Familiarity with several of Germany’s best known and creative authors from the 18th-20th centuries broadens our understanding of the rich and complicated cultural history of Germany and helps situate Germany in its broader European context. We will meet these writers — Goethe, Schiller, Heine, Rilke, Hesse, Thomas Mann, and Brecht in their contemporary circumstances and against the backdrop of modern German history. Our course will function in a seminar format with short reading assignments, informal introductions and discussion. It is taught in English with bilingual texts and resources. Knowledge of some German is welcome and helps in the appreciation of our texts but is neither expected nor necessary.
