German

Lower intermediate level B1 allows students to progress from the elementary command of language of the basic course level to the independent language use of level B2. Students develop reading, listening, writing and speaking skills in these courses with the purpose of improving the understanding of the lectures, seminars, and exercises in their own field of study in Germany. This helps students carry out assignments in their own subject successfully. The B1 level is split into two consecutive courses, the B1.1 course covers the first half of the level and the B1.2 course covers the second half of the level.

The course covers the variety of cinematic representations of National Socialism and the Holocaust, including an overview of the different filmic approaches used to represent and refer to the Third Reich. Students examine the most intense cinematic production phase of German history, which is the time between Hitler’s coming to power in 1933 and the end of the Second World War in 1945. Students examine movies by filmmakers such as Riefenstahl and Steinhoff, who created propaganda films glorifying the Nazi movement, as well as movies by Chaplin and Lubitsch who sought to fight the Nazi regime with satirical strategies. Students then analyze the equally wide spectrum of movie production after 1945. Some of the films discussed include: TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, TO BE OR NOT TO BE, SHOAH, SCHINDLER'S LIST, TRAIN OF LIFE, and INGLOURIOUS BASTARDS. Assessment is based on participation in working groups and a final exam.