UVa Course Catalog (Unofficial, Lou's List)
Catalog of Courses for German    
Class Schedules Index Course Catalogs Index Class Search Page
These pages present data mined from the University of Virginia's student information system (SIS). I hope that you will find them useful. — Lou Bloomfield, Department of Physics
German
GERM 116Intensive Introductory German (0)
This is the non-credit option for GERM 1016.
GERM 126Intensive Introductory German (0)
This is the non-credit option for GERM 1026.
GERM 216Intensive Intermediate German (0)
This is the non-credit option for GERM 2016.
GERM 226Intensive Intermediate German (0)
This is the non-credit option for GERM 2026.
GERM 1001TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Artistic, Interpretive, and Philosophical Inquiry.
GERM 1002TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Cultures and Societies of the World.
GERM 1003TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Historical Perspectives.
GERM 1004TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Social and Economic Systems.
GERM 1005TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Chemical, Mathematical, and Physical Inquiry
GERM 1006TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Living Systems.
GERM 1007TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Science and Society
GERM 1010Elementary German I (4)
Offered
Fall 2025
Introduces the essentials of German structure and syntax; emphasizes oral and written proficiency in German. Followed by GERM 1020.
GERM 1015German for Reading Knowledge (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
For graduate students requiring reading knowledge of German. Open to 4th year undergraduates, but does not count toward fulfillment of the language requirement. Please note: graduate students may enroll for C/NC or as auditors. However, graduates must enroll via the GSAS Office, rather than on SIS. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses.
GERM 1016Intensive Introductory German (3)
This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute.
GERM 1020Elementary German II (4)
Offered
Fall 2025
Designed for students with an elementary knowledge of German. Further develops the skills of speaking, listening, comprehension, reading, and writing. Followed by GERM 2010. Prerequisite: GERM 1010 or equivalent.
GERM 1026Intensive Introductory German (3)
This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level.Part of the Summer Language Institute. Prerequisites: GERM 1016 or equivalent.
GERM 1559New Course in German (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German.
GERM 2010Intermediate German I (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Increases accuracy and fluency through authentic literary and cultural materials with a focus on reading. Reviews essentials of German grammar and syntax. Exposes students to a wide variety of topics relating to contemporary Germany. Prerequisite: GERM 1020, or equivalent.
GERM 2016Intensive Intermediate German (3)
This intensive course begins with instruction in intermediate level oral expression, listening comprehension,reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Part of the Summer Language Institute. Prerequisites: GERM 1016 & 1026 or equivalent.
GERM 2020Intermediate German II (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Builds upon skills developed in GERM 2010. Continues the review of grammar. Continues to expose students to a wide variety of topics relating to contemporary Germany. Prerequisite: GERM 2010, or equivalent.
GERM 2026Intensive Intermediate German (3)
This intensive course begins with instruction in intermediate level oral expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Part of the Summer Language Institute. Prerequisites: GERM 1016, 1026, & 2016 or equivalent.
GERM 2525Intermediate German, Topics (3)
Builds upon GERM 2010 and is equivalent to GERM 2020. Develops the four essential skills in language learning (listening, speaking, reading, writing) on the basis of a theme-based approach that may be project-oriented. Topics vary per semester and instructor. Pre-requisites: GERM 2010 or equivalent.
Course was offered Fall 2014
GERM 2559New Course in German (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German.
Course was offered Spring 2025
GERM 3000Advanced German (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course builds on the first and second year German sequence and seeks to increase students' level of competence in both grammar and vocabulary. Students will produce more accurate and complex language and begin to discuss a diverse range of topics in German culture. Grammatical accuracy will be a central focus but also register, appropriacy, and fluency. Prerequisite: GERM 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission
GERM 3010Texts and Interpretations (3)
Employing a broad definition of text, this course allows students to develop a complex understanding of the relationship between meaning and linguistic form. Course readings may include poems, novels, films, historical documents, letters, memoirs etc. Specific grammatical topics will be addressed on the basis of the given material. This course is the prerequisite for all GERM 3000- level courses. Prerequisite: GERM 2020 or instructor permission.
GERM 3110Literature in German II (3)
German literature from 1890 to the present. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses. Prerequisite: GERM 3010.
GERM 3120Literature in German I (3)
German literature from 1750 to 1890. Prerequisite: GERM 3010.
GERM 3230Contemporary German: Writing and Speaking (3)
Using mentor texts based on digital cultural programming, students focus on a range of topics of culture and civilization in the contemporary German-speaking world. Beyond cultural competence, the writing assignments test command of mature grammatical structures, contemporary language, advanced idioms, and punctuation. The goal, following Goethe Institute guidelines, is to write comprehensive texts on a range topics. Prerequisite: GERM 3000.
