Bettina Matthias
Professor of German
Email: bmatthia@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.3248
Office Hours: Mon 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; Thurs 3:00-4:00 p.m., and by appointment
Download Contact Information
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
GRMN 3104 - Diction &Culture Singers&Coach
The performance component carries one unit of credit and includes weekly private coachings; performance classes with a focus on expression through correct diction and vocal/musical style, as well as acting for the operatic stage; one public recital; one public performance of the summer's opera project; and an intensive audition training workshop at the end of the program, offered by a German opera agent with years of experience and expertise in the field. Repertoire will include German Lieder, oratorio, and operatic arias for the recital. Students are expected to arrive with a minimum of three songs or arias memorized; additional assignments and work focused on the opera production will be announced during the summer. The following course numbers are only different because they correspond with the language level each student is enrolled in, but all students in the following courses are in the same group, taking the same performance classes, and participating in the same projects and workshops.
Summer 2012
GRMN 3105 - Elementary German for Singers
Daily activities include three hours of classroom instruction, plus additional work in the computer lab. Emphasis will be placed on the grammatical structures of German, conversational survival skills, diction and pronunciation, as well as music vocabulary.
Summer 2009, Summer 2010, Summer 2011, Summer 2012
GRMN 3106 - Elementary German for Singers
Daily activities include three hours of classroom instruction, plus additional work in the computer lab. Emphasis will be placed on the grammatical structures of German, conversational survival skills, diction and pronunciation, as well as music vocabulary.
Summer 2009, Summer 2010, Summer 2011, Summer 2012
GRMN 3194 - Diction &Culture Singers&Coach
The performance class focuses on all aspects of delivering an informed performance of German repertoire: diction, cultural competence including vocal style and literary interpretation, and acting on and for the German stage. The Performance Class carries one academic credit.
Summer 2012
GRMN 3204 - Diction &Culture Singers&Coach
The performance component carries one unit of credit and includes weekly private coachings; performance classes with a focus on expression through correct diction and vocal/musical style, as well as acting for the operatic stage; one public recital; one public performance of the summer's opera project; and an intensive audition training workshop at the end of the program, offered by a German opera agent with years of experience and expertise in the field. Repertoire will include German Lieder, oratorio, and operatic arias for the recital. Students are expected to arrive with a minimum of three songs or arias memorized; additional assignments and work focused on the opera production will be announced during the summer. The following course numbers are only different because they correspond with the language level each student is enrolled in, but all students in the following courses are in the same group, taking the same performance classes, and participating in the same projects and workshops.
Summer 2012
GRMN 3304 - Diction &Culture Singers&Coach
The performance component carries one unit of credit and includes weekly private coachings; performance classes with a focus on expression through correct diction and vocal/musical style, as well as acting for the operatic stage; one public recital; one public performance of the summer's opera project; and an intensive audition training workshop at the end of the program, offered by a German opera agent with years of experience and expertise in the field. Repertoire will include German Lieder, oratorio, and operatic arias for the recital. Students are expected to arrive with a minimum of three songs or arias memorized; additional assignments and work focused on the opera production will be announced during the summer. The following course numbers are only different because they correspond with the language level each student is enrolled in, but all students in the following courses are in the same group, taking the same performance classes, and participating in the same projects and workshops.
LNGSummer 2012
GRMN 3404 - Diction &Culture Singers&Coach
The performance component carries one unit of credit and includes weekly private coachings; performance classes with a focus on expression through correct diction and vocal/musical style, as well as acting for the operatic stage; one public recital; one public performance of the summer's opera project; and an intensive audition training workshop at the end of the program, offered by a German opera agent with years of experience and expertise in the field. Repertoire will include German Lieder, oratorio, and operatic arias for the recital. Students are expected to arrive with a minimum of three songs or arias memorized; additional assignments and work focused on the opera production will be announced during the summer. The following course numbers are only different because they correspond with the language level each student is enrolled in, but all students in the following courses are in the same group, taking the same performance classes, and participating in the same projects and workshops.
