Dr. Lawrence F. Glatz

Please read the content of this syllabus carefully.

It contains most of the general information which you will need for this course.

You will find here information on attendance, required texts and links to various WWW resources, the objectivesand student outcomes of the course, format, student evaluation and examinations.

To contact me outside of class or office hours, you can make arrangements by phone or email. In order to contact all students individually and as a group, please check your MetroConnect account regularly.

The semester is broken into the assignments which we will cover, outlined in the Course Calendar.

Please also review the policies of the Modern Languages Department at: http://www.mscd.edu/mdl/about/policies.shtml.

The NC (No Credit) option is available without the instructor's signature until February 17, 2009, and with the instructor's signature until April 6, 2009.

Prerequisite: Nine semester hours of German above 1020, or permission of instructor.
(Senior standing necessary, if used for Senior Experience requirement).

This course will introduce you to the exciting development of German literature since the Medieval period by intense study of important poetic works by numerous major German authors. Students will gain an understanding of the major forces involved in the creation of important works of the German language in several centuries. The course provides an introduction to the principles of literary analysis and offers opportunities to apply them in meaningful ways on works of generally short length by these important authors.

Because providing a basis to appreciate the language of individual authors is an important objective of this course, the class will work intensively with short poems and excerpts of longer works for homework and in class.

Students will demonstrate by the presentation of one poem and their term paper on three poems by one author an ability to interpret the language and meaning of poetry. The course also offers the opportunity to hone research and individual presentation skills.

Upon completion of this course the student should be able to:

1) Discuss the lives and works of major German authors in German;

2) Demonstrate the ability to read with comprehension;

3) Demonstrate the ability to analyze works for important characteristics;

4) Demonstrate the ability to interpret and evaluate works in relation to historical background and cultural values of the period.

In order to contact all students individually and as a group, please check your MetroConnect account regularly.

Introduction to German Poetry: A Dual-Language Book, Gustave Mathieu & Guy Stern (Ed.), Dover, 1991. ISBN: 0-486-26713-X is suggested; the poems and sound files of the poems included will be online. 

[Abbreviation used in Course Calendar: IGP, page numbers]

Poems are also linked from the Course Calendar and as 4200lyrik1.pdf and 4200lyrik2.pdf packets here.

Lecture Notes are at: http://www.lawrenceglatz.com/germ4200/lecture/4200lecture.htm

We will also use the Projekt Gutenberg and Wikipedia (Deutsch) websites extensively and links in the course calendar are required reading.

A good (current, large) German-English/English-German dictionary is also recommended! The LEO Dictionary is also good.

Students will have a final course grade based on the following work:

15% Homework Questions completed in German for each assigned poem (see: Fragen…)

10% Attendance and Participation

5% Selection of one poem (with approval) for which the text, information on the author, vocabulary, and thematic information is submitted for class reading

15% Presentation in German on the one poem by one major author

20% Term Paper in German on aspects of three poems by one major author

(5-6 pages; author, poems and general topic to be approved in advance)

15% Midterm Examination

20% Final Examination

MDL Departmental Grading Scale:

Letter Grade = Numeric Range

A = 90% to 100%
B = 80% to 89%
C = 70% to 79%
D = 60% to 69%
F =   0% to 59%

Calculations with a decimal ending in .01 to .49 are rounded down to the whole number;
Calculations with a decimal ending in .50 to .99 are rounded up to the whole number.

This scale is MDL Departmental policy.

Minimum 5 full pages; Maximum 6 pages (not including poems, cite lines; attach poems at end);

double spaced, 12 point / Times Roman font; 1 inch margins, full justification; use of Umlaut.

• Attendance is a must!
• Each student is allowed 3 unexcused absences.
• An excused absence is one in which the student can notify the instructor, in advance if possible, in advance concerning a circumstance of greater importance or serious illness.

  Attendance is very important owing to participation in the discussions and learning from the various activities and discussions.

The course material will be tested in one Midterm examination consisting of short answer and short essay questions. The examination covers material to that date and is worth 15% of the total course grade. The Final examination during Finals week will be comprehensive, covering the entire semester, and count for 20% of the total course grade.

1) Was ist das Thema des Gedichts? (Nur bis zu fünf Wörtern!)

2) Was ist der Inhalt des Gedichts mit einem Satz?

3) Ist etwas über den Autor oder die Autorin wichtig, um das Gedicht besser zu verstehen?

4) Hat das Gedicht Reim? Wenn ja, was ist das Muster? (z.B. abba, aabb, abba, abb, aba)

5) Was sind die wichtigsten Bilder des Gedichts?

6) Was sind die 3 wichtigsten Wörter des Gedichts? Warum?

7) Ist eine Zeile "der Schlüssel" zum Gedicht? Warum?

8) Was ist die Verbindung zwischen dem Titel und dem Gedicht?

9) Sind Sie mit dem Ende des Gedichts zufrieden? Warum?

10) Hat das Gedicht Ihnen gefallen? Warum ja oder nein?