Great German Short Fiction of the 20th Century Stacy Hartman German Studies 1XX Tues/Thurs, 9-10:50AM

Welcome to Great German Short Stories of the 20th Century. The short story is an oftenundervalued genre, and it presents different challenges from a novel. At first glance, short stories often appear deceptively simple, but in many ways, they demand far more from their readers than do novels. In short stories, it is often what is not said, the silences and the ellipses, that are most important, and it is up to the reader to discover these silences and to fill in the blanks. This is, perhaps, especially true when a story deals with a subject as volatile and uneasy as 20th century German history, as many of the stories we will read this quarter do. The purpose of this course is several-fold: 1) to improve your overall German skills, particularly in reading, writing, and speaking, 2) to familiarize you with the work of several major 20th century German writers through their short stories, 3) to help you learn how to approach a short story as distinct from a novel, and 4) to help you gain an understanding, through these short stories, about the trajectory of 20th century German history. Writing: Learning objectives: To write comfortably in appropriate tenses and using more formal devices, such as the passive voice and the genitive case To write in complete, well-formed paragraphs that transition smoothly from one to the next To develop your ideas about the texts we read from the beginning of the writing process to the end Written assignments: Journal entries. These will be due 12 hours before certain class sessions. Please check the syllabus for the particular theme or question. They should be 150-200 words in German, including 1-3 questions about the text (which I will hand out in class); these will not be graded for grammar or style. Three 1-page response papers. These will be due in weeks 3, 6, and 9 and should build off the journals. They will not be graded for grammar, but I will note any overall problems. Three 3-page papers. These will be due in weeks 4, 7, and 10, and should build off the response papers. 50% of your grade on these papers will come from grammar and style and 50% from content.

Speaking: Overall learning objectives: To begin narrating confidently in the past tenses To begin comparing and contrasting items (such as works and characters) To begin using more formal language to express opinions Grammar: Choose one grammar point to improve upon at a time. A list of advanced language concepts will be provided for you to choose from, and you will let me know which concept you have chosen. In Week 5, you will be given the opportunity to choose new topics or stay with your current ones. Speaking assignments: Short background presentations o Frequently students will be asked in pairs to provide brief presentations to contextualize a new work. These presentations should be in total not more than ten minutes in length and aided by a simple PowerPoint presentation. o If useful, consider showing a film clip or other video to help your classmates in understanding the historical context of the story we have read or are about to read. o These presentations should consist of: Biographical information about the author: When was the author born/when did s/he die? What are his/her major works? Is s/he known for his/her participation in a particular genre or literary movement? Is there other biographical information that your classmates would find interesting or useful? Historical information: When was the work written? What was happening in Germany at the time? In-class participation: o This will include small group work, pair work, and large group discussions, as well as our capstone: a Literary Salon that will pull together all the themes and texts weve covered over the course of the quarter. Grading rubric: Short presentations: 20% In-class participation: 30% Journal entries: 10% 1-page response papers: 15% 3-page papers: 25%

Required Texts In der Strafkolonie, Franz Kafka (written 1914, published 1919) Vor dem Gesetz, Franz Kafka (1915) Mario und der Zauberer, Thomas Mann (1929) Der Ausflug der toten Mdchen, Anna Seghers (1943) Das Brot, Wolfgang Borchert (1946) Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit, Heinrich Bll (1952) Die Tochter, Peter Bichsel (1964) Der Verdchtige, Jurek Becker (1980) Mutterznge / Grovaterzunge, Emine Sevgi zdamar (1990) Course Schedule: Week 1 Tuesday Syllabus and course requirements Students choose which advanced grammar concepts they wish to work on during the first part of the quarter Create a timeline of 20th century German history: what are the most important dates and events? This will give me some idea of what students already know and give them historical touchstones to think about during the course. Thursday: In der Strafkolonie Journal entry: What do you find confusing or puzzling about this text so far? What questions to do you have and what themes to do you see emerging? Kafka presentation (given by me, as a model for the students) Discussion: Dictatorship, power, technology Week 2 Tuesday: In der Strafkolonie concluded Journal entry: Why do you think In der Strafkolonie is sometimes considered prophetic? Students share their journal entries in small groups and then generate questions Discussion around these questions. How do we see In der Strafkolonie as relating to WWI (or even WWII)? Thursday: Vor dem Gesetz Journal entry: What are some questions you had after reading Vor dem Gesetz? Student presentation on Vor dem Gesetz Discussion: Students compare the two Kafka stories. From our understanding of these two stories, what are some themes that seem to preoccupy Kafka? (e.g. Justice and the inaccessibility thereof)

