German Studies

German Language for Beginners

An intensive language course taught in small groups. By the end of the year you will be able to read German and use the language in a variety of social contexts (CEFR A1/2).

20

Core

Understanding German History and Culture*

This core German content module will introduce students to the history, society, politics, and culture of the German-speaking world. You will focus on the major historical events (such as the building of the Berlin Wall, and the importance of the Greens to contemporary Germany) and key texts and visual material. You will also acquire a theoretical toolkit that will enable you to analyse these major events and cultural forms. The module complements the core German language modules (which also cover some aspects of culture) studied at Level 1, in addition to serving as the solid foundation for more advanced study and specialisation at Level 2 and onwards.

20

Core /
Optional

Resist! The Art of Protest in Berlin and Amsterdam

Berlin and Amsterdam – two capitals at the forefront of protest and alternative lifestyles from the early twentieth century to today. This module looks at the German and Dutch cultures of resistance by exploring topics such as the radical student movement of the 1960s, the political party Alternative für Deutschland, feminism and LGBTQ+, protests against slavery as well as the more recent discussions surrounding “Zwarte Piet” and more light-hearted forms of protest such as Dadaism. 

Open to all, taught in English

German Language Post A-Level

In this intensive language course you will build on your existing German language. You will encounter more sophisticated grammar and extend your reading and speaking skills. By the the end of the year you will have gained B1/2 fluency.

Understanding German History and Culture*

This core German content module will introduce students to the history, society, politics, and culture of the German-speaking world. You will focus on the major historical events (such as the building of the Berlin Wall, and the importance of the Greens to contemporary Germany) and key texts and visual material. You will also acquire a theoretical toolkit that will enable you to analyse these major events and cultural forms. The module complements the core German language modules (which also cover some aspects of culture) studied at Level 1, in addition to serving as the solid foundation for more advanced study and specialisation at Level 2 and onwards.

Resist! The Art of Protest in Berlin and Amsterdam

Berlin and Amsterdam – two capitals at the forefront of protest and alternative lifestyles from the early twentieth century to today. This module looks at the German and Dutch cultures of resistance by exploring topics such as the radical student movement of the 1960s, the political party Alternative für Deutschland, feminism and LGBTQ+, protests against slavery as well as the more recent discussions surrounding “Zwarte Piet” and more light-hearted forms of protest such as Dadaism. 

Open to all, taught in English

Intersections: Text, Image, Thought in the French-speaking world

This module will focus on two important French texts per semester (with 'text' taken in its largest sense of book, film, art work, piece of music, cultural product, etc.). Each text will form the basis for a close reading, followed by analyses using French cultural, historical, literary and critical theory approaches as well as adaptations into other media (such as film, art and music) where appropriate. The module will be taught and assessed in English, but the materials will be made available in both French and English, with French students required to use and cite the French materials. The aim of the module is to introduce students to significant French texts and to illustrate and explore a range of possible critical approaches to them, including cross-media or intermedial reinterpretations.

An Introduction to the Social and Political History of Iberia & Latin America 

This module examines the historical trajectory of Spain, its emergence as a state in the Iberian Peninsula, its imperial expansion overseas into Latin America, the eventual independence of the colonies and their development and consolidation into the various modern-day states we know today. The module will explore the social, political, linguistic and cultural characteristics of these states and its peoples and highlight the importance of understanding their complex history in the formation of their identities, their languages and their cultural and political values. The module has a particular emphasis on the importance of myths and how, regardless of their historical veracity, they can condition behaviours, mould identities and shape future history.

Comparative Visual Cultures

Visual literacy is a key skill and visual culture remains one of the most accessible and important modes through which we represent, understand and critique our world. This module provides an introduction to some of the major trends within visual cultures in European languages, and the development of visual media. Students will work on a selection of visual texts across national frameworks and historical periods to examine their conditions of production, distribution and reception and to explore how meaning is constructed and critiqued in visual culture. In seminars we will engage with detailed analysis of core texts and with critical materials. Students will be encouraged to consider country-specific, transnational and comparative trends through a critical lens. 

Understanding Spanish and Latin American Culture

Why has the gypsy culture of Andalucía been so crucial to ideas about Spanish identity and how and why has this changed? How did gender politics and the role of women change after the Franco dictatorship in Spain? How and why was modernity experienced as a crisis in Latin America? How does class struggle shape Latin America? What does Revolution really mean in the context of Latin America? These are just some of the questions that will be explored in this module. This course examines the literature and culture of modern Spain and modern Spanish-speaking Latin America. In each semester, three cultural products from one of these two areas are studied, and may include poetry, theatre, narrative fiction or film. We will build up a picture of the cultural history of Spain and Latin America, as well as looking at key themes to emerge from selected literary, dramatic and/or cinematic outputs. By focussing on different genres in each semester, students will be able to explore different types of cultural product and to develop analytical skills gradually by moving from shorter pieces to a larger body of writing.Students taking post-A Level or equivalent will study primary texts in their original Spanish version. Beginners will study primary texts in English translation. This module is strongly recommended as a foundational core course for further study in Spanish and Latin American Studies.

