Florence Feiereisen
Professor of German
- Office
- FIC 230
- Tel
- (802) 443-5820
- ffeierei@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- Fall 2024: Tuesday 12:30-1:30 & Wednesday 8:45-9:45
Courses Taught
CMLT 0700
Current
Upcoming
Senior Thesis
Course Description
Senior Thesis
A senior thesis is normally completed over two semesters. During Fall and Winter terms, or Winter and Spring terms, students will write a 35-page (article length) comparative essay, firmly situated in literary analysis. Students are responsible for identifying and arranging to work with their primary language and secondary language readers, and consulting with the program director before completing the CMLT Thesis Declaration form. (Approval required.)
Terms Taught
FYSE 1446
Current
Acoustic Ecology
Course Description
Acoustic Ecology
Acoustic ecology is the study of sounds in relationship to life and society. An interdisciplinary field, it explores the social, cultural, scientific, and ecological aspects of the sonic environment. In this seminar we will gain auditory literacy by experiencing the world through sound (e.g., noise, speech, music). Topics will include the impact of noise on society; the urban experience through sound (especially Berlin and New York); aural architecture; production and reception of speech; representations of sound in literature and the visual arts; and even emotional responses to certain songs. Sources include texts by neuroscientists, literary scholars, linguists, anthropologists, musicologists, and others; music, and films. 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
GRMN 0101
Upcoming
Beginning German
Course Description
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. 6 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
GRMN 0102
Beginning German Continued
Course Description
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)
Terms Taught
Requirements
GRMN 0103
Current
Beginning German Continued
Course Description
Beginning German Continued
This course is a continuation of GRMN 0101. Increased emphasis on communicative competence through short oral presentations and the use of authentic German language materials. Introduction to short prose writings and other documents relating to contemporary German culture. Five class meetings per week. (GRMN 0102, or equivalent) 5 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
GRMN 0360
Upcoming
German & Its Cultural Contexts
Course Description
German in Its Cultural Contexts
The course invites students to explore social and cultural developments in Germany from 1871 to the present day from a historical perspective. We begin by examining Germany’s birth as a nation state and end by looking at recent events in today’s reunified Federal Republic. The course aims to lay the foundation for a critical understanding of German culture in its contemporary global context. Writing the biographies of fictional Germans throughout the semester, students will follow the radical changes in German society during the (long) twentieth century and gain an understanding how ‘ordinary’ people in Germany might have lived. A montage of written and visual materials will expose students to elite, mainstream, and marginal cultures alike. Taught in German. (Formerly GRMN 0310) (GRMN 0202 or placement) 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
GRMN 0370
German Linguistics
Course Description
German Linguistics (in German)
This course simultaneously presents an overview of the major subfields of linguistics as they apply to the German language and a discussion of how today's Standard German evolved. We will pay attention to important concepts in phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. In addition to these theoretical and descriptive aspects, we will discuss sociolinguistic issues such as language and gender and regional variations within Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxemburg. Lectures and discussions will be conducted in German. (Formerly GRMN 0340) 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
GRMN 0475
Sounds and the City
Course Description
Sounds and the City: German Urban Cultural History of the 20th and 21st Century
In this course, we will seek to understand the cultural history of 20th and 21st century Germany by examining its soundscapes. Analyzing recordings of selected events, we will discuss how history can be portrayed as an acoustic experience. Sound profiles of city spaces before, during, and after World War II and the Cold War will illustrate sound's impact on German society and its ability to create utopian/dystopian spaces. This line of inquiry invites us to rethink noise, silence, language, identity, power, and-considering the history of recording technologies-the nature of knowledge itself. We will consider works by literary scholars, historians, anthropologists, and musicologists. (Formerly GRMN 0410) 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
GRMN 0500
Current
Upcoming
Independent Study
Course Description
Independent Study
(Approval only)
Terms Taught
GRMN 0700
Current
Upcoming
Senior Research
Course Description
Honors Project
(Approval only)
Terms Taught
IGST 0710
Current
Upcoming
Glbl Gender&Sexuality Snr Thes
Course Description
Global Gender and Sexuality Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Only)
Terms Taught