HISTORY OF GERMAN CULTURE 1

The course of History of German Culture (1 and 2, each of 6 credits, one in the first and one in the second year) belongs to the curriculum German Literature of the Master's Degree Programme European, American and Postcolonial Language and Literature. According to the aims of the Master's Degree and to the areas Literatures and Cultures, the course provides the ability to consolidate advanced critical and methodological instruments and a solid knowledge of literary texts and debates in their cultural and historical context.

Course objectives include: 1) The ability to critically analyze some of the most significant theoretical and literary texts from the cultural debate surrounding Kulturkritik in German-speaking countries, from the French Revolution to the fall of the Berlin Wall (for the detailed program, see the "Contents" and "Reading List" sections); 2) The capacity to critically understand the cultural phenomena addressed and to contextualize them within the framework of the society that produced them; 3) The acquisition of robust critical and methodological tools; 4) The ability to understand and analyze texts and contexts with independent judgment; 5) The enhancement of communication and production skills in the original language through precise text reading, in-class discussion and presentations, and in-depth work on academic writing in German; 6) The ability to interact with international professors within the framework of seminars and conferences on the topics covered.

A Bachelor’s degree and a specific number of ECTS credits in German Language and Literature, in accordance with the admission requirements established by the LLEAP Master’s Degree regulations.
All other students must adhere to the regulations of their respective degree programs.

Discontents of Civilization: 'Kulturkritik' in German Cultural History (1789-1989)

At the close of the Enlightenment, in the wake of the traumas of the French Revolution, various German-speaking authors initiated a radical revision of the concept of "reason." No longer understood solely as a driver of emancipation, reason began to be perceived as an ambiguous instrument of power within bourgeois dynamics. This course analyzes this "discontent with modernity" through two centuries of critical reflection, tracing its trajectories in the works of diverse authors such as Novalis, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Sigmund Freud, and Botho Strauss.
The investigation focuses on programmatic texts and hybrid literary forms - ranging from lectures and essays to the "intellectual novel" and the feuilleton - exploring the controversial link between cultural critique and nationalist impulses at crucial moments in German history, up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The objective is to highlight both the analytical potential of these critical positions and their heterogeneous ideological developments, including their more problematic outcomes.

Novalis: Fragmente und Studien, Die Christenheit oder Europa, Reclam, Stuttgart 1986, pp. 67-89 (or online text:
http://www.zeno.org/Literatur/M/Novalis/Essay/Die+Christenheit+oder+Europa );
Friedrich Nietzsche: Unzeitgemässe Betrachtungen (Erstes Stück: David Strauss: der Bekenner und der Schriftsteller (http://www.nietzschesource.org/#eKGWB/DS );
Friedrich Nietzsche: Die Feindschaft der Deutschen gegen die Aufklärung (in: Morgenröthe, drittes Buch, 197: http://www.nietzschesource.org/#eKGWB/M-197 );
Thomas Mann: Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen, Fischer, Frankfurt a.M. 2001 (capitolo „Bürgerlichkeit“, pp. 120-165);
Hugo von Hofmannsthal: Das Schrifttum als geistiger Raum der Nation, in: Hofmannsthal, Hugo von: Reden und Aufsätze, in: ders.: Gesammelte Werke in zehn Einzelbänden, a cura di Bernd Schoeller con la collaborazione di Rudolf Hirsch, Frankfurt a.M. 1979, vol. 3, pp. 24-41 oppure testo online: http://ds.ub.uni-bielefeld.de/viewer/image/97830/1/ );
Sigmund Freud: Das Unbehagen in der Kultur, in: Studienausgabe IX , Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 1970,(or Reclam edition);
Thomas Mann: Deutschland und die Deutschen, in: Essays (vol. 5: Deutschland und die Deutschen 1938-1945), a cura di Hermann Kurzke e Stephan Stachorski, Frankfurt a.M. 1996, pp. 260-281;
Arthur Schnitzler: Das Wort/Professor Bernhardi/Fink und Fliederbusch, in: Gesammelte Werke. Die dramatischen Werke, Bd. 2, Frankfurt a.M. 1981;
Botho Strauss: Anschwellender Bocksgesang (8.2.1993, online: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13681004.html );
Botho Strauss: Der letzte Deutsche (2.10.2015, online: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2015-41.html ).
2.
Olivier Agard/Barbara Beßlich (Hrsg.): Kulturkritik zwischen Deutschland und Frankreich (1890–1933) in SCHRIFTEN ZUR POLITISCHEN KULTUR DER WEIMARER REPUBLIK, Peter Lang,Frankfurt a.M. 2016, vol. 18 (pp. 9-21; 291-305);
Barbara Beßlich: Wege in den „Kulturkrieg“. Zivilisationskritik in Deutschland 1890-1914, Darmstadt 2000, (pp. 1-44);
Stefan Breuer: Ästhetischer Fundamentalismus. Stefan George und der deutsche Antimodernismus, Darmstadt 1996 (Einleitung, pp.1-10; Präludium, pp. 11-19; Drittes Kapitel: Die Kultur und ihre Feinde, pp. 184-240, Die Paradoxie des ästhetischen Fundamentalismus, pp. 241-244);
Barbara Beßlich/Cristina Fossaluzza: Kulturkritik der Wiener Moderne (1890-1938), Winter, Heidelberg 2019 (p. 2-21).
Georg Bollenbeck: Eine Geschichte der Kulturkritik. Von Rousseau bis Günther Anders, Beck, München 2007.

The exam consists of an oral interview designed to assess:

For Module 1 students:
- Reading and comprehension skills regarding the German-language texts included in the syllabus;
- Knowledge and analysis of the themes covered during the course and the bibliography;
- The ability to present and discuss a Thesenpapier (two theses) based on a selected quotation from the primary literature.

For Module 2 students:
- Reading and comprehension skills regarding the German-language texts included in the syllabus;
- Knowledge and analysis of the themes covered during the course and the bibliography;
- The ability to present and discuss a Thesenpapier (four theses) based on a selected quotation from the primary literature.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

The interview is assessed with a score of 0-25, the paper with a score of 0-5.
Honours will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and understanding with reference to the syllabus, excellent judgement and communication skills

Lectures, seminar discussions, lectures in collaboration with international lecturers.