The Soviet Union 1917-1991

Overview of the formation, development and collapse of the USSR, beginning from c.1900. Covers historiographic problems in analysing primary materials, ideological problems in dealing with the revolutionary movement and subsequent developments, debates over the nature and trajectory of the USSR and its place in the wider world.

German Language Intermediate (for ex-Beginners)

This course builds on the skills and knowledge acquired in the German Language for Beginners’ module. You will learn how to construct more sophisticated sentences in German; you will be able to communicate in different registers; and you will learn how to discuss a range of sophisticated new topics relevant to the German-speaking countries. You will also be prepared for spending time in a German-speaking country during your Year Abroad. At intermediate level, we help you reach a level of language proficiency equivalent to CEFR B1/B2.

German Language Higher Intermediate (for Post-Post-A Level)

The Higher Intermediate Language module is focused on preparing you to spend time in a German-speaking country during your Year Abroad. You will develop the confidence to write and present academic material in German and to tackle CV writing in German. You will learn how to use genuinely complex syntactic structures. (CEFR Level B2.2 / C1).

Analysing Evil: National Socialism as Ideology and Brand

National Socialism was not just an evil ideology – it was an evil ideology that had to be “sold” to the German people. The course seeks to answer two key questions: what are the central elements of this belief system, and how were they promoted, advertised, and enforced? We will look at (i) the social, political, and economic contexts from which the Nazis sought to benefit; (ii) Hitler’s personality and politico-rhetorical strategies; and (iii) the “branding” of National Socialism. Depending on staff availability, we may also look at (iv) the role of the occult – especially astrology – in the Third Reich and (v) the institutional structures – such as the SS and Himmler's “Ahnenerbe” – that underpinned this ultimately genocidal ideology as well as the Holocaust itself and testimonies of Holocaust survivors.

Exploring “Germanic” Lands: Imagined Communities, Tourist Kitsch and Contested Identities

This module looks at cultural stereotyping in television, film and literary and non-literary texts in order to analyse the ideologies of German-ness, Swissness and Dutchness they contain. Critically drawing on Benedict Anderson’s concept of imagined communities, you will be asking questions like: what happens when narratives of nation-ness are turned into advertising copy? What are the competing visions of community in today’s multicultural Germany? In preparation for your Year Abroad, you will reflect on issues of nationhood from an academic distance (via an essay), and will yourselves engage in cultural mediation and critique (through a project, which includes a translation).

Within Germanic Studies you can also opt for: 

Dutch for Beginners 

The course gives students the opportunity to learn a new but by no means difficult Germanic language. Students will discover that Dutch is an accessible language spoken by 24 million people in our neighbouring countries, and in the Dutch Caribbean. For this intensive beginners language course you will work for 4 hours a week in small groups. We cover all aspects of language learning and you will read your first short book in Dutch before Christmas. With a bit of effort and dedication you will reach a generous CEFR level A2. Students tend to really enjoy this course.

Dutch Intermediate

This module builds on the language skills you have built up during the Beginners' Dutch course in your First Year. At the end of this course you can understand and speak Dutch in common social circumstances, read all but the most complicated Dutch text without difficulty (perhaps with the occasional help of your dictionary) and write Dutch texts in both formal and informal styles. We work around a number of cultural and everyday topics and our lively conversation classes are an integral part of the course. In terms of CEFR you will have attained at least level B1.

“That Is Not My (Hi)story”: Reshaping Present-Day Netherlands and Belgium (joint Year 2 / Year 4 module)

Dutch, Belgian and British colonial legacies are no longer the forgotten pages of history. In this module, we will look at recent movements that challenge and confront the colonial past and that shape today’s diverse societies. Our material will vary from artistic responses through stories, performance and graphic novels to official representations of the nation’s history in public sites such as monuments and exhibitions. And what about Sheffield? Get ready to leave the classroom. This module contains a translation element in semester 2 in collaboration with our Writer in Residence and a professional translator.

Language and Society in Luxembourg and the French Borderlands

With a focus on the French borderlands, this course explores the status and function of the French language in relation to its speakers and to speakers of other languages. We will apply key theoretical insights to issues concerning linguistic minorities in the officially monolingual country of France, in addition to the bordering multilingual countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In this way, we will investigate how language becomes the target of struggles and debates that are embedded in broader socio-political issues. More broadly, this module underlines the necessity of questioning the presupposed homogeneity conveyed by the use of labels such as the ‘French language’ and ‘French-speaking countries’, which potentially mask the social and linguistic complexity inherent to the social world.

