vocabulary and systematic training in speaking and writing skills to improve fluency and style. Emphasizes communicative strategies that are crucial in a working environment. Includes discussion and analysis of newspaper and magazine articles, modern expository prose, and extensive use of online material. Taught in German.
Staff
21G.412 Advanced German: Literature and Culture
() 
Prereq: 21G.404 or permission of instructor
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: TR1-2.30 (14N-217)
Provides the opportunity to discuss, orally and in writing, cultural, ethical, and social issues on a stylistically sophisticated level. Explores representative and influential works from the 19th century to the present, through literary texts (prose, drama, poetry), radio plays, art, film, and architecture. Investigates topics such as the human and the machine, science and ethics, representation of memory, and issues of good and evil. Includes works by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Kafka, Brecht, Dürrenmatt, Süskind, and W.G. Sebald. Topics and authors vary from term to term. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor. Taught in German.
D. Jaeger
Textbooks (Fall 2018)
Advanced Subjects in Language, Literature, and Culture
21G.414 German Culture, Media, and Society
()
Prereq: 21G.404
Units: 3-0-9
https://mitgsl.mit.edu/subjects/21G.414
Lecture: MW EVE (7-8.30 PM) (16-676)
Investigates current trends and topics in German literature, theater, film, television, radio, and other media arts productions. Analyzes media texts in the context of their production, reception, and distribution as well as the public debates initiated by these works. Students have the opportunity to discuss topics with a writer, filmmaker, and/or media artist from Germany. Taught in German. Topics vary from term to term.
K. Fendt
No required or recommended textbooks
21G.415 Germany and Its European Context
()
Not offered regularly; consult department
Prereq: 21G.404
Units: 3-0-9
Examines the historical, political, and sociological forces that shape present-day Germany. Topics vary and may include: value changes in postwar society, coping with the legacy of the past, multiculturalism in Germany, change of gender roles, cultural differences between East and West after the unification, the role of environmentalism, the process of European integration, and Germany and its neighbors. Draws on current articles, texts and videos from newspapers, journals, the Web, and German TV. Integrates and contextualizes the first-hand experiences of German society. Taught in German.
Staff
21G.416 20th- and 21st-Century German Literature
()
Not offered regularly; consult department
Prereq: 21G.404
Units: 3-0-9
Introduces students to important 20th- and 21st-century literary texts and connects them to the often dramatic course of German history in the last century. Surveys German literature from the beginning of the 20th century to the most recent post-unification texts. Each term focuses on a different broader theme. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor. Taught in German.
Staff
21G.417 Cultural Geographies of Germany: Nature, Culture, and Politics
()
Prereq: 21G.404 or permission of instructor
Units: 3-0-9
Examines the relationship between nature, geography, and power in 20th- and 21st-century German culture. Familiarizes students with a series of themes in literature, science, engineering, urban planning and everyday life that have played a central role in German national imaginaries and concepts of citizenship. Engaging specific examples and historical, ethnographic, literary and visual material, students explore how human-environment relations have figured prominently in German national identity, its economic power, and global connections. Taught in German.
B. Stoetzer
21G.418 Migration, Race and Ethnicity in a New Europe and Germany
() 
(Subject meets with 21G.058)
Prereq: 21G.404 or permission of instructor
Units: 3-0-10
Lecture: T EVE (7-10 PM) (14E-310)
Addresses the shifting politics of nation, ethnicity, and race in the context of migration and globalization in Germany and Europe. Provides students with analytical tools to approach global concerns and consider Europe and Germany from cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives. Familiarizes students with the ways in which histories of migration, travel, and colonial encounters shape contemporary Europe. Introduces the concepts of transnationalism, diasporic cultures, racism, ethnicity, asylum, and mobility via case studies and materials, including film, ethnography, fiction, and autobiography. Taught in English with a project that requires research and writing in German. Limited to 18.
B. Stoetzer
No required or recommended textbooks
21G.420 Visual Histories: German Cinema 1945 to Present
()
Prereq: 21G.404 or permission of instructor
Units: 2-2-8
Studies the history, aesthetics, and cultural contexts of German film since the end of World War II. Explores films of "New German Cinema" by Fassbinder, Wenders, Herzog, and others, and investigates the film tradition of East Germany and the internationalization of German cinema since the 1980s. Special thematic focus on the representation of history in film. Taught in German.
Staff
Graduate Language Subjects
21G.451 German I
(, , )
(Subject meets with 21G.401)
Prereq: None
Units: 4-0-5
Lecture: MTRF10 (1-277) or MTRF2 (16-654)
Introduction to German language and culture. Acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical concepts through active communication. Audio, video, and printed materials provide direct exposure to authentic German language and culture. Self-paced language lab program is fully coordinated with textbook/workbook. Development of effective basic communication skills. Same as 21G.401, but for graduate credit. Meets with 21G.471 when offered concurrently. Limited to 18 per section.
Staff
Textbooks (Fall 2018)
21G.452 German II
(, , )
(Subject meets with 21G.402)
Prereq: 21G.451 or permission of instructor
Units: 4-0-5
Lecture: MTRF9 (14N-225) or MTRF2 (16-676)
Expansion of basic communication skills and further development of linguistic competency. Review and completion of basic grammar, building of vocabulary, and practice in writing short essays. Reading of short literary texts. Exposure to history and culture of German-speaking countries through audio, video and web materials. Same as 21G.402, but for graduate credit. Limited to 18 per section.
Staff
Textbooks (Fall 2018)
For German Literature and Culture subjects offered in English, see 21G.055 and 21G.059.