Summer 2012
FYSE 1099 - Cultural History of the Piano
Piano, Piano: The Cultural History of the Piano
Why do so many people have a piano in their living room? In this seminar we will try to answer this question by exploring the cultural history of the piano. As we study the piano’s special place in our (musical) culture, we will learn about the technical as well as social aspects of this instrument’s developments over the past 300 years. We will hear virtuosos like Franz Liszt and Keith Jarrett, study milestones of the pianistic repertoire, and discuss representations of this instrument and its artists in literature, the arts, and film. 3 hrs. sem.
Fall 2010, Fall 2012
GRMN 0101 - Beginning German
Beginning German
Geared toward quick and early proficiency in comprehension and free expression. Grammatical structures are practiced through group activities and situational exercises (e.g., role-playing games and partner interviews). Active class participation by students is required and will be counted toward the final grade. Since this is an integrated approach, there will be laboratory assignments but no special drill sections. Classes meet five times a week. Students take GRMN 0102 as their winter term course. 5 hrs. lect.
Fall 2010, Fall 2011
GRMN 0102 - Beginning German Continued
Beginning German Continued
This course is the intensive continuation of GRMN 0101 which will further the development of your language skills in an immersion-like environment, and will include bi-weekly cultural readings in English. Classes meet for two hours each morning, then lunch at the language tables, in addition to afternoon and evening activities (e.g. film screenings). Completion of this course is a prerequisite to enrollment in GRMN 0103. (GRMN 0101 or equivalent)
Winter 2012
GRMN 0111 - Accelerated Beginning German
Accelerated Beginning German
This class is aimed at students who wish to begin the study of German on the fast lane. In one semester, we will cover a year's material, the equivalent of GRMN 0101, 0102, and 0103. We will develop all four skills in an intensive, immersion-style environment, allowing students to continue German in the regular second-year classes in the fall. Classes meet five times per week, including two 75-minute meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and an additional drill session. Students are expected to fully participate in all departmental activities. No prerequisites. 6 hr lect./disc./1 hr. drill
Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013
GRMN 0150 - German Cultural History
Tall Blondes in Lederhosen? A German Cultural History (in English)
In this course students will be introduced to Germany and its cultural history broadly conceived. Faculty will lecture on areas of special expertise, covering the period from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. We will embed important concepts, developments, events, and cultural artifacts in their broader (European) context. This course will lay a foundation for students wishing to study European
history, German, European Studies, Art History, Music, Philosophy, or Literature.
Spring 2013
GRMN 0201 - Intermediate German ▲
Intermediate German
GRMN 0201/0202 is a culture-based intermediate language sequence that focuses students' attention on intercultural aspects of language acquisition, vocabulary expansion, reading and writing strategies, and a review of grammar. It moves from a focus on issues of individual identity and personal experiences to a discussion of Germany today (GRMN 0201), explores national identity in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and supplies an overview of cultural history, literary achievements, and philosophical traditions in the German-speaking world (GRMN 0103 or equivalent) 4 hrs. lect.
Fall 2013
GRMN 0304 - Advanced Writing Workshop
Advanced Writing Workshop
With its emphasis on grammatical structures, this course is designed to develop students' writing skills, bridging the 0200-level courses and the advanced 0300 and 0400 levels. From initial sentences and short paragraphs to a final term paper the course tries to assist individual students with their specific problems with German compositions. In addition to frequent written assignments, students also read excerpts from several German papers and magazines in order to familiarize themselves with a variety of narrative styles.3 hrs. lect.
Fall 2009
GRMN 0315 / CMLT 0315 - Hotel and Modern Experience
"A Home Away From home": The Hotel and the Modern Experience (in English)*
In this course we will examine the hotel as a quintessentially modern social and cultural space. Sex and love, death and crime, money and leisure, and architecture and commerce find a special "home away from home" in the hotel, a quality that has inspired the cultural imagination for generations. Theories by G. Simmel, S. Kracauer, and Th. Veblen will help explain the complex dynamics between time, space, and money underlying the hotel's special aura. By “reading" real and fictional hotels in the arts and media (E. Hopper, Th. Mann, A. Hailey, St. Zweig), we will show the hotel's complex significance as a symbol of modern life. 3 hrs sem.
