German Studies

This program is not accepting any new admissions at this time. It has not been updated since 2015. Please refer to the Department of Culture and Media Studies (cams@unb.ca) for further information on the Concentration in German Studies.

GENERAL INFORMATION

German Studies is an Interdisciplinary Minor and Major Program that provides the opportunity to combine the study of the language, literature, history, political science, and various socio-cultural aspects of the German-speaking peoples within the context of a larger Europe. The attainment of German language proficiency is an integral part of German Studies.

The program is administered by the German unit in the Department of Culture and Language Studies. The nature of area studies allows students to take a certain number of courses in other departments at UNB and STU (History, Political Science, and Philosophy). 

Programs of Study

German Studies is an Interdisciplinary Program that provides the opportunity to combine the study of the language, literature, history, political science, and various socio-cultural aspects of the German-speaking peoples within the context of a larger Europe. While the introduction to German is still an integral part of German Studies, the emphasis of this program is on area studies.

Students will take courses in German literature, culture and film, offered in the department and taught in English as well as courses offered in the department of History, Political Science, and Philosophy at UNB and STU (See areas of concentrations below). Note: Cross-listed German courses must be taken as German credits. Course selections must be made in consultation with the Program Director.

Programs of Study: Minor, Majors, and Honours

Program Requirement for Minor, Majors, and Honours

Note: Students in the German Studies Program must successfully complete a total of two term courses (6 ch) in introductory German language (GER 1001 and GER1002 or equivalent). Compulsory components are the German culture courses (GER 3061 and GER 3072) and two term courses in German literature or film. The remaining required courses can be chosen freely from the areas of concentrations.

Minor in German Studies

A minor in German Studies consist of (24 ch at any level) with no grade below C.

Specific course requirements are:

  • two term courses (6 ch) in German language (GER 1001 and GER1002, or equivalent)
  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Culture: GER 3061 and GER 3071
  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Literature or Film.
  • two term courses (6 ch) from any of the five areas of concentration listed below.

Major in German Studies

A major in German Studies consists of a minimum of eight term courses (24 ch) at the third-and fourth-year levels, with no grades below C. The requirements for a Double Major are the same.

Specific course requirements are:

  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Language (GER 1001 and GER1002, or equivalent)
  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Culture: GER 3061 and GER 3071
  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Literature or Film
  • four term courses (12 ch) from any of the five areas of concentration listed below.

Honours in German Studies

An Honours program in German Studies consists of a minimum of twelve term courses (36 ch) at the third-and-fourth year levels with no grades below B-. A minimum of four term courses (12 ch) must be taken from a single area of concentration.

Specific course requirements are:

  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Language (GER 1001 and GER1002, or equivalent)
  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Culture: GER 3061 and GER 3071
  • four term courses (6 ch) in German Literature or Film
  • six term courses (18 ch) from any of the five areas of concentration listed below.

Joint Honours in German Studies

Like Major students, students in Joint Honours are required to complete eight term courses (24 ch) at the third- and fourth-year levels in German Studies courses but with no grades below B-.

Specific course requirements are:

  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Language (GER 1001 and GER1002, or equivalent)
  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Culture: GER 3061 and GER 3071
  • two term courses (6 ch) in German Literature or Film
  • four term courses (12 ch) from any of the five areas of concentration listed below.

Areas of Concentration 

A. German Language Courses B. German Literature, Civilization, or Cultural Topics C. German History D. German and European Politics

