German BA (Hons)

The module aims to provide students with an introduction to central issues in German Studies.

The module introduces first year students to the study of German literature (short stories and prose) and the study of German film.

The module is an introduction to linguistics, focusing on issues in theoretical and applied linguistics which are relevant for language learners. It aims to equip students with a better awareness of and explicit knowledge about language and language learning. The meta-awareness thus gained will assist in hypothesis testing and rule formation essential to the learning of language.

This module offers students of German the opportunity to develop their reading knowledge of a German text (chosen from a short list) and their research and study skills, under the guidance of an academic supervisor. Students will produce a portfolio of work based on their chosen text, including: an academic bibliography, a comprehension exercise based on secondary literature, a commentary and an essay of 2000 words. These assessments guide students through the process of researching around a topic, and will allow them to receive feedback on each aspect of research. Students will work under the guidance of an academic supervisor, meeting them at regular intervals to agree a plan of reading, to discuss progress and to prepare their assessed work. Students will submit a plan of their essay to their supervisor for feedback before completing the assignment. The module is required for students German as a major or single subject, and can be taken by students studying German ab initio, for whom the commentary exercise will compare the English-language translation of the text and the German original. Together with the module GRMN230, this forms part of a research pathway designed to develop research skills in preparation for the MODL307 dissertation in final year.

This compulsory language module for all students aiming for a qualification in German is designed for students who have an A-level in German, but it is also open to other students as an additional subject or as part of the Erasmus scheme. It aims to provide students with good competence in reading, writing, listening, speaking and grammar through both lessons and independent project work. Students will be introduced to basic translation and interpreting skills during grammar lessons. Students may also benefit from extracurricular activities organised by a native speaker intern, the German Society and a conversation exchange organised through the Modern languages resource centre. It is also the preparation for the following year (GRMN207 and GRMN208).

This module is designed for students with A-level German or equivalent who have successfully completed GRMN105. In this module, skills acquired in semester one will be improved and enhanced in semester two. Students will read a book in German and discuss it in an oral exam. Students will also improve their knowledge of German grammar further and have access to the languages lab for listening comprehension. The module also prepares students for GRMN207 and GRMN208 in second year. Students may benefit from extracurricular activities organised by a native speaker intern, the German Society and a conversation exchange organised through our Modern languages resource centre. Students will continue practicing their basic translating and interpreting skills.

This fast-track, intensive German language module is for complete beginners. No previous knowledge of German is required. It aims to provide students with basic competence in reading, writing, listening and speaking German and with a sound understanding of basic German grammar. On completion, students will have reached an A1+ proficiency level in the Common European Framework of Reference.

This fast-track, intensive German language module is for students with an A1 level of proficiency in the Common European Framework of Reference. It aims to provide students with a preliminary competence in reading, writing, listening and speaking German and with an understanding of intermediate German grammar. On completion, students will have reached an A2+ proficiency level in the Common European Framework of Reference.

This module ​​​​allows students of German the opportunity to develop their interests in a subject area covered in a first or second semester German optional module by undertaking project work under the guidance of an academic supervisor. In consultation with their supervisor, students will produce an Assessment Portfolio which consists of a series of materials and tasks designed to help with the completion of the module (e.g. critical bibliography, outline plan, abstract, draft section of the project). Students have the opportunity to resubmit elements of the Assessment Portfolio in order to incorporate the feedback received. The Final Extended Project and its title are agreed in consultation with the academic supervisor. The module is required for students of 75 and 100 per cent German. Together with the module GRMN125 Texts and Contexts the module also forms part of a research pathway designed to develop research skills in preparation for the MODL307 Dissertation in final year.

This required module is mapped against B1 level in German according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and is designed for students who have successfully completed the beginners’ modules GRMN112 and GRMN134 and plan to go abroad in their third year. In four weekly taught hours it aims to provide students with good competence in reading, writing, listening, speaking and grammar through both lessons and independent study. For their independent project, students can choose from a range of tasks to improve specific language skills such as listening, speaking or reading, about which they have to deliver a written report. Students will be introduced to first translation skills in dedicated lessons. Students may also benefit from extracurricular activities organised by a native speaker intern or Language Advisor in the Language Lounge, the Modern Languages Society and a conversation exchange organised through our Language Lounge or via our online exchange scheme EUniTa.

This module is for students who have successfully completed GRMN105 and GRMN106 at level B2 as specified in the Common European Framework of Reference. In this module, students will be introduced to Austrian and Swiss history, culture and language in one hour per week, and do practical skills through speaking and listening for one hour per week in addition to sessions preparing students for their year abroad. Audio and video listening skills will be improved through both class exercises and independent study, and students will prepare oral debates and presentations.  Students will be introduced to research skills in preparation of their year abroad and write longer essays in German. Students will also be introduced to general translation skills from German into English and English into German in a variety of genres and continue practicing advanced grammar skills. They will be introduced to basic interpreting skills in the languages lab. In preparation for their year abroad, students will be prepared for the various pathways to cope with work placements, assistantships and studentships.

