Module Identifier GE24010  
Module Title DECADENCE, WAR, REVOLUTION:GERMAN CULTURE, 1900-1920  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Dr Gregory M Moore  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture   6 Hours  
  Seminars / Tutorials   9 Hours  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam 1x2hour written exam70%
Semester Assessment Continuous Assessment: 1x1500 word essay30%
Supplementary Exam 1 x 2-hour examination if continuous assessment submitted. 1 x 3-hour examination if no continuous assessment submitted.100%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. demonstrate knowledge of the major developments in German society and culture immediately before, during and after the First World War, and show understanding of their underlying causes.

2. to analyse carefully and evaluate texts and documents of the period within the framework of their historical context

3. carry out independent research

4. express themselves clearly, coherently and in a logical fashion, both orally and in writing.

Brief description

This module will introduce level 2 students to some key texts and movements during a period of crisis in German history, and thus deepen their understanding of German culture, ideas and literature. They will explore; the widespread sense of the decadence and materialism of German society voiced by the Expressionist artists and writers; the hopes for renewal which the War seemed to offer; German literary responses to the war; and literary representations of the socialist revolution in Bavaria in 1918.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Benson, Renate (1984) German Expressionist Drama: Ernst Toller and Georg Kaiser Grove Press
Bloom, Harold (2000) All Quiet on the Western Front: Modern Critical Interpretations Chelsea House Publishing
Dove, Richard (1990) He was a German: A biography of Ernst Toller London, Libris
Burns, Rob (ed) (1995) German Cultural Studies: An Introduction Oxford:OUP
Grunberger Richard (1973) Red Rising in Bavaria London, Barker
Kenworthy, B.J. (1957) Georg Kaiser Oxford: Blackwell
Leser, Esther H. (1989) Thomas Mann's Short Fiction Cranbury, NJ:Associated University Presses
Murdoch, Brian O (1995) Im Westen Nichts Neues University of Glasgow French and German Publications
Styan J.L. (1981) Modern Drama in Theory and Practise, vol. 3, Expression and Epic Theatre Cambridge:CUP
Roshwald Aviel & Stites Richard (1999) European Culture and the Great War: The Arts, Entertainment and Propaganda, 1914-18 Cambridge:CUP
Mommsen, Wolfgan J. (1995) Imperial Germany 1867-1918:Politics, Culture and Society in an Authoritarian State London: Arnold
Kuhns, David F. (1997) German Expressionist Theatre: The Actor and the Stage Cambridge:CUP
Hermes, Beate (2000) Lekturehilfen. Thomas Mann 'Tonio Kroger' Stuttgart: Klett
** Should Be Purchased
Mann, Thomas (2000) Tonio Kroger/mario und der Zauberer Frankfurt am Main: Fischer
Remarque, Erich Maria (2001) Im Westen Nichts Neues Kiepenjeuer & Witsch
Kaiser, Georg (1994) Von Morgen bis mitternachts Stuttgart:Reclam
Toller, Ernst (1998) Masse Mensch Reclam
Vietta, Silvio and Kemper, Hans-Georg (1975) Expressionismus Munich:Fink

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5