GERM 3240Contemporary German: Writing and Speaking II (3)
Designed to expand and refine German writing skills, this course assumes mastery of the German language sufficient to write with progressive length and complexity. Using mentor texts based on digital cultural programming, the course focuses on contemporary issues related to the culture of German-speaking lands. The writing assignments test command of cultural competence, mature grammatical structures, advanced idioms, and punctuation. Prerequisite: GERM 3230 or Instructor Permission.
GERM 3250German for Professionals (3)
Prepares students to communicate and interact effectively in the business environment of German-speaking countries. Emphasis is placed on practical, career-usable competence. Prerequisite: GERM 3000 or equivalent
GERM 3290German Studies Roundtable (1)
Offered
Fall 2025
One-credit conversation on current themes. May be taken more than once for credit, but only once for major credit. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses.
GERM 3300Language House Conversation (1)
Offered
Fall 2025
For students residing in the German group in Shea House. May be taken more than once for credit. Departmental approval needed if considered for major credit. Prerequisite: instructor permission.
GERM 3510Topics in German Culture (3)
Studies selected aspects of German culture, such as opera. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: GERM 3010 or 3230.
GERM 3515Postwar German Culture (3)
Readings in the cultural, social, and political histories of the German-speaking countries since 1945. Prerequisite: GERM 3010 or 3230.
Course was offered Spring 2012
GERM 3526Topics in Business German: (3)
Interdisciplinary seminar in German business. Topics vary annually and may include: green business practices, business ethics, the European Union, or the challenges of globalization. Taught in German. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses. Prerequisites: GERM 3000.
GERM 3559New Course in German (1 - 4)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German.
GERM 3590Topics in German Literature (3)
Seminar in German literature. May be repeated for credit. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses. Prerequisite: GERM 3010.
GERM 3610Lyric Poetry (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Major forms and themes in German lyric poetry. Prerequisite: GERM 3010.
Course was offered Fall 2023, Spring 2017
GERM 3620New Voices in German: Transnational and Multilingual Literature Today (3)
In ¿New Voices in German¿ we will explore a selection of contemporary prose works and ask how these works critically engage with Germany¿s multilingual and transnational literary landscape. Readings include works by Fatma Aydemir, Katja Petrowskaja, Khuê Ph¿m, Saša Staniši¿, Sharon Dodua Otoo, and others. GERM 3620 is conducted in German. Prerequisite is GERM 3010 or Instructor Permission.
Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2012, Spring 2011
GERM 3993Independent Study (1 - 4)
Generic course to be used when students are taking independent study with a faculty member. May be repeated for credit.
Course was offered Spring 2025, Spring 2024
GERM 4559New Course in German (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German.
GERM 4600Fourth-Year Seminar (3)
Literary analysis for advanced students. Prerequisite: GERM 3010 and other literature courses.
GERM 4993Independent Study (1 - 3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Prerequisite: Approval by a supervising faculty member.
GERM 4998Honors Research and Thesis (0)
Offered
Fall 2025
This is the first semester of the year-long DMP thesis. Students who enroll in it will only receive a grade when the complete its sequel, GERM 4999, at which point they will receive 6 credits. Prerequisite: Admission to the DMP, permission of undergraduate advisor and a supervising faculty member.
GERM 4999Honors Research and Thesis (6)
This is the second semester of the year-long DMP thesis. Students should enroll in this course only if they have completed GERM 4998, and must enroll in GERM 4999 to receive credit for GERM 4998. Prerequisite: Admission to the DMP, permission of undergraduate advisor and a supervising faculty member; GERM 4998.
Course was offered Spring 2025, Spring 2018, Spring 2011
GERM 5015German for Reading Knowledge (1 - 3)
Offered
Fall 2025
For graduate students who need to develop skills necessary for reading and translating scholarly German and/or to pass the graduate reading exam. Nightly homework assignments from the textbook, combined in the later part of the course with readings and translation of texts from students' chosen fields of study, will help students attain their desired research skills in German. No prior knowledge of German required.
Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
GERM 5500Special Topics (3)
Major figures, genres, or literary problems serve as the focus for an intensive course within any literary period. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses.
GERM 5559New Course in German (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German.
Course was offered Spring 2016, Fall 2015
GERM 5562Topics in New German Cinema (3)
Examines German art cinema from the 1960s-1980s, focusing on modernist aesthetics and filmic responses to major historical events in post-war Germany. Films by Fassbinder, Herzog, Wenders, Kluge, Sander, Von Trotta, and others.
Course was offered Spring 2012
GERM 7559New Course in German (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German.
GERM 8559New Course in German (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German.
Course was offered Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2012
GERM 8610Seminar in Language Teaching (3)
Studies the theory and practice of language teaching with supervised classroom experience. One group meeting per week plus extensive individual consultation. Required of all teaching assistants in the teacher training program.
GERM 8620Seminar in Language Teaching (3)
Studies the theory and practice of language teaching with supervised classroom experience. One group meeting per week plus extensive individual consultation. Required of all teaching assistants in the teacher training program.
GERM 8995Guided Research (3)
Special research projects for advanced students. Individually directed.
GERM 8998Non-Topical Research, Preparation for Research (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
Non-Topical Research, Preparation for Research
GERM 8999Non-Topical Research (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
For master's thesis, taken under the supervision of a thesis director.
GERM 9559New Course in German (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German.
GERM 9998Non-Topical Research, Preparation for Doctoral Research (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
Non-Topical Research, Preparation for Doctoral Research
GERM 9999Non-Topical Research (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.
German in Translation
GETR 1559New Course in German in Translation (1 - 4)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German in translation.
GETR 2559New Course in German in Translation (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German in translation.
GETR 2770Germany: Past and Present (3)
What does it mean for a country to confront its past, define its present, and imagine its future? This course will introduce you to modern German history and culture by looking at the interaction between culture and memory. We will approach the cities of Berlin and Weimar not just as a collection of streets and buildings, but as multi-layered cultural and historical texts. On-site visits will combine lectures with active student participation.
Course was offered January 2014
GETR 3330Introduction to German Studies (3)
A survey of German cultural history from the enlightenment to the present, and an introduction to the field of German Studies. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses. .
GETR 3360The Art of Dreaming (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Taking an interdisciplinary and cross-historical approach, this course introduces students to key texts in dream theory and discusses the implications of these theories for prose and poetry, film, and political writing. Students will learn to identify, compare, and contrast different dream theories, understand the importance and limitations of dream interpretation, and explore the significance of dreaming and dream theory for art and literature.
GETR 3372German Jewish Culture and History (3)
This course provides a wide-ranging exploaration of the history, culture, and thought of German-speaking Jewry from 1750 to the present. It focuses on the Jewish response to modernity in Central Europe and lasting transformations in Jewish life. We read the works of such figures as Moses Mendelssohn, Rachel Varnhagen, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Theordor Herzl, Franz Kafka, Gershom Scholem, and Inge Deutschkron.
GETR 3385Kafka's Short Works: The Quest for Materiality (3)
Students will read and discuss the most important short works of Kafka, with an ultimate focus on the problem of the self and the idea of materiality. Short readings from other literatures and other disciplines are included in order to provide historical context and interpretive parallels. Method will be discussion rather than lecture. Two papers required.
Course was offered Fall 2024
GETR 3390Nazi Germany (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Detailed survey of the historical origins, political structures, cultural dynamics, and every-day practices of the Nazi Third Reich. Cross-listed in the history department. Taught in English.
GETR 3392Fairy Tales (3)
Entering the world of fairy tales often feels like passing into an elaborate dream: it is a world teeming with sorcerers, dwarves, wondrous objects, and animals that speak. This seminar explores fairy tales and dream narratives in literature and film from the romantic period into the present. Authors to be discussed include: Goethe, the brothers Grimm, Bettelheim, Hoffmann, Freud, Saint-Exupery, Tolkien, and others.
GETR 3393Serial Media (3)
In this class we will explore the historical context of serial media, from the journal projects of the German Romantics to the second golden age of television. After a historical survey and a discussion of terminology ("series," "serial") we will examine certain specific "series" including Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers, Marcel Duchamp's Ready-mades, or the German Netflix show "Dark."
GETR 3420German Intellectual History From Nietzsche to the Present (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Readings in philosophical and social history of Germany from the late 19th century onward.
Course was offered Spring 2025, Spring 2018, Spring 2011
GETR 3462Neighbors and Enemies (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Explores the friend/foe nexus in German history, literature and culture, with an emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses.
GETR 3464Medieval Stories of Love and Adventure (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course traces the lineage and shapes of the Arthurian legend as witnessed in medieval literature and modern adaptations, including film and television ("Games of Thrones," "Star Wars," etc.) The aim is familiarity with the story of King Arthur and his court, as well as an ability to appreciate the permutations of the legend in all forms of media.
GETR 3470Writing and Screening the Holocaust (3)
Introduces the most significant texts and films dealing with the Holocaust and surveys important philosophical and historical reflections on the meaning of the Holocaust. Meets second writing requirement.
GETR 3472Hollywood Exile: German Filmmakers Flee Fascism (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
In the 1930s, many people employed in the German film industry whose lives were threatened by Nazism took refuge in Hollywood. This course examines the contributions exiled directors, writers, actors, and others made in genres ranging from comedy and melodrama to film noir. In addition to indicting fascism and reflecting on the trauma of forced migration these films often turned a critical eye on the U.S..
GETR 3500German Cinema (3)
Analyzes the aesthetics and semiotics of film, with a focus on German expressionism and New German Cinema.
GETR 3505History and Fiction, Topics (3)
Explores the relationship between facts and fiction in the representation of the past. Course materials range from archival sources and scholarly articles to novels, films, paintings, sculptures, poems and other creative articulations of the historical imagination. The role of the new media and media analysis in the representation of history will also be examined. Topics vary annually.
GETR 3550Children's Literature (3)
Studies the nature and aims of children's literature, primarily European and American, from the 17th century onward.
GETR 3559New Course in German in Translation (1 - 4)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German in translation. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses.
GETR 3560Topics in German Literature (3)
Examines such myths as Faust and Tristan, along with the modernist parody of them.
Course was offered Spring 2010
GETR 3561The Frankfurt School and its American legacy (3)
Introduces students to the history of the Frankfurt School in Europe and the University States.
Course was offered Spring 2017, Fall 2015, Spring 2012
GETR 3562German New Wave Cinema: Reinvention, Remembrance Rebellion (3)
This course explores how West German art cinema of the 1960s-80s reinvented filmmaking, remembered the Nazi past, and rebelled against cultural and political institutions. In dialogue with films by Werner Herzog, Helke Sander, R. W. Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, and others, we will examine the aesthetic and political possibilities of cinema, in the context of an affluent consumer society with a violent past that many preferred to forget.
GETR 3563Spiritual Journeys in Young Adult Fiction (3)
This writing-intensive, discussion-based seminar invites students to explore the topic of the spiritual journey both academically and personally. Different disciplinary perspectives and experiential approaches to reading and writing will deepen our exploration of such themes as: religiosity vs. spirituality, becoming a hero, confronting evil, being different, achieving autonomy, faith and doubt, and the magical and the miraculous.
GETR 3566Topics in film (3)
The course reflects on the often complicated ways in which representations of violence are related to gender codes. we will look especially at films that depict and document the topos of Lager/Camp: the Camp functions as metaphor, as fantasy, gendered space, laboratory, and heterotopia,. Critical look at films that imagine the camp both as a historical site or as a hiding place.
GETR 3590Course(s) in English (3)
Reading and discussion of German texts compared to texts from other literatures (all in English translation), with the aim of illuminating a central theoretical, historical, or social issue that transcends national boundaries. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses.
GETR 3600Faust (3)
Taking Goethe's Faust as its point of departure, this course traces the emergence and transformations of the Faust legend over the last 400 hundred years. We explore precursors of Goethe's Faust in the form of the English Faust Book, Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, and possibly other popular re-workings of the text. We will Goethe's Faust in its entirety, and then proceed to Bulgakov's response to Stalinism in The Master and Margharta and
Course was offered Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2013
GETR 3710Kafka and His Doubles (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Introduction to the work of Franz Kafka, with comparisons to the literary tradition he worked with and the literary tradition he formed.
GETR 3720Freud and Literature (3)
In formulating his model of the psyche and his theory of psychoanalysis, Freud availed himself of analogies drawn from different disciplines, including literature. Freud's ideas were then taken up by many twentieth-century literary writers. After introducing Freud's theories through a reading of his major works, the course will turn to literary works that engage with Freud.
GETR 3730Modern Poetry: Rilke, Valéry and Stevens (3)
Studies in the poetry and prose of these three modernist poets, with emphasis on their theories of artistic creation. The original as well as a translation will be made available for Rilke's and Valery's poetry; their prose works will be read in English translation.
Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2014, Spring 2012
GETR 3780Memory Speaks (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Interdisciplinary course on memory. Readings from literature, philosophy, history, psychology, and neuroscience.
GETR 3790Pursuing Happiness (3)
Fictions of happiness pursued -- and found! Through the ages, people have sought happiness and formulated conceptions of what happiness means. This course compares ideas and stories of happiness from antiquity through the present day in all genres: prose fiction, poetry, essays, film, and humanistic and scientific theory.
Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2022
GETR 4493Independent Study (1 - 3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Guided study
GETR 4559New Course in German in Translation (1 - 4)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German in translation.
Course was offered Spring 2022
GETR 7559New Course in German in Translation (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of German in Translation.
Course was offered Fall 2021, Spring 2020
Yiddish
YIDD 1559New Course in Yiddish (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Yiddish.
YIDD 2559New Course in Yiddish (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject of Yiddish.
Yiddish in Translation
YITR 3560Topics in Yiddish Literature (3)
Surveys important developments in Yiddish literature from the eighteenth century to the present. Special attention is paid to the innovations Yiddish writers produced in response to historical and cultural change.