German Language Advanced

This advanced language module will enable you to produce fluent and accurate written and spoken German (CEFR level C1 / C2) at a highly sophisticated level using complex structures and wide-ranging vocabulary in multiple registers while employing a range of rhetorical strategies.

Comparative Critique of Consumer Culture

Critiques of consumer cultures are as old as capitalism itself. This module takes the long view, starting in the eighteenth century and tracing our conflicted identities as modern consumers into the present day. Consumerism can entail complicity in exploitative modes of production (causing poverty and displacement, and profiting from serfdom and slavery). It has been both celebrated and satirised for enabling hedonism and bad taste. And consumption has been nationalist, yet also cosmopolitan; today, it threatens our shared environment. Theory, the visual arts and literature have all been critical of capitalism. Yet, ironically, they can themselves be packaged as consumer goods. Examining a wide range of primary texts (including film and caricature) and critical reflections, you will translate and write a commentary on a historical source and submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

Modern German Thought

The modern world is characterised by contrasts. Freedom is accompanied by exploitation; enormous wealth goes hand in hand with desperate poverty; equality is undermined by old and new forms of discrimination. This world came into existence with the American and French Revolutions and with the industrial revolution, which started in Britain. Yet it is German thinkers above all who have developed the intellectual tools to analyse this development. In this course, you will look at the most important of them, including Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. You will develop an analytical toolkit that will enable you to think critically about today's world and its many tensions as well as gaining a better understanding of such recent phenomena as social media and implicit bias.

Within Germanic Studies you can also opt for:

Social Approaches to Multilingualism

This course begins by outlining key theories about multilingualism and then explores language contact and variation, language and identity and differences between individual and societal multilingualism. Students design their own research projects to examine the ways in which issues of language are linked to broader socio-political practices, policies and debates. Project topics include language and digital media, language and migration, multilingual education and linguistic landscapes in multiple sites around the world to obtain global perspectives.

“That Is Not My (Hi)story”: Reshaping Present-Day Netherlands and Belgium (joint Year Two / Year Four module)

Dutch, Belgian and British colonial legacies are no longer the forgotten pages of history. In this module, we will look at recent movements that challenge and confront the colonial past and that shape today’s diverse societies. Our material will vary from artistic responses through stories, performance and graphic novels to official representations of the nation’s history in public sites such as monuments and exhibitions. And what about Sheffield? Get ready to leave the classroom.

This module contains a translation element in semester 2 in collaboration with our Writer in Residence and a professional translator.

Dutch Intermediate

This Dutch Intermediate module builds on the language skills you have already acquired before coming to university. At the end of this course you can understand and speak Dutch in common social circumstances, read all but the most complicated Dutch text without difficulty (perhaps with the occasional help of your dictionary) and write Dutch texts in both formal and informal styles. We work around a number of cultural and everyday topics and our lively conversation classes are an integral part of the course. In terms of CEFR you will have attained at least level B1.

Dutch Advanced

Dutch Advanced builds on Intermediate Dutch: your vocabulary grows, you get more fluent and your grammar gets more and more sophisticated. This growing knowledge and confidence in Dutch means that we can introduce a translation element: you will work with a Dutch or Flemish visiting author and a professional translator. We also focus on speaking and presenting in Dutch with confidence and on writing longer pieces for a variety of audiences for example blogs, commentaries, opinion and creative pieces. You will reach level CEFR B2/C1.

Languages & Cultures Project

Guided by individual supervision and support seminars, you will plan and execute an extended piece of independent research on a topic that complements but does not duplicate work you have done (or will do) in SLC taught modules. Alternatively, you may translate a substantial text into English accompanied by a full commentary to contextualize it. Your project must relate to at least one of the countries or cultures whose languages you are studying. As well as writing an extended piece of work, all students present their work at the end of the year.

Comparative Critique of Consumer Culture

Critiques of consumer cultures are as old as capitalism itself. This module takes the long view, starting in the eighteenth century and tracing our conflicted identities as modern consumers into the present day. Especially applying German cultural theory to European cultural history, we shall ask what is meant by economic and social liberalism, and whether even culture owes a debt to consumer society. Consumerism can entail complicity in exploitative modes of production (causing poverty and displacement, and profiting from serfdom and slavery). It has been both celebrated and satirised for enabling hedonism and individual bad taste (or kitsch). And consumption has been nationalist, yet also cosmopolitan; today, it threatens our shared environment. Theory, the visual arts, and literature have all been critical of capitalism - but ironically, they can themselves be packaged as consumer goods. Examining a wide range of primary texts (including film and caricature) and critical reflections, you will translate and write a commentary on a historical source, and submit an essay on a topic of your choice.