MIT Global Languages

German Studies

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Overview

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. Highlighting transnational perspectives, German Studies contributes to the larger mission in Global Languages to enable students to become critical global citizens and refine their problem-solving skills to local challenges.

In the four-semester language and culture-focused course series German I-IV, as well as the upper level subjects, students acquire communication and cultural competencies that allow them to engage actively in the German-speaking world. Undergraduates can elect to concentrate, minor, or major in German Studies.

The personal attention in small group classes create engaging and rewarding experiences for each student. Our classes are an excellent preparation for participation in programs such as MISTI Germany and we encourage students to pursue internships in industry or in research institutions in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands through MISTI Germany.

Fall 2020
All 21G subjects in Fall 2020 will be offered remotely, with synchronous class meetings in Zoom.
Tier I
21G.401   German I
21G.402   German II
21G.403   German III
21G.404   German IV
Tier II
21G.412   Advanced German: Literature and Cultures
The course explores contemporary German-speaking culture via short prose and drama, film and short film, documentaries, architecture and other cultural artifacts and discusses the construction and social function of these narratives. The course provides students with ample opportunity to enhance their German by discussing current topics in present-day Germany. Topics of discussion include questions of how Germany is shaped by its history, debates about identity and identity formation, technology and the human as machine, science and ethics in the context of the present climate emergency. Taught in German.
Tier III
21G.058/21G.418 Race and Migration in Europe
17.561     European Politics

Looking ahead:

Spring 2021
Tier I
21G.401   German I
21G.402   German II
21G.403   German III
21G.404   German IV
Tier II
21G.410 Advanced German: Communication for Professionals
Tier III
21G.420    Visual Histories: German Cinema 1945 to the Present
21G.057   Gender, Race, and Environmental Justice

The indication of prerequisites for specific German offerings does not apply to students who have already completed equivalent work. For further placement advice, consult Dagmar Jaeger.

A note regarding the enrollment policy of the Global Languages section: Enrollment limited to 18 for pedagogical reasons for Tier I and Tier II subjects. Preference will be given to pre-registered students, including pre-registered undergraduates who were cut from the same class the previous semester due to the enrollment cap. Please note that you have to attend the first day of class to maintain your preference level. As a general rule, preference will be given in the following order in case of over-enrollment: declared majors, declared minors, declared concentrators, first-years, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students.

Requirements

MIT students have interests and prospects that span the globe. The academic programs offered by Global Studies and Languages—concentrations, minors, and majors— offer undergraduates the opportunity to combine a degree in any STEM-related field with in-depth language and cultural studies.

Major
The program consists of 11 subjects (138 units) beginning at German III. 6 of the 11 subjects may count towards the 8-subject HASS GIR. The 5 remaining subjects provide 66 units beyond GIR.

Students choose from the following list of subjects:

Core subjects:
21G.404 German IV
21G.406 German Communication Intensive I CI-M (for majors in German only)
21G.407 German Communication Intensive II CI-M (for majors in German only)

Electives:
Tier I
21G.403 German III

Tier II
21G.405 Intermediate German: Intensive Study of Language and Culture
21G.409 Advanced German: Visual Arts, Media, Creative Expression
21G.410 Advanced German: Communication for Professionals
21G.412 Advanced German: Literature and Culture

Tier III
Taught in English
21G.029/419 City Living: Ethnographies of Urban Worlds
21G.055   Media in Weimar and Nazi Germany
21G.057   Gender, Race, and Environmental Justice
21G.058/418 Race and Migration in Europe
21G.059   Paradigms of European Thought and Culture
17.561 European Politics

Taught in German
21G.414 German Culture, Media, and Society
21G.416 20th and 21st-Century German Literature
21G.417 Cultural Geographies of Germany: Nature, Culture, and Politics
21G.420 Visual Histories: German Cinema

The CI-M requirement is completed by pairing the 3-unit add-on subject numbers 21G.406 and 21G.407 with two of the Tier II or III subjects in German, as listed above. These pairings count as two single subjects worth 15 units each towards the eleven-subject requirement. Students who have registered for 21G.406 or 21G.407 will develop an additional project with the faculty member teaching the affiliated subject.

