611: Survey of German Literature to 1700, 3 cr.
Prerequisites: Senior standing or consent of instructor
Calomino, Lec 1 TR 11:00-12:15
This course deals with representative works of literature from the oldest records to the early eighteenth century. Emphasis will be placed on the Carolingian period and early Germanic literature; a courtly aesthetic as developed and reflected in literary genres from the 12th and 13th centuries; late medieval narrative, philosophical and dramatic texts; the Reformation and its implications for German literature and culture throughout the 16th and 17th centuries; preservation of inherited literary modes of expression and the development of new forms during the Baroque and early Enlightenment. Recommended for background reading: F.Heer, The Medieval World: Europe 1100-1350 (Mentor MW 1040) and/or Frenzel, Daten deutscher Dichtung, I (DTV 3003). The objective of the course is to familiarize students with early German literature in addition to its cultural, sociopolitical, and artistic background. The course will concentrate on the development of lyric, epic, and dramatic forms especially through interpretation of major works and writers of the different periods. Lectures based on reading and background materials are in German; classroom discussion and written examinations may be in either German or English. In addition to daily required participation, each student will give an oral presentation on a specific topic. Reading list will include selections from Old High German heroic and religious literature, Das Nibelungenlied, courtly “Minnesang”, Parzival, Der Ackermann aus Böhmen, and texts by Luther, Sachs, and Grimmelshausen.
