German

This course is intended for students who already have some prior knowledge of German. In this class on the A1 level according to CEFR, students learn and solidify basic grammatical structures and systematically build their vocabulary. They train the four skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing in everyday situations and do simple exercises to practice and improve their verbal and written skills. Students are introduced to independent forms of learning and studying. The class covers and reflects on civilization and culture in Germany, Berlin, and at the university as related to everyday life. Topics include personal information, living situation, institutions, traffic, traveling, health, weather, and festivities.

This course is aimed at students who want to work on their German grammar. Students have acquired knowledge in various ways, this course systematizes that knowledge. Through targeted exercises with simple lexis, students learn to understand how a sentence is constructed in German. Students work out the grammar rules themselves during the course of the class.

This course gives an overview of the development of public and private architecture in Berlin during the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Following an introduction to the urban development and architectural history of the Modern era, the Neo-Classical period is surveyed with special reference to the works of Schinkel. This is followed by classes on architecture of the German Reich after 1871, which was characterized by both modern and conservative tendencies and the manifold activities during the time of the Weimar Republic in the 1920s such as the Housing Revolution. The architecture of the Nazi period is examined, followed by the developments in East and West Berlin after the Second World War. The course concludes with a detailed review of the city's more recent and current architectural profiles, including an analysis of the conflicts concerning the re-design of Berlin after the Cold War and the German reunification. Seven walking tours to historically significant buildings and sites are included (Unter den Linden, Gendarmenmarkt, Potsdam, Chancellory, Potsdamer Platz, Holocaust Memorial, etc.). The course offers a deeper understanding of the interdependence of Berlin's architecture and the city's social and political structures. It considers Berlin as a model for the highways and by-ways of a European capital in modern times.

This German language course addresses the needs of beginners. The content of the course follows the standards of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) for level A1 (beginners with no prior knowledge). Equal emphasis is given to five language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and culture. The course covers language topics including how to deal with everyday situations in a German-speaking environment and conduct simple conversations (e.g. at the grocery store, in a restaurant, at a public office); how to understand discussions on familiar topics; how to develop reading strategies that allow students to understand very simple newspaper articles as well as other very short texts; and how to write, revise, and proofread sentences in German. This course is designed to provide students with ample opportunities in the classroom and on a course-related excursion to practice German communication.