This course offers a survey of modern German literary, cultural, and intellectual currents, as well as an introduction to argumentation and analysis. Students will examine numerous issues and questions central to defining the complexity of modern German culture. R5A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R5B satisfies the second half.

Migrant labor has supported economic growth and political transformations for hundreds of years. But why and when does migrant labor become a “crisis”? Why do working migrants continue to dominate political party agendas and play an outsized role in discussions of nation, economy, and security? Despite arguments that the US was “built by immigrants,” migrant work continues to be questioned, opposed, and defended. This course will investigate the debates at the intersection of migration and labor, with special attention paid to gender, sexuality, and race. Discussions will be grounded in the discussion of literary and moving image works and cover a wide range of subfields including domestic and care work; skilled labor; unpaid labor; undocumented work; artificial labor; and sex work. At the same time, students will develop study habits and analytical skills that will enable them to more effectively navigate the demands of a university environment. This is a writing intensive class that will emphasize revisions, originality, and critical thinking. Students will engage in close readings and interpretations of texts in thoughtful written work that builds over the course of the semester. We will develop and practice the appropriate analytical and compositional strategies for engaging with a variety of genres and types of media, including critical essays, novels, short stories, blog posts, op-eds, poetry, film, television, video games, virtual reality, and digital-born archives. In order to situate our discussions within a specific historical and geographic context, we will focus on works by authors and filmmakers from Germany, the Netherlands, and the US. At the same time, students will be encouraged to read and think outside of this context. Readings will be drawn from Fatma Aydemir, Fatih Akin, Ursula Biemann, R.W. Fassbinder, Hella Haasse, Franz Kafka, Marx, and Hito Steyerl.

Requisites

• Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement.

Credit Restrictions

Students will receive no credit for GERMAN R5A after passing GERMAN 5A.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills