Roman Graf
Professor of German; Head, Brainerd Commons
Email: graf@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5213
Office Hours: Mon 10:10-11:00 a.m.; Thurs12:30-1:30 p.m. and by appointment
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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 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 2009
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 2009
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 2009
GRMN 3305 - Adv German For Singers
GRMN 3306 - Adv German For Singers
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 2010, Fall 2011, 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 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013
GRMN 0330 - Rethinking Literature
Rethinking Literature
This course focuses on the "literary" as a force within cultural discourse. A thorough understanding of literary periods and genres serves as the background for a critical investigation of modern theoretical approaches to literary texts. Discussing major works of German literature, students explore the notion of "literariness" in its various cultural contexts. 3 hrs. lect/disc.
Fall 2010
GRMN 0465 - Reasonable Doubts ▲
Reasonable Doubts
This course gives an introduction to various responses to the idea of "Enlightenment" and the "Age of Reason" in eighteenth century German literature and culture. Starting with definitions of the term "Aufklärung" students will gain familiarity with proponents and critics of this notion as well as modern twentieth century approaches to it. We will focus on works by Kant, Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Lenz, and Kleist and the critical reflections of Adorno, Habermas, Lyotard, and Foucault, among others. (Formerly GRMN 0430) 3 hrs. sem/disc.
Fall 2013
GRMN 0500 - Independent Study ▲ ▹
Independent Study
(Approval only)
Spring 2009, 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)
Spring 2009, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
WAGS 0460 / LITP 0460 - Sexing the Canon
Sexing the Canon
Human sexuality has been the topic of scientific and artistic explorations for centuries. Regulatory norms of individual cultures enable or deny the expression of specific forms of sexuality in life and literature. As Foucault states: "What is at issue, briefly, is the over-all 'discursive fact,' the way in which sex is 'put into discourse.' In this course we will explore and compare the ways theories of sexuality from different times and places inform and determine our readings of literature. Theoretical texts form the basis for discussions of the works of authors such as Plato, Boccaccio, Choderlos de Laclos, Stifter, Henry James, Woolf, Genet, James Baldwin, Wittig, Thomas Mann, and Santos-Febres. 3 hrs. sem.
Spring 2009, Spring 2011
