German Studies Wesleyan University

Overview

The German Studies program of Wesleyan University can prepare students for careers in many fields. Among them are teaching, translation, publishing, arts administration, journalism, law, international business, and library sciences. German studies also prepares students for graduate study in literature, linguistics, philosophy, art history, history, psychology, the natural sciences, music, and other disciplines. At every level, the department’s courses taught in German stress the four basic skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These courses develop students’ awareness of how language functions to convey information, express emotions, and communicate thought. The department’s courses taught in English focus on the specific historical experiences of German-speaking countries and the contributions of those countries to many realms of human endeavor. These courses often raise the question of translation, asking how successfully cultural phenomena specific to a particular place and time can be expressed in another language.

The topics of courses offered by members of the department and the affiliated faculty include German literature from the 18th century to the present, philosophy, literary theory, art history, German film from its origins to the present, political science, environmental studies, and history. A number of courses, taught in English in other departments, are cross-listed and can be counted toward the major.

Student Learning Goals

The German studies major is designed to allow students to explore the rich and diverse cultures of the German-speaking countries through a flexible interdisciplinary program that stimulates the students’ creative and critical capacities and can serve as the basis for future academic or professional study or employment.

The specific goals are as follows:

• Knowledge of the German language: Courses are designed to enable students to achieve at least advanced mid-level proficiency in speaking and comprehending spoken German, according to the ACTFL guidelines. Students will have ample opportunity to become fluent and accurate writers of German in a variety of genres and contexts.

• Intercultural literacy: Students can expect to gain insight into unfamiliar cultural attitudes and artifacts, which enables them to be open-minded and competent participants in their own and foreign environments.

• Historical breadth: Students will be able to acquire insight into the development of the German-language cultures from the Enlightenment to the present and those cultures’ impact on Western civilization and other cultures.

• Knowledge of the field of German studies: Through their courses, majors become acquainted with techniques of textual interpretation, with the scope of the field, and with prevailing research methods and disciplinary tools.

• Experience in German-speaking countries: Students will receive strong encouragement and support to experience a German-speaking country firsthand through study abroad during the academic year or the summer, internships, thesis/capstone research, or study or teaching after graduation.