The German Studies department offers a wide range of modules in German literature, film and culture, all of which require a minimum of A level or equivalent in the German language. All of our courses have a particular emphasis on modern German culture (including film) – but there are also opportunities to explore aspects of German culture in the Age of Enlightenment and the Age of Revolution.

All of our courses are designed to maximise your language skills whilst developing your understanding of contemporary German culture and society. Each year, we also play host to a writer-in-residence from Germany who gives readings and runs seminars focusing on their work. Your studies will be supported by the work of our specialist subject librarian who not only oversees what is one of the UK’s most substantial collections of German material, but also manages our extensive system of web-based research tools and digital resources.

Example modules

Writers, Media and Society in Contemporary Germany

The module has three central aims. First it provides an introduction to the history of post-war Germany (principally the Federal Republic), but also the
German Democratic Republic. Second, it considers the development of the mass media in Germany and in particular the role played within the media by writers and intellectuals. Third, the course aims to foster the analytical skills required to examine diverse types of literary and filmic text.

German Culture in the Age of Revolution 1789-1848

The guiding theme of this course is the developing sense of German nationhood, against the background of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars. Work in term 1 will be focussed on the emergence of modern conceptions of the state, the idea of the nation and the classical ideal as an aesthetic and political model (ancient Greek art and literature, Athenian democracy, Roman republicanism), exemplified in Germany from Winckelmann to Goethe, Schiller and Hölderlin.

All modules in principle are available only to full-year students, although exceptions may be made in special circumstances for students only able to attend the Autumn/Spring Term.