Spring 2025
Meeting:
MW 1:00pm - 2:20pm / PCAR 492
SLN:
14996
Section Type:
Lecture
Instructor:
Syllabus Description (from Canvas):
Syllabus (updated March 31) here: GERMAN 322 win25 Syllabus.docx
GERMAN 322 | Memory Matters: Introduction to German Cultural Studies
5 credits, A&H | PCAR 492 | MW 100-220 | Prof. Jason Groves | jagroves@uw.edu
How did “memory” become a central concept in contemporary life? How do social acts of remembrance inform a society’s imagination of the future? What, if anything, can we in the Unites States learn from Germany’s public reckoning with its history?
This course delves into these questions by looking at the diverse forms in which individuals and communities in Germany and Austria relate to major events in German history in the twentieth century. Readings in literature, film, visual art, and music will also serve as an introduction to the field of cultural studies, with a special focus on collective memory. Some of our readings will also invite us to deliberate on contested histories, memorials, and monuments in the United States. The course ends with a survey of recent debates concerning the politics of memory and the futures of commemorative practices in Germany.
Depicted Artwork: Douglas Copeland, “Slogans for the Early Twenty-First Century”
Photo: Lena Vasilkuva / transmediale
CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Catalog Description:
Questions addressed include: What is "German culture," how has it been defined and contested, and how and why do we study it? Interdisciplinary methods and readings.
GE Requirements Met:
Arts and Humanities (A&H)
Credits:
5.0
Status:
Active
Last updated:
April 17, 2025 - 7:14 am