A major course plan may include a pre-thesis (21G.THT) and thesis (21G.THU) for up to 18 units of the 138 units in the major. The pre-thesis and thesis are reserved for students who have completed advanced-level coursework in a particular language group and demonstrate outstanding competence in their field of study.

Note: students starting the major at Tier II do not need to take 21G.404 German IV as part of the major program.

Advisor: Eric Goldberg

German Major Degree Chart
Sample Roadmap German Major

Sample Roadmap Double Major German

Double Major Worksheet

Double Major Application Instructions

Joint Majors: 21E Humanities and Engineering; 21S Humanities and Science
These programs entail nine subjects in German, starting at 21G.403 German III or higher, and six subjects from a chosen Engineering or Science course. Student must complete two CI-Ms, one taken from each area of study. Only one subject being used to meet the distribution component of the HASS Requirement may be counted toward the degree program.

Minor
A minor in German leads students who have already reached an intermediate level of proficiency (German II) into a more advanced study of the language and culture.

The program consists of 6 subjects arranged in 3 tiers starting at German III. Five of these six subjects overlap with the 8-subject HASS GIR. A student can concentrate and minor in the same field.

All subjects listed above are eligible for the minor. Typically, only one subject taught in English is allowed in a minor course plan, and requires the approval of the minor advisor.

Advisor: Eric Goldberg

Minor in German: MIT Bulletin
SHASS Minor Guidelines and Procedures

Concentration
There are several concentration options, depending on whether the focus is language or literature and culture.

If a student’s incoming level is German I:
• 4 subjects, German I through German IV, are required to complete the concentration

If a student’s incoming level is German II or above:
• 3 subjects at German II or above are required to complete the concentration

An upper-level concentration may include 3 subjects, such as German III or German IV and/or intermediate to advanced classes taught in German (Tiers II and III). See above under German Major for the list of subjects.

Subjects offered in English that pertain to German cultural studies may be applied towards certain concentration requirements; please see the concentration advisor for approval.

Advisor: Haohsiang Liao

For the online HASS Concentration Form, click through to studentformsandpetitions.mit.edu!

Transfer Credit
Transfer credit examiner: Haohsiang Liao

Current Brochure

Study Abroad

You may also consider spending a summer, a semester, or a year abroad. Credits received from most accredited programs will count towards your major, minor or concentration you should consult with the Study Abroad Advisor in German prior to your departure.

MIT-Germany

Part of MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI)

MIT-Netherlands

Part of MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI)

MIT-Switzerland

Part of MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI)

MIT Study Abroad Programs: General information about study abroad. All forms related to study abroad and scholarship information available.

Activities

Max Kade Program

The unique Max Kade Writer-in-Residence Program brings a German-speaking writer to MIT to teach a special advanced-level course in German every two years. These writers bridge two or more cultures and/or languages by virtue of their biographies and writing, and they provide the students an alternative understanding of German and Swiss society and culture.

The German Studies Excellence Award at MIT

The annual award, sponsored by Global Studies and Languages (GSL) and MISTI-Germany, was started in 1997 to honor students each academic year who exhibit unusually strong skills and effort in the study of German language and culture in courses at MIT. The awards are decided by a jury of faculty from the German program.

Ecology und Global Justice Forum

The simultaneity and proliferation of environmental degradation, racial violence, forced migration, war, and neoliberal market policies that currently threaten the flourishing of human and non-human life defies a separation between social, psychological and environmental registers in our understanding of the key challenges of our time. Led by Bettina Stoetzer, Assistant Professor in German at GSL, the Ecology and Global Justice Series provides a forum for conversation among cultural critics, artists, and scientists about how to tackle these challenges and how to think across different registers while combining matters of social justice with environmental concerns.

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German Studies

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