Roger Russi
Visiting Assistant Professor of German
Email: rrussi@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.3443
Office Hours: GRMN 0202: Mon, Fri 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.; CMPL 0200: Tues 4:15 - 5:15 p.m.; Fri 1:30 -2:30 p.m.
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Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
GRMN 3201 - Intermediate German
This is an integrated program consisting of four hours of classroom instruction and some work in the language laboratory. To develop the four skills, students take three basic courses: grammar review including composition and conversation segments, contemporary German culture and life, plus literature.
Required texts: Jamie Rankin and Larry D. Wells: Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik (5th ed., Houghton & Mifflin) (book, workbook, and lab manual); Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Der Besuch der alten Dame (Diogenes Verlag); Ulrike Gaidosch: Zur Orientierung: Basiswissen Deutschland (4th ed., Hueber Verlag)
LNGSummer 2009
GRMN 3202 - Intermediate German
This is an integrated program consisting of four hours of classroom instruction and some work in the language laboratory. To develop the four skills, students take three basic courses: grammar review including composition and conversation segments, contemporary German culture and life, plus literature.
Required texts: Jamie Rankin and Larry D. Wells: Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik (5th ed., Houghton & Mifflin) (book, workbook, and lab manual); Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Der Besuch der alten Dame (Diogenes Verlag); Ulrike Gaidosch: Zur Orientierung: Basiswissen Deutschland (4th ed., Hueber Verlag)
LNGSummer 2009
GRMN 3203 - Intermediate German
This is an integrated program consisting of four hours of classroom instruction and some work in the language laboratory. To develop the four skills, students take three basic courses: grammar review including composition and conversation segments, contemporary German culture and life, plus literature.
Required texts: Jamie Rankin and Larry D. Wells: Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik (5th ed., Houghton & Mifflin) (book, workbook, and lab manual); Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Der Besuch der alten Dame (Diogenes Verlag); Ulrike Gaidosch: Zur Orientierung: Basiswissen Deutschland (4th ed., Hueber Verlag)
Summer 2009
GRMN 3205 - Inter German for Singers
GRMN 3206 - Inter German for Singers
GRMN 3301 - Advanced Grammar & Comm
This course meets two hours per day to analyze and provide advanced grammatical structures, provide intensive written and oral language training, offer insights into German ways of perception, and teach strategies of communication and language learning. For this course, some additional language and computer laboratory work is required.
Required text: Hilke Dreyer and Richard Schmitt: Lehr- und Übungsbuch der deutschen Grammatik – aktuell (1st ed. 2009, Hueber Verlag)
Summer 2010, Summer 2011
GRMN 3302 - Modern German Literature
This course will use short German prose to enrich cultural context, increase vocabulary, reinforce grammatical and communicative structures, and introduce methods of literary interpretation.
Required texts: E.T.A. Hoffmann (and Peter Braun): Der Sandmann. Text und Kommentar (Suhrkamp BasisBibliothek); Frank Wedekind (and Hansgeorg Schmidt-Bergmann): Frühlings Erwachen. Eine Kindertragödie. Text und Kommentar (Suhrkamp BasisBibliothek)
Summer 2010, Summer 2011
GRMN 3303 - German Culture & Society
This course introduces aspects of German culture, society, and politics to facilitate a better understanding of contemporary Germany. The reading and writing assignments also aim at increasing vocabulary and reinforcing grammatical as well as communicative structures.
Required text: Christine Betz, et al.: Die moderne Gesellschaft in Deutschland. Strukturen und Wandlungsprozesse (2007, C.C. Buchner Verlag)
Summer 2010, Summer 2011
GRMN 3305 - Adv German For Singers
GRMN 3306 - Adv German For Singers
CMLT 0200 - Folk-Fairy Tales of the World
Once Upon A Time ... Folk Fairy Tales Of The World
Tell me a story! We will examine the complex, inter-connected fairy tale traditions found in every society. Comparing fairy tale variants from around the world-including Japan, China, India, Near East, Africa-we will explore their convoluted and fertile relationships as observed in the rise of fairy tale collections in 15th-century Europe, reaching a culmination in the Brothers Grimm collection, often synonymous with the fairy tale itself. To attain a more dispassionate critical perspective we will explore theoretical approaches to the fairy tales through authors such as Zipes, Bottigheimer, Tatar, and Rölleke, and conclude by examining modern variants in prose, poetry, and film.
Spring 2013
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 2010, Winter 2011, Winter 2012, Winter 2013
GRMN 0103 - Beginning German Continued
Beginning German Continued
This course is a continuation of GRMN 0101 and 0102. Increased emphasis on communicative competence through short oral presentations and the use of authentic German language materials (videos, songs, slides). Introduction to short prose writings and other documents relating to contemporary German culture. Five class meetings per week. (GRMN 0101 plus winter term GRMN 0102, or equivalent) 5 hrs. lect.
Spring 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 2009
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 2010, Fall 2012
GRMN 0202 - Intermediate German Continued
Intermediate German Continued
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 0201) 4 hrs. lect.
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 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, Fall 2010, Fall 2011
GRMN 0310 - Holocaust in Literature
Representing the Unthinkable: The Holocaust in Literature (in English)
Can the Holocaust be described in words? Can images represent the horrors of Auschwitz? In this seminar we will explore the literary and artistic representations of the Shoah, their mechanisms, tensions, and challenges. We will approach the issues of Holocaust representations by considering a significant array of texts that span genres, national literatures, time, narrative and poetic styles, and historical situations. Readings will include theoretical texts on witnessing, memory, post-memory, and trauma by authors such as Sherman Alexie, Jean Amery, Hannah Arendt, Ilan Avisar, Tadeusz Borowski, Paul Celan, Chaim Kaplan, Ruth Kluger, Primo Levi, Bernhard Schlink, Art Spiegelman, Peter Weiss, and Eli Wiesel. 3hrs. sem.
Spring 2012
GRMN 0313 - Rereading Fairy Tales
How Grim Are the Grimm Brothers? Rereading Fairy Tales
This course focuses on modern (re)readings of the Grimm brothers' fairy tales. Starting with a discussion of the brothers' lives and the cultural setting at the beginning of the nineteenth century, we concentrate on contemporary issues in these tales. Various approaches to literature allow us to create many spheres of interpretation. Historical, textual, psychological, and philosophical readings generate an array of possible meanings for modern audiences.
Fall 2009, Fall 2011
GRMN 0350 - 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. (Formerly GRMN 0304) 3 hrs. lect.
Fall 2012
GRMN 0500 - Independent Study
Independent Study
(Approval only)
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013
GRMN 0700 - Senior Research
Honors Project
(Approval only)
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013
LITP 0101 - Intro to World Literature
This course is an introduction to the critical analysis of imaginative literature of the world, the dissemination of themes and myths, and the role of translation as the medium for reaching different cultures. Through the careful reading of selected classic texts from a range of Western and non-Western cultures, students will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the particular texts under consideration, while developing a critical vocabulary with which to discuss and write about these texts, both as unique artistic achievements of individual and empathetic imagination and as works affected by, but also transcending their historical periods. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
CMP CW LITSpring 2010