Description of the Discipline

Interdisciplinary in nature, the academic field known as German studies has undergone rapid development in recent years. At Wesleyan, the Department of German Studies takes an active part in internationalizing the curriculum to educate students for a world in which a sophisticated understanding of other cultures has become increasingly important. A background in German studies can provide preparation for careers in many fields, including teaching, translation, publishing, arts administration, international law, business, and foreign service. Graduate study in certain subfields of literature, as well as linguistics, philosophy, art history, history, psychology, the natural sciences, music, and many other disciplines, calls for fluency in German.

At every level, the German Studies Department's courses in German stress the four basic skills--reading, writing, listening, and speaking--and attempt to develop students' sensitivities to language and its relationship to culture. Instruction in the German language helps students gain an appreciation of the significance of grammar, syntax, idiom, and levels of diction. The department's courses offered in English focus on the German-speaking countries' specific historical experiences and on their contributions to literature, the other arts (film, photography, music, painting), and many other areas. These courses often raise the question of translation, asking how successfully cultural phenomena particular to a certain place and time can be expressed in another language.

In its courses and in other activities, such as lectures and an informal film series, the department provides rich opportunities for students to encounter the cultures of the German-speaking countries past and present. All students interested in German are welcome to take courses in the department and to participate in department-sponsored events.