Situated between the end of World War One and the Nazi takeover of power, the Weimar Republic witnessed a ‘crisis of classical modernity’; the period retains a reputation for modernity and decadence. Against a background of political and economic experimentation and uncertainty, it saw a growth in advertising, shopping, urban life and transport, fashion and film. Taught in a mixture of lectures and seminars, this module focuses on cultural representations of the period, through the study of two films: Berlin: Sinfonie der Großstadt (Berlin: Symphony of the Metropolis, 1927) and Marlene Dietrich’s first major feature, Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel, 1931); and two literary texts: Erich Kästner, Emil und die Detektive (Emil and the Detectives, 1928), and Irmgard Keun, Das kunstseidene Mädchen (The Artificial Silk Girl, 1932). Through close reading and thematic analysis, we will consider how they depict and define the modern metropolis; changing ideas about class and gender; and new forms of working life, entertainment and leisure.

The modern city and the cinema developed together, and as they developed they referred to each other: cities have always been a prime space for film, while many urban theorists have found it useful to think of cities as cinematic spaces. The module introduces you to cinematic ways of representing the city, through the study of a number of representative films that deal with some major metropolis.You will have the opportunity to produce your own short smartphone film of the city of Liverpool as part of a small-scale group project. This will allow you to put your ideas into practice and to reflect on the filmmaking process. No prior knowledge of practical filmmaking is required to enrol in this module.

Although often considered a monolingual English city, Liverpool is as diverse and multilingual as most major urban centres. This module invites students to draw on their linguistic skills and their awareness of languages more widely to consider critically the extent to which multilingualism is part of Liverpool. Taking both established theories and new ways of thinking, we will go out and physically explore parts of the city to see what resources (languages and images) are used to make Liverpool. At the same time, we look at the ways in which the city could be usefully more multilingual, and not only identify but also fill the gaps in the public space with students’ own translations into Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish.…

This module explores the ways in which screen media circulate and make meaning (in sites beyond Hollywood and outside the mainstream distribution channels associated with European and US films). It responds to the ways in which we understand film and other screen media today and explores theories and histories that reflect the ways in which they inform, represent and participate in cultures.

This German language module is designed for students at ex-beginner’s level who have successfully completed GRMN256 and plan to go abroad. In four weekly taught hours, it aims to enhance further skills acquired in semester one through both lessons and independent project work. Students may benefit from extracurricular activities organised by a native speaker intern, the German Society and a conversation exchange organised through our languages centre. Students will also continue practicing basic translating and interpreting skills.

This module is for students of German at an advanced level who successfully completed GRMN207. In this module, students will tackle topics of the history and culture of Germany in one hour per week, and receive detailed practical information for their year abroad and continue to practice listening, speaking and presentation skills in one hour per week. Students will continue to practice general translation skills from German into English in a variety of genres and English into German at a basic level, continue basic interpreting skills and continue practicing advanced grammar skills. In preparation for their year abroad, students will be prepared for the various pathways to cope with work placements, assistantships and studentships.

The module offers students an in-depth examination of key themes in the cultural, social and political history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1949-1990, as well questions of memory after 1990. It explores key milestones in the history and politics of the GDR (e.g. the uprisings of 17 June 1953, the building of the Berlin Wall and the demonstrations of 1989), as well as central themes within society and culture, such as gender, youth and cultural policy. Each theme will be examined through a range of texts, films and other primary and secondary resources, in order to develop a detailed knowledge and understanding of the meaning and significance of life and culture in the GDR and its relevance for contemporary eastern Germany.

The establishment of the UfA studios near Berlin in 1917 turned the German film industry, for at least a decade, into the major European film industry and into Hollywood’s main competitor in the world. Even through periods of crisis and turmoil, the German industry has remained an important site of creativity and German films have continued to garner international acclaim. This module provides an introduction to key movements in German national cinema, from Expressionist film, with its characteristic ghosts and shadows, through the ‘new wave’ of the New German Cinema to the present. From Lang to Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders, it also offers an opportunity to study key films by some of the most influential directors to have emerged from the German speaking world. From Weimar film to Fassbinder’s appropriation of the melodrama of Douglas Sirk and Wenders’ turn to the ‘road movie’, the rivalry and dialogue with Hollywood also provides an important thematic strand that runs through the module.

This second-year optional module will introduce students to the theory and practice of language teaching. Subject specific lectures will provide an overview of the evolution of teaching methodologies and approaches throughout history and up until the latest developments in the field, such as gamification or the flipped classroom approach. They will also guide students on applying these theories to different teaching contexts, taking into account variables such as language level, students’ profile, motivation, or the cognitive implications of second language learning. School placements and/or supervisions will provide the opportunity to apply the theory to an actual teaching context and to develop a teaching project.

This module provides students with an introduction to modern continental European history.   It broadens their understanding by first considering factors of a general importance in the development of modern Europe, and then looking at particular events and countries.   In this way, students will be given a grasp both of broad themes in European history – such as demographics, political units, ideologies and social change – and of the specific way history unfolded in certain times and places.

