The Weimar Republic: Culture and Literature (MLG3016)

MODULE CODE

MLG3016 MODULE LEVEL

3

MODULE TITLE

The Weimar Republic: Culture and Literature

LECTURER(S) Ulrike Zitzlsperger

CREDIT VALUE

15 ECTS VALUE 7.5

PRE-REQUISITES

MLG 2001 (or equivalent or native-speaker competence)

CO-REQUISITES

none

DURATION OF MODULE 1 Term

TOTAL STUDENT STUDY TIME

10 hours per week, including 10x1.5 hour seminars, plus revision and assessment (total 150 hours)

AIMS

The module's main aims are:

-          To give an overview of the historical and political background that shaped the Weimar Republic

-          To provide detailed insight into a range of cultural developments (e.g. in art, film, architecture and in daily life) that gave the Twenties their reputation as a boom period of the arts

-          To acquaint students with literary responses to the period between the First and the Second World War

-          To illustrate the complex reasons that led to the failure of the Weimar Republic

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILO's)

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

Module Specific Skills:

1         Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the major historical and cultural developments of the period as discussed in the seminars and an understanding of their significance in the broader context in which they were produced.

Discipline Specific Skills:

2         After initial input from the course tutor, apply and evaluate critical approaches to the material under analysis independently.

3         Argue at length and in detail about an aspect of the topic, supporting the argument with evidence from the text and with opinions from secondary literature.

4         Use a range of critical terminology, applying it to independently researched material as well as to material introduced by the course tutor.

5         Access and use critically printed and, where appropriate, electronic learning resources identified as useful by the course tutor; find independently and evaluate critically other relevant resources.

6         Analyse texts, films and documents in a variety of genres and styles, showing awareness of their relation to the social, historical and generic context in which they were written, and present the results orally / in writing.

7         Use available library and electronic resources to investigate a given aspect of the subject

8         Using recommended bibliographical tools, present a critical bibliography giving a balanced overview of an aspect of the subject

Personal and Key Skills:

9         Negotiate individual assessment tasks and/or topics with course tutor, identifying own areas of strength and interest.

10     Undertake independent researches on the basis of a taught course.

11     Manage own learning time and learning activities with minimal guidance from course tutor. 

12     Present information and arguments on a designated or negotiated topic to a group of listeners and respond to questions and responses from the group.

13     Adopt a critical approach to the selection and organisation of a large body of material in order to produce, to a deadline, a written or oral argument of some complexity.

14     Present a cogent and sustained argument orally and in writing, in English , on an aspect of the subject of the student's own choosing, and selecting appropriate methods of exposition

15     Using bibliographical material provided, select, plan and carry out a programme of study leading to an essay / presentation on a chosen topic, to a specified length and deadline.

16     Work in a group to reach an agreed statement on a disputed or controversial aspect of the subject

17     Demonstrate ability to combine a variety of IT skills in researching and reporting on a topic.

LEARNING/TEACHING METHODS

Details of Learning and Teaching Methods:

There are no lectures at this level. They are replaced by seminars, which demand a high level of student participation. Students are expected to invest a considerable effort in preparation for the seminars, though tutors give guidance about the topics to prepare. Students negotiate the topic of their assessed work with their tutor and then research the topic independently.

ASSIGNMENTS  & ASSESSMENTS

Formative or % Contribution:

Form of Assessment: Size of the assessment  e.g. duration/length

ILO's assessed by this assessment:

Feedback method:

Formative essay

As term 2 option:

Exam preparation exercise

Detailed essay plan and abstract

Exam-question

750 words

750 words

1, 7, 9, 10, 15, 17

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 15

Short written feedback

Essay (100%)

As Term 2 option:

Take-away exam

Essay

Exam

2500 words

2500 words

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 15

DML feedback sheet

Short group presentations and Protokoll

  5-10 minutes each

2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17

Discussion with module leader

SYLLABUS PLAN

(1)     Introduction: The Weimar Myth, The First World War and new beginnings

(2)     Historical background: 1919-1933

(3)     Party Politics and Daily Life

(4)     Reflections on the First World War: Erich Maria Remarque's Im Westen Nichts Neues

(5)     Art and Architecture: John Heartfield, George Grosz and Bauhaus

(6)     Weimar Film: Symphonie der Grossstadt (Ruttmann)

(7)     Weimar Film: ‘From Caligari to Hitler'

(8)     Weimar and Literature I: New Worlds (Erich Kästner's Fabian)

(9)     Weimar and Literature II: Journalism and Poetry

(10) The Weimar Myth: Film, Journalism and Literature

INDICATIVE LEARNING RESOURCES

Indicative basic reading list:

Erich Kästner, Fabian, Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1998.

Erich Maria Remarque, Im Westen nichts Neues, Köln: Kiepenheuer, 1998.

Peter Gay, Weimar Culture, London: Penguin, 1998.

Indicative web based resources e.g. Webct:

Webct, including a list of further reading and films

Other resources:

handouts

 

DATE OF LAST REVISION 24 April 2009