Fall 2024 German Courses Announced

The German Program has posted its courses for Fall 2024. In addition to courses at all beginning and intermediate levels, students may consider an advanced course on German “Krimis,” a Conversation and Theater workshop course for students at all levels, a Fairy Tales course that double dips toward the General Education requirement in “Great Works,” and a community engagement course open to students at all levels interested in group-teaching elementary school students basic German vocabulary and conversation in a “LEGO Autobahn” after-school enrichment program.

Students can also start to plan ahead for the popular “German Grammar Bootcamp” as well as the Munich and Konstanz August 2025 summer abroad programs.

Prospective students should take a short free online World Language Placement Test as first step. Perspectives and all current students seeking advising should reach out to Dr. Thomas Herold (heroldt@montclair.edu).

Fall 2024 – GERMAN Courses

Beginning German I & II and Intermediate German

As the essential introductory series, these courses promise not only to teach you the basic skills for communication with German speakers, but also to introduce socio-historical topics of central concern to German culture, from Germany’s role in the European Union to the German school system to daily life in Berlin and other cities. To enhance your comfort in interacting with German speakers, courses will provide formal and informal opportunities to read authentic texts and listen to German native speakers, as well as write and speak about yourself, your experiences, and your opinions.

GERM10101  MR 12:45-2:00, Glore-Crimmins, CRN 40533, UH 3054
GERM10102  MR 2:15-3:30, LaFountain, CRN 43196, UH 2031
GERM10103  TF 9:45-11:00, STAFF, CRN 45013, CS 110
GERM10202 TF 11:15-12:40, Herold, CRN 45910, TBA*
*If this section is full, please ask heroldt@montclair.edu for a permit!
GERM12101 MR 2:15-3:30, Glore-Crimmins, CRN 41621, UH3054

Advanced German Through Detective Stories

The German-speaking world has been home to some of Europe’s most significant historical developments and some of the world’s most renowned detective works, be it Kafka, Fritz Lang, or the birth of the regional detective novel genre from Alpenkrimis to Nordsee-Krimis. This course will feature some of the highlights of the detective genre from the 20th-century, using these films and texts as springboards for cultural discussions in which you will have the chance to gain comfort in speaking, polish your writing, and refresh your German grammar.

GERM22301 MR 3:45-5:00, LaFountain, CRN 45911, UH2026

Practice in Spoken German: Conversation and Theater Workshop

This course is open to all students who have at least one semester of German experience and are interested in improving their conversation skills and working on their speaking comfort and confidence. In the first part of the semester, we will read a few German plays together and discuss their content and staging possibilities. We will then pick one and put on a show for the German campus community (and beyond). No acting experience necessary, but a willingness to try out new things. If you cannot register, please ask heroldt@montclair.edu for a permit.

GERM30901 TR 5:30-6:45, Herold, CRN 45913, CS214

Fairy Tales from Grimm to Disney

This course examines the oral roots and multimedia afterlife of German fairy tales documented by the Brothers Grimm in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Core fairy tale themes and motifs will be discussed, as will later treatments of the narrative material, and theoretical approaches to understanding fairy tales from structuralist, psychoanalytical, feminist, and poststructuralist perspectives. After in-depth analysis of the Grimm fairy tales, the course explores Romantic literary fairy tales by Ludwig Tieck and E.T.A. Hoffmann, as well as twentieth-century appropriations of the fairy tales by Disney and others. Concluding discussions will engage with the pressing question of how contemporary individuals can mobilize these multiform cultural tales to help establish new social roles and identities. *** Meets Gen Ed 2002 – Great Works and their Influences. This course “double dips,” counting for German Major/Minor AND Gen Ed. Cross listed with GRIN 226.

GERM22601 MR 9:45-11:00, LaFountain, CRN TBD

Spark for German – Cooperative Education

This 1-credit course provides an opportunity to bring German to the community. A group of MSU students teaches German to local elementary school kids in an after-school enrichment program. Students must be available Wednesday afternoons.

GERM38501 W 2:30-4:15 Lafountain, CRN 45925

Preview: Spring 2025

GERM205: German Grammar
This “grammar bootcamp” is open to all students who have taken at least GERM101 and are interested in improving their grammar skills. It makes grammar fun (according to students who have taken the class before) and accessible and features daily Kahoots.

Preview: Summer 2025

Summer study abroad: Language course in Munich or Konstanz in August, where you can earn three German language credits at all levels. Scholarships available.