Francophone, Italian and Germanic Studies: Germanic Studies, BA

The study of German provides a deep understanding of language and cultures. Building from basic language competency to synthesizing significant literary works, historical context and current media and politics, the German Concentration of the FIGS major and the German minor offer a comprehensive education through engaged, active learning in a combination of core courses with a wide range of electives. Students’ learning experiences can be broadened and applied in study abroad as well as internship programs.

The minimum total course units for graduation in this major is 32. Double majors may entail more course units.

For information about the General Education requirements, please visit the College of Arts & Sciences Curriculum page.

College General Education Requirements and Free Elective
Foundational Approaches + Sectors 1 + Free Electivces20
Major Requirements3
Seeing Differently: Transcultural Approaches to Francophone, Italian, and Germanic Studies
Intermediate German II
Texts and Contexts
Texts and Contexts
Electives
At least 4 c.u of electives must be courses taught in German in the department:4
Handschrift-Hypertext: Deutsche Medien
Handschrift-Hypertext: Deutsche Medien
Business German: A Macro Perspective
Business German: A Macro Perspective
Business German: A Micro Perspective
Business German: A Micro Perspective
Places of Memory. Lieux de memoire. Erinnerungsorte.
Seeing Green: Environmentalism in Germany and Austria
German Youth Cultures
Writing in Dark Times: German Literature
Crime and Detection
Topics in German Literature
Kafka's Creatures
German Literature after 1945
Decadence
Topics in German Culture
Reading the Twentieth Century
The Long Nineteenth Century: Literature, Philosophy, Culture
The Long Eighteenth Century
Early Modernism
Additional Electives 25
First-Year Seminars
Jews and China: Views from Two Perspectives
Babylon Berlin: German Crime Books
Politics of Commemoration
Climate Change and Community in Indonesia
German courses taught in English
Freud: The Invention of Psychoanalysis
Freud's Objects
Marx, Marxism, and the Culture of Revolution
Nietzsche's Modernity and the Death of God
Berlin: History, Politics, Culture
Metropolis: Culture of the City
The Fantastic and Uncanny in Literature: Ghosts, Spirits & Machines
Fashion and Modernity
German Cinema
Jewish Films and Literature
Women in Jewish Literature
Jewish American Literature
Yiddish Literature and Culture
Translating Cultures: Literature on and in Translation
Water Worlds: Cultural Responses to Sea Level Rise & Catastrophic Flooding
Forest Worlds: Mapping the Arboreal Imaginary in Literature and Film
Liquid Histories and Floating Archives
Queer German Cinema
Comparative Cultures of Sustainability
Comparative Cultures of Resilience and Sustainability in the Netherlands and the United States
Is Europe Facing a Spiritual Crisis?
Sustainability & Utopianism
Global Sustainabilities
Witnessing, Remembering, and Writing the Holocaust
Autobiographical Writing
Topics German Cinema
Northern Renaissance Art
Writing About Art Seminar
Introduction to Literary Theory
Global Modernism Seminar
The Vikings
Origins of Nazism: From Democracy to Race War and Genocide
Topics in Dutch Studies
The Trouble with Freud: Psychoanalysis, Literature, Culture
Environmental Humanities: Theory, Method, Practice
Public Environmental Humanities
The Panorama Experience
Inside the Archive
Topics In Aesthetics
Additional courses taught in German at the 2000-level or higher
Courses taught in German at approved study abroad programs
Independent Study
Independent Study-Senior
Major-related courses in FIGS or other departments
Coursework in another foreign language relevant to the student's interests
Total Course Units32
1

You may count no more than one course toward both a Major and a Sector requirement. For Exceptions, check the Policy Statement.

2

The remaining 5 electives can be any combination of: 

  • Additional courses taught in German beyond GRMN 1500 (Texts and Contexts).
  • Courses at approved study abroad programs.
  • Honors Research Project.
  • Independent Study.
  • Major-related courses, either in FIGS or in other departments.
  • Coursework in another foreign language relevant to the student’s interests.
  • First-Year Seminars counted retroactively.

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2024 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.