Studies in Film, Media, and Visual Culture (305-0-23)

Topic

German Contributions to World Literature: German C

Instructors

Erica Weitzman
847/467-1849
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall, Rm 3333
Office Hours: Tues, 3:30-5:30 PM and by appointment

Meeting Info

Kresge 3364 Slavic Seminar Rm: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

German society has a particular relationship to the critique of culture. Ever since the philosopher Immanuel Kant described enlightenment as a person's "emergence from their self-imposed immaturity," writers and thinkers in German have engaged in a perpetual analysis of the values, practices, and cultural products of their time, with the aim of understanding, evaluating, and, at times, even changing or revolutionizing the culture in which they lived. This class looks at the history of cultural critique through a reading of major texts in German cultural criticism from the late eighteenth century to today, as well as selected texts outside the German critical tradition but indebted to it. We will both examine the history and development of this tradition - from critiques of religious dogma and satires of romantic poetry to mass-media analyses and critiques of contemporary pop culture - and analyze individual case studies for what they have to say about the art and culture of their day, as well as, importantly, how they say it. Students will also have the opportunity to reflect on aspects of their own culture and create a work of original cultural critique based on class models.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area