Spring 2013
GRMN 0338 - German Comedy
German Comedy
Even though the German literatures abound with comedies, humor is rarely mentioned as a German trait. In this course we will challenge the notion of “humor” as a universal, and examine the general ramifications that frame the comical as a cultural phenomenon. Drawing on theoretical texts such as Freud’s Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (1905), we will discuss the German sense of humor and its manifestations in everyday life as well as in literary representations. Readings include texts by G. E. Lessing, F. v. Kleist, H. v. Hofmannsthal, and P. Süskind.
Spring 2011
GRMN 0403 - Weimar Germany & Its Legacies
Weimar Germany and Its Legacies
This course examines the brief and intense period of artistic creativity and political upheaval in Germany's first democracy, the Weimar Republic. Beginning with Germany's humiliating defeat in World War I, we will cover the implications of the Versailles Treaty, the Dolchstoß (stab-in-the-back) theory, the stillborn revolution of 1918-1919, and the growing political polarization and apathy leading to Hitler's rise to power. Contrasting the political decline with the increase in cultural productivity, we will discuss the artists' outcry for spiritual rebirth, examining the development of Expressionism, Dadaism, and New Objectivity in literature, visual arts, theater, and film. Readings include texts by Lasker-Schüler, Toller, Fallada, Kafka, Brecht, and Thomas Mann.
Fall 2011
GRMN 0412 - The Berlin Wall Then and Now
The Berlin Wall: Then and Now
From 1961 to 1989 the Berlin Wall was a physical reminder of the ideological divide separating East and West Germany. We will examine the wall's inception, its history, and the role it played in the political, cultural, and literary landscapes of divided Germany. We will also investigate the evidence of a persistent "inner wall" that continues to separate East and West Germans after political reunification. Our texts will interrogate the perspectives of both East and West and will include journalistic accounts, speeches, films and documentaries, and fiction from writers such as Christa Wolf and Peter Schneider.
Fall 2009
GRMN 0418 - German Theatre in Action
German Theatre in Action
In this course, students will prepare and stage a full production of a German play. After five weeks of seminar-style academic discussions of this work in context (the genre, the author, the topic, the time) and aspects of theatrical performance (theory), the class will prepare the show for the last week of the semester (two rehearsals/ week). Students will make informed staging decisions as a group and come to understand performance as a powerful mediator in the never-ending process of negotiating literary meaning. (At least two 0300+-level courses or by waiver) 3 hrs. lect/disc.
Spring 2010
GRMN 0440 - German Theatre in Action ▲
German Theatre in Action
In this course, students will prepare and stage a full production of a German play. After five weeks of seminar-style academic discussions of this work in context (the genre, the author, the topic, the time) and aspects of theatrical performance (theory), the class will prepare the show for the last week of the semester (two rehearsals/ week). Students will make informed staging decisions as a group and come to understand performance as a powerful mediator in the never-ending process of negotiating literary meaning. (At least two 0300+-level courses or by waiver) 3 hrs. lect/disc. (Formerly GRMN 0418)
Fall 2013
GRMN 0460 - Fin-de-siecle Vienna
Memory Matters: National Identity in Contemporary Germany and Italy
In the course we will explore the crucial role of memory in the formation of national identity, and focus on the troubled remembrance of the Nazi period in Germany and the Fascist period in Italy. Using primary sources in their original language, students will study the ways in which the memory of this difficult past decisively informs contemporary national identity. Topics will include commemorative sites, national symbols, autobiographical memory, traumatic memory, and trans-generational memory. Classes will alternate between a plenary English session and discussions in either German or Italian. (Formerly GRMN 0481) 3 hrs. sem./disc.
Spring 2012
GRMN 0500 - Independent Study ▲ ▹
Independent Study
(Approval only)
Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
GRMN 0700 - Senior Research ▲ ▹
Honors Project
(Approval only)
Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
INTL 0702 - EUS Senior Thesis
European Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Winter 2011, Winter 2012