Germanic Studies

The Cultural History and Politics of Postwar Germany (GRMN 32124) Spring 2027
“The premier demand upon all education is that Auschwitz not happen again,” announced the critic Theodor Adorno on German radio in 1966. By this he meant not only the education of children, but also the re-education of the German people. After World War II, with the Third Reich in ruins and confronted with the horrors of the Holocaust, Germans were forced to reckon with their past as they attempted to build the country anew, entering into a period of dramatic political and cultural reorientation. This course traces the history of “rebuilding” Germany after 1945, from the immediate postwar period through the East/West division to reunification to today. Drawing on a broad range of source material, including film, literature, government documents, art, and architecture, this interdisciplinary seminar studies the limits and possibilities of conceiving of Germany as a post-war Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle), and its implications for German cultural production. We will pay special attention to the way that debates from the postwar era still reverberate today, for instance in racial discrimination and the rise of the German far-right. This course is required for all Germanic Studies majors and minors. Readings and discussion in English. Pending interest and enrollment, this course will also have an optional LxC section in German. (Sophie Salvo)

The Human Form in Contemporary Art (GRMN 33324) Autumn 2027
In a present where humanity faces planetary challenges with an unprecedented urgency, the human form – what Marx calls our "genus-being" (Gattungswesen) – has become a focus for artistic production of all sorts. The thesis of the class is this: Contemporary art is an actualization of the human form that doesn't presuppose the form, doesn't take it for granted, but instead troubles the form and poses it as a question. The class considers presentations of the form in performance art (Tino Sehgal, Anne Imhof, Wu Tsang), sculpture (Kara Walker, Cai Guo-Qiang, Cecilia Vicuña), writing (Friederike Mayröcker, Layli Long Soldier, Tracie Morris), sound (Maria Chavez, Christina Kubisch, Samson Young), and painting (Michael Armitage, Tammy Nguyen, Mark Bradford). The class contextualizes these artists with theoretical work by Sylvia Wynter, Donna Haraway, Bruno Latour, Peter Sloterdijk, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Jane Bennett, Achille Mbembe, Eva Horn, and Emanuele Coccia. Readings and discussion in English. (Florian Klinger)

Literature as Therapy: The Poetry of Rilke (GRMN 38626) Winter 2027
Lady Gaga has a Rilke quote tattooed on her arm; Jimin of the band BTS showed off a temporary tattoo of a Rilke poem in 2023; Gwyneth Paltrow cited Rilke when asked what gave her “spiritual sustenance”; Oprah Winfrey’s website features the volume Rilke on Love and Other Difficulties on her website. This list could go on and on. Rilke’s writing is famous for its lyrical intensity. The pathos of his poetic language appears to “move” and “touch” readers in an unparalleled way. Soldiers going to fight in WWII carried volumes of Rilke's poetry in their knapsacks and letters of fallen soldiers contained quotes from his verse (“Who talks of victory? To endure is all.”) Editions of his writings, such as Rilke for the Stressed, Words of Consolation, Letters on Loss, Grief, and Transformation attest to Rilke being viewed as someone who can provide The Poet’s Guide to Life. This course introduces students to Rilke's poetry and correspondence as well as excerpts from his writings on art to critically examine his language’s ability to express our innermost feelings and to offer solace. Along the way, we will also situate his work in the context of “modernism,” and we will consider it in the framework of bibliotherapy (reading therapy, poetry therapy). Readings and discussions in English. All students welcome! (Margareta Ingrid Christian)

For an extended listing of classes and descriptions, visit the Germanic Studies course page. 
 

The Germanic Studies Specialization allows students to structure their coursework and thesis around the study of Germanics within MAPH. Students who complete the following requirements will receive a Germanic Studies transcript notation:

• MAPH Core Course (Foundations of Interpretive Theory)
• Three graduate-level Germanic Studies courses in the department at the advanced undergraduate/graduate level (GRE) or PhD seminar level (GRR); AND an additional course which can be a departmental course, a cross-listed course, or another course on a Germanics topic
• Advanced-Low Proficiency in German/Yiddish/Norwegian as determined by an in-person assessment with the Language Program Director or successful completion of the OLA's Advanced Proficiency Assessment
• An MA thesis or project in Germanic Studies under the supervision of a departmental faculty member OR a substantial (20 page) research paper for one Germanics course

Please direct any questions you may have about specializing in Germanics to maph-support@uchicago.edu.
 

"'Not About Oneself': Incomplete Recognition, Representation, and Sovereignty in Walter Ruttmann’s Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Grobstadt"
Katherine Frost, MAPH '26
Advisor: David Levin

“Lang’s New World: Weimar and the Impact of Fritz Lang on German Identity”
Dante Fresse, MAPH ‘25
Advisor: James Lastra

“Land and Class Consciousness: Deifying Socialism in The Workers Maypole”
Yuchen Fu, MAPH ‘25
Advisor: Catriona Macleod