Contemporary German Drama

This course will introduce our students to one of the three German literature's genres: German Drama. The course will present a broad outline of German Drama and focus on selected famous German playwrights and their representative plays. The course is open to German majors/minors and those who are simply interested in enhancing and deepening their understanding of German cultures and politics.

The objectives of this course are: 1) to continue students’ development of literary and theatrical abilities; 2) to introduce students to one of German languages’ most dynamic arts; 3) to gain experience in reading and analyzing selected dramatic German plays while learning to distinguish the characteristics of each type of cultural and sociopolitical elements within the context of each historical period a social and ideological tendencies. To those ends, students will be involved in a variety of activities more or less simultaneously: reading, analyzing, tracing possible sources of particular themes and motifs, discussing, and interpreting individual plots. The class will be taught in German. This course will also use video and Internet (WWW, newsgroups and e-mail).

The course will expose students coming with different disciplinary perspectives to important areas of study, comparative theater studies and comparative culture studies and encourage them to explore and apply different disciplinary approaches to these areas. German dramatic studies will center around a cyber expedition to German theater and culture. Since different disciplinary approaches to drama and culture are important, the Internet also provides students with a chance to see the way different disciplines handle drama and culture studies in a very concrete and direct way. This will help students choose disciplinary approaches that they favor over others. 

Prerequisites: German 201. Students with some background in German and/or in theater and drama studies, are particularly encouraged to attend. 

REQUIRED TEXTS

Brecht, Bertolt. Die Dreigroschenoper. Berlin: Suhrkamp, 1952.
Zuckmayer, Carl. Des Teufels General. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1998.
Brecht, Bertolt. Der kaukasische Kreidekreis. Berlin u. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1963.
Frisch, Max. Chinesische Mauer. Eine Farce. (Version für Paris) Berlin u. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1972.
Dürrenmatt, Friedrich. Der Besuch der alten Dame. Zurich: Diogenes, 1998.

REFERENCE TEXTS

Wöhrle, Dieter. Bertolt Brecht. Die Dreigroschenoper. Frankfurt am Main: Dieterweg, 1996.
Hahnengreß, Karl-Heinz. Bert Brecht. Der kaukasische Kreidekreis. Eine Einführung in das epische Theater. Stuttgart: Klett, 1998.
Poppe, Reiner. Carl Zuckmayer. Des Teufels General. Hollfeld: Bange, 1997.
Möller, Hans-Martin. Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Der Besuch der alten Dame. Munich: Mentor, 1980.

Woche 2 (30. August-3. September)
Film Die Dreigroschenoper.

Woche 3 (6.-10. September)
Diskussion

Woche 4 (13.-17. September)
Zuckmayer, Carl. Des Teufels General.
Einführung

Woche 5 (20.-24. September )
Film Des Teufels General

Woche 6 (27. September-1. Oktober)
Diskussion

Woche 7 (4.-8. Oktober) 
Brecht, Bertolt. Der kaukasische Kreidekreis.
Einführung

Woche 8 (11.-15. Oktober) 
Film Der kaukasische Kreidekreis.

Mid-Term Grades Due (UG)   Mon  18. Oktober
(18.-19. Oktober)  Herbstferien  (keine Schule!)

Woche 9 (20.-22. Oktober) 
Diskussion

Woche 11 (1.-5. November)
Film Chinesische Mauer. Eine Farce.

Woche 12 (8.-12. November)
Diskussion

Woche 13 (15.-19. November)
Dürrenmatt, Friedrich. Der Besuch der alten Dame.
Einführung

Open registration for Fall Begins    Mon  15. November

Woche 14 (22.-24. November)
Film Der Besuch der alten Dame.

(25.-26. November) Thanksgiving Holidays (keine Schule!)

Woche 15 (29. November-3. Dezember)
Diskussion

Reading Days     Mon/Tue   6.-7. Dezember

FINAL EXAMS:       8. Dezember
Zeit: 7.00-9.00 abends  Ort: Guilford 317

Grades Due: Dec 17 (11am)