Featured Courses
Advanced Language Practice: German Kabarett Performance
(Taught in German)
Prerequisite: 4 semesters of college-level German or equivalent.
Objectives: The analysis, discussion, adaptation and public performance of authentic texts from German Kabarett (i.e., comedic skits, political and social satire, parody, humorous poetry, etc.) will advance students’ language and interpersonal skills, while providing unique access to a significant dimension of German popular culture. Additional emphasis is put on aspects and practice of creative writing and German pronunciation and enunciation.
Students must be available for evening and weekend performances 4/21-4/26/2020. Readings and Discussions in German.
Literature in the Digital Age
(Taught in German)
The digital age has altered the way we read, write, think, spend time and money, experience the world, and relate to others. But how is literature affected by the profound changes that the digital era has ushered in? Asking this question, the course dedicates itself to the various effects of the digital age on literature and the literary field. The emphasis will be on themes, poetics, and media of digital writing; as well as on shifting notions of the literary itself. Topics include forms of microblogging such as Twitter and Instagram; aesthetic experimentation and/on social media; notions of digital authorship. In juxtaposing texts disseminated in various media and formats, the course also focuses on changing practices of reading and viewing. Finally, attention will be given to how digital communication affects non-digital literature. Most readings, assignments, and course discussions in German.
News & Announcements
The Department invites applications for multi-year doctoral fellowships in all areas, including cross-disciplinary studies. In cooperation with the Center for Jewish Studies we also offer support for students working on German-Jewish topics. In addition, we are proud to announce the newly established Sunrise Foundation Fellowship in German Film and Media.To apply, please consult the Graduate section of our website.
Professor Claire Kramsch receives MLA’s Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize
CfP: 29th Annual Berkeley German Studies Conference – Schul(d)en: Guilt, Debt, Education
Professor Deniz Göktürk published a book on the social dynamics of humor: Komik der Integration. Grenzpraktiken und Identifikationen des Sozialen, co-edited with Uwe Wirth and Özkan Ezli
UC Berkeley’s 27th annual German Department Graduate Conference on the topic of “Affective Realisms” was organized by graduate students Caroline Durlacher, Molly Krueger, Landon Reitz, and Michael Sandberg.
Graduate students Jarrett Dury-Agri, Alicia Roy, Michael Sandberg, and Cara Tovey presented their work at the June 2019 BTWH (Berkeley-Tübingen-Wien-Harvard) international working group conference in Bale, Croatia, on the topic “Verdinglichung/Reification.”
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Adorno
Tawada
Kafka
Heidegger
Kafka
Heine
Dann bin ich um den Schlaf gebracht,
Ich kann nicht die Augen schließen,
Und meine heissen Tränen fließen.
Bachmann
Van Hoddis
In allen Lüften hallt es wie Geschrei.
Dachdecker stürzen ab und gehn entzwei
Und an den Küsten —liest man — steigt die Flut.
Kafka
NIetzsche
Musil
Goethe
Adorno
Brecht
Goethe
Und grün des Lebens goldner Baum
Kafka
Kafka
Hegel
―
Freud
Goethe
Juristerei und Medizin
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.