Deutsche Kultur und Literatur

Introduction to German-language culture and to the reading of German texts (both fiction and non-fiction). The course consists of two parts:

1. Lecture course/Theory: Comparative introduction to German civilisation and German-language culture. Introduction to linguistic, formal, thematic, and literary analysis of texts. Through the interpretation of German-language texts and selected excerpts and their literary, historical, and socio-cultural contextualization, the course offers a cultural-historical and literary-historical introduction to the development of German-speaking countries from the Middle Ages to the present day.
2. Exercises: Reading exercises, linguistic, formal, and thematic analysis, and interpretation of German texts based on selected excerpts. The exercises further develop and deepen the topics addressed in the main course.

Introduction to German-language culture and literature. Reading comprehension of German texts; progressive acquisition of spoken and written German. Development of reading skills and comprehension up to CEFR level A2. Analysis of cultural and literary events from a historical perspective. 

Teaching Methods and Learning Activities
Lectures combined with exercises including grammatical and lexical explanations. Individual and class-based reading of  texts. The course is taught initially in French, progressively switches to German.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

Texts:

• The texts to be analyzed vary from year to year and will be made available on the course UV page.

Dictionaries:

• PONS Wörterbuch Studienausgabe: Französisch–Deutsch / Deutsch–Französisch
• Langenscheidt Handwörterbuch: Französisch–Deutsch / Deutsch–Französisch
• Online dictionaries

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

Dr. Mathias Meert (course titular; theory, 2nd semester): mathias.meert@ulb.be
Office hours: Tuesday, 1:00–2:00 p.m., Room AZ4.105 – by appointment only.
Joan Mwangovya (Exercises), joan.mwangovya@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• written examination
• Other

written examination

Other

Active participation in the lecture course and exercises. Written exam on course materials studied and discussed in class. 

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

Weighting of course components

1. Continuous evaluation: active participation, preparation of assignments and homework, and in-class tests during the semester (40%).
2. Written examination in May/June (60%).

August/September resit session: Resit covering both written exam and in-class tests if the grades are insufficient or if the student has not attended the respective components of the course unit.

Language(s) of evaluation

• German