Germany's Stories - Visions of Past & Present

The approach of the sixtieth anniversary marking the end of World War II is accompanied by vastly changing perceptions of how Germans experienced the Allied occupation and the early postwar years. The question of German guilt has been replaced with the term German suffering: a term that adheres to the expulsion from the Eastern outskirts of the former Third Reich, the area bombing of major German cities, as well as hunger and prostitution. This class illuminates various German stories that challenge simplified understandings of victims and perpetrators in Germany today. While the first part of this class provides students with historical and cultural background information, students will discuss contemporary issues at stake during the second part of the semester. These topics include (but are not limited to): the university tuition debate, the marketability of graduates on the international job market, the dietary and health movement, perceptions and depictions of foreigners, and the changing role of women in German society today. All readings and class discussions are in German.

Required Text: The instructor will provide a coursepack.