This final year module is a module for very advanced students who are approaching a near native-speaker level of German at level C1/C2 as specified in the Common European Framework of Reference. Students will learn to write in a variety of genres in German. Students will further improve their interpreting skills in class. Listening skills will be practiced both in class and in their own time. Students will be introduced to debate and present a topic and use various oral skills, often inspired by a previous listening exercise.

This is the second module which makes up the final-year programme in the German language. Like GRMN311, it focuses on improving communication skills in written and spoken German. Further writing genres as well as listening skills will be practiced during Textarbeit, and more debating skills will as well as employability skills and presenting will be practiced during the oral class and assessed in an oral exam. The third hour is dedicated to translating.

This module gives students the opportunity to carry out independent research in an area of interest to them. The topic should be related to one of the research specialisms of members of staff in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. Students are expected to take the initiative in planning, researching and writing the dissertation. Supervision and guidance will be provided from a member of staff in the Department.

Fiction is a place where unreal things can happen…

This module looks at the genre of the fantastic, the cross-over between real and unreal, and marvellous in some of the best known works of German-language literature: the Grimms’ fairytales; ‘Blond Eckbert’, a ‘fairytale’ invented by Ludwig Tieck; and ETA Hoffmann’s Der Sandmann (The Sandman), a text dealing with madness and magic. We will also look at some modern versions of classic fairytales.

Close reading of the set texts will be paired with a range of critical analysis including contemporary approaches including disability studies and queer readings, as well as established frameworks by theorists such as Propp, Bettelheim, Bottigheimer and feminist critics (Warner, Tatar). The module will also introduce key theories with a particular emphasis on Todorov’s theory of the fantastic and Freud’s theory of Das Unheimliche (‘the Uncanny’).

This module will introduce students to approaches to memory and to a body of textual, visual, material representation of terror that has become a key focus for critical analysis in recent cultural studies. It will provide a context in which students can engage in systematic comparisons between European, Latin American and East Asian experiences and representations of social and political trauma. It will also encourage students to reflect systematically on the political and ethical implications of literary, material, digital and cinematic representations of traumatic histories. You will have the opportunity to study in depth and compare examples of representation through different media and across different national and linguistic boundaries. Lectures provide background both to the main theoretical approaches, and to specific representations. In weekly seminars, you will work on the case studies covered in class, and on related materials. Assessment is on the basis of a poster and an essay.

This module introduces students to the theory and practice of translation at an advanced level. Students will develop an understanding of theoretical issues surrounding translation, applying this knowledge both to their own translations and to existing texts; gain insight into the professional practice of translation; and enhance their advanced language skills in both their target language(s) and English across a range of different text styles.

This module is offered to students of Chinese, French, German and Spanish. Students studying two languages may, subject to the agreement of the relevant tutors, choose to follow seminars in both languages. Please contact the module convenor in advance to make arrangements if you would like to take up this option.

Students wishing to take this module should normally have achieved an average of 60% or above in their second year language modules. MODL311 is a prerequisite for MODL312: students will normally be required to achieve 60% or above in MODL311 in order to progress into MODL312. Students are not required to take both modules in the same language.

The module engages with comics and graphic novels as increasingly relevant media in contemporary transcultural processes, notably in the emerging of memories and rewriting of History. Students will develop critical skills to read stories in words and images, an understanding of the different genres and forms of graphic narratives in the 21st century, and practical (i.e. writing) skills to engage with the expanding relevance of comics in the cultural industries. Moving across a series of linguistic and cultural contexts in which comics have been developed and translated since the 20th century, the module considers comics and graphic novels as tool of communication and self-narration across languages and cultures.

This module aims to investigate the German language in its social context, examining its different varieties in the recent past and today. We will discuss the role of such language varieties in defining and constituting individual and group identity.

With films such as Nigendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa, 2001), Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) and Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others, 2005), German film has once more been greeted with international acclaim. However, in contrast to the ‘art house’ film-making of the New German Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, today’s ‘post-Wall’ German cinema is resolutely commercial, employing genres and forms familiar to international audiences. This module offers an examination of key developments in German film since the 1990s. It traces the rise and international success of a German variant of the ‘heritage’ film in which the trauma of German history in the twentieth century – through the Third Reich, German division and the urban terrorism of the 1970s – is reimagined and mined as the source cinematic narratives. The module also explores a return to an ‘art-house’ film-making preoccupied with questions of realism and representation in the work of Andreas Dresen and the so-called Berlin School of film makers. All films are available with subtitles and the module is suitable both for students of German and students without German who are interested in film and its relation to society.

This module gives students the opportunity to produce an extended translation of a previously untranslated text. Students will also formulate a translation brief/pitch, which their translation will seek to fulfil. This is an independent project in which student take the initiative in planning, researching and writing. Expert supervision and guidance is provided by members of staff in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. As well as translating their text, students also produce a self-reflective commentary explaining and justifying the overall translation strategy. If you enjoy the challenge of translation and the creative possibilities offered by language, and if you are particularly suited to independent research, then this is the module for you.

MODL311 is a pre-requisite for MODL312: students will normally be required to achieve 60% or above in MODL311 in order to progress into MODL312. Students are not required to take both modules in the same language.