 E. German Thought
GER 3011 Modern German Usage I GER 3021 The New Berlin: Memory and Reinvention HIST 2023 Early Modern Europe Part I, 1300-1600 (O) POLS 3113 The Foreign Policies of East European States PHIL 3306 Introduction to 19th and 20th Century Existential Philosophy
GER 3022 Modern German Usage II GER 3023 Berlin to Broadway: Musical Theatre
Across the Oceans		 HIST 2024 Early Modern Europe Part II, 1600-1800 POLS 3343 The European Union in Transition  PHIL 3311 Nietzsche's Critique of Socrates
GER 4013 Advanced German Usage I GER 3054 Crimes and Misdemeanors: Modern German Literature HIST 2103 Modern Europe Part I: 1789-1914 POLS 3361 Eastern European in Transition PHIL 3314 Nietzsche's Faith and Critique of Christianity
GER 4023 Advanced German Usage II GER 3061 From Tribes to a Nation: German Culture before 1900 HIST 2104 Modern Europe Part II: 1914 to Present POLS 3363 Contemporary German PHIL 3318 Martin Heidegger's Destruction of Philosophy
GER 3071 Germany Today: German Culture from 1900 to the Present HIST 3006 The Protestant Reformation POLS 3433 Late Modern Political Thought PHIL 4301 Introduction to Philosophy of Kant
GER 3043 Prayers, Damsels, and Monks
on the Prowl: The Early Years of German Literature		 HIST 3085 Germany 1900-1945 POLS 3483 Hegel and Marx PHIL 2163 Modern Philosophy II
GER 3045 Decadence, Nazi's and the War: Twentieth-Century German Literature before WWII HIST 3095 The Germanies, 1945 to the Present POLS 3413 Government and Politics of Western Europe PHIL 4311 Nietzsche's Zarathustra
GER 3053 Introduction to German Literature II (From the Reformation to the Present) HIST 3775 History of Music in the Late Baroque and Classical Period POLS 3413 The European Union and "Europe" PHIL 4434 Husseri's Pure Phenomenology
GER 3055 Rubble, Revolt, Reunification: Twentieth-Century German Literature before WW II HIST 3785 History of Music in the Romantic Era PHIL 2233 Contemporary Moral Philosophy
GER 3063 Literature of the Holocaust HIST 3795 A History of Music in the Twentieth Century PHIL 3543 Existential Philosophy
GER 3066 Trauma and Seduction: Early German Cinema HIST 3796 History of Music Dramas of Richard Wagner PHIL 3613 Kant
GER 3072 (Re)Constructing National Identity: Contemporary German Cinema HIST 4012 Home Fronts at War: Europe, 1914-1920 PHIL 3623 Hegel
GER 3083 Seminar I: Genre HIST 4013 The Holocaust: Victims, Perpetrators, Bystanders PHIL 3633 Marx
GER 4033 Seminar II: Author HIST 4014 European Dictatorships PHIL 3653 Contemporary Continental Philosophy
GER 4073 Literary Texts HIST 4015 The Origin of the Second World War PHIL 3763 Martin Heidegger
GER 4093 Nobel Laureates - German Literature HIST 5007 Gender & Sexuality in Twentieth Century Europe 
HIST 5028 Facism
HIST 5035 The Holocaust
HIST 2043 Modern Europe
HIST 3263 European Social Policy in Comparative Perspective
HIST 3363 German History 1871-1945
HIST 3733 The Germanies Since 1945

Course selections must be made in consultation with the Program Director.

Certificate of Applied German Studies

The goal of this certificate is to attach recognition to the practical application of German Studies that occurs, for instance, in a wide range of extracurricular contexts such as film series, cultural events and immersion weekends; in the participation in studies abroad* in a German speaking country; in the participation of the Berlin Travel Study program; and in special class projects and German society projects.

The Certificate in Applied German Studies emphasises the connection between academic and professional worlds. It does this by emphasising the training of competences and skills such as generating ideas, text production, intercultural literacy, creative, and pedagogical skills in specific task sets. Such competences are, for example, needed by publishers, text producers in media and advertising, cultural managers, communication instructors, academics, teachers of German as a foreign language, adult education teachers etc. The ability to convert language into text and to plan language for a variety of media and events is also in demand in the business sector.

The certificate program can be taken concurrently with other German and German Studies programs but is of particular interest to students who are not majoring or honouring in a German program. It normally consists of 12 ch of German language acquisition courses, plus 6 ch of German culture courses (GER 3061 and GER 3071), 3 ch of Applied German Studies (GER 2003 and GER 2004) and 3 ch of German Studies (literature, film, history, political science, philosophy). In addition to these courses the program requires the participation in extracurricular activities such as German film series, immersion program, cultural events, and projects. Students will produce reviews and reports to be collected in a portfolio. Guidelines for the specific requirements of the portfolio will be provided by the instructors. The portfolio will be evaluated for academic assessment by the program director or the instructor.

*There are international partnerships with accredited German universities (Freiburg, Bamberg, Saarland, Erfurt) and schools (Kassel). Courses taken abroad can be considered for transfer credit.

The Certificate of Applied German Studies is open to UNB degree students only and will be awarded by the University through the Registrar's Office. The student's transcript will bear a separate entry, showing that the Certificate has been awarded.