Week 3 Tuesday: Mario und der Zauberer Journal entry: Consider the following quotation from the text. What do you think it means? Die Freiheit existiert, und auch der Wille existiert; aber die Willensfreiheit existiert nicht, denn ein Wille, der sich auf seine Freiheit richtet, stt ins Leere. Mario und der Zauberer student presentation Discussion: What was fascism? How was it different in Germany and Italy? (Readings provided) Thursday: Mario und der Zauberer concluded Journal entry: Do you agree that the text serves as an allegory for fascism? Why or why not? Discussion: Students use their journal entries to talk about the text as an allegory; revisit the quotation from their last journal entry: has our understanding of it changed? 1st 1-page paper due Week 4 Tuesday: No new texts Journal entry: Having now read three pieces of German short fiction, what are some themes or styles that we think distinguishes German fiction from American or British fiction weve read? Discussion based on journal entries and presentation (possible topics: dictatorship and power, the individual and history/society, justice and rebellion) Writing clinic: return 1st 1-page papers; students share topics for the 1st 3-page paper Thursday: Der Ausflug der toten Mdchen NO JOURNAL ENTRY Der Ausflug der toten Mdchen presentation Discussion: Exile literature, memory, nostalgia: how does Seghers raise these themes in her story? 1st 3-page paper due Week 5 Tuesday: Der Ausflug der toten Mdchen concluded Journal entry: Think about the themes of exile, memory, and nostalgia we talked about in our last class session. How do these themes relate to the storys structure? Discussion: Frame narratives and memory. How would the story be different if it didnt have a frame narrative? Thursday: Das Brot Journal entry: Think about either the husband or the wife in this story. What choices does he or she make? Why do you think he or she made these choices? Student presentation on Das Brot

5 Discussion: What were the issues facing Germans in day-to-day life after the war? What
do you think of the husband for doing what he did? What do you think of the wife? Return 1st 3-page papers Students choose new grammar topic to focus on Week 6 Tuesday: Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit Journal entry: What are some of the German Christmas traditions that Bll describes? What happens to them in the course of the story? Student presentation on Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit Discussion: How and why do the old traditions break down after the war? What happens to the family because of this breakdown? Thursday: Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit concluded Journal entry: How is the tone of Blls story different from that of other stories weve read? Discussion: How does Bll use irony in this story? What sort of commentary is he making about postwar German society? 2nd 1-page response paper due Week 7 Tuesday: Mid-quarter writing clinic (no new texts) NO JOURNAL ENTRY Return 2nd 1-page paper; go over grammar and structural issues and have students workshop papers in groups Students share ideas and drafts for the 2nd 3-page paper in small groups and receive feedback from their peers Thursday: Die Tochter Journal entry: Write a letter from the daughter to a friend, talking about life with her parents. Student presentation on Die Tochter Discussion: The generational gap(s) in German society 2nd 3-page paper due Week 8 Tuesday: Der Verdchtige Journal entry: What is the moral dilemma of the protagonist? What would you do in his place? Student presentation on Der Verdchtige Discussion: Surveillance; state power vs. the individual in the GDR Thursday: Der Verdchtige concluded; watch Das Leben der Anderen

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Journal entry: Compare the moral choices the protagonist in Beckers text makes with that of either Georg Dreyman or Gerd Wiesler in Das Leben der Anderen. Student presentation on Das Leben der Anderen Discussion: Power and dictatorship in these texts (perhaps in relation to the Kafka texts we read at the beginning of the quarter). Week 9 Tuesday: Mutterzunge Journal entry: What is your own experience with learning a language abroad? Did you have moments where speaking your native language felt strange in some way? Student presentation on Mutterzunge Discussion: Turkish-German literature, code switching, hybridity 3rd 1-page paper due Thursday: Grovaterzunge Journal entry: What are some of the metaphors zdamar uses to talk about language? Do these metaphors make sense to you? Student presentation on Grovaterzunge Discussion: The relationship between language and sexuality; border crossing; language metaphors Week 10 Tuesday: Preparation for the Literary Salon Journal entry: What are some overarching themes or questions that we have considered this quarter? Students generate discussion questions/topics in groups Students select questions for the Literary Salon and decide who will be their respondents; students meet in groups to talk about their answers and brainstorm ideas Thursday: Literary Salon NO JOURNAL ENTRY Students present their answers and then engage in discussion with their respondents (and the rest of the class) 3